Since the days of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, the aroma of raw garlic has both enticed and repulsed the masses.
The Egyptians were so enamored of garlic that they used it as a currency, with slaves selling for 15 pounds of garlic. In fact, the world's first labor strike is directly attributed to a lack of garlic. The slaves who built Egypt's Great Pyramids initially refused to work until they received daily rations of garlic. Over 1.5 million pounds of garlic were consumed in the construction of the Great Pyramids.
The ancient Greek word for garlic is scorodon, derived from skaion rodon, or "stinking rose." Viewed with an imaginative eye, bulbs of garlic do indeed resemble white roses. Whether these roses stink or smell quite lovely is an open question and the subject of heated debate in Italy.
Fillipo La Mantia operates a trendy restaurant in downtown Rome. His kitchen is remarkable for its utter lack of garlic, a staple in Italian and Mediterranean cuisine.
"I will never use garlic!" vows La Mantia, as he assembles a plate of octopus linguine with orange juice and almond pesto.
In what the Italian daily Corriere della Sera calls "The Crusade of the Garlic Enemies," garlic-haters are waging a campaign to eliminate garlic from Italian food.
At the forefront of the movement is a former prime minister with fascist tendencies and a delicate pallette. Silvio Berlusconi's five years in office were marked by a public aversion to garlic, including an outright ban on garlic in the Palazzo Chigi.
Berlusconi's peculiar obsession with minty breath is well established. Carlo Rosella, an executive at one of Berlusconi's television networks, reports, "He considers garlic very dangerous for the environment, his personal environment."
Many Italians are horrified by the movement to defame garlic.
"Garlic is the king of the kitchen," says chef Antonello Colonna. "To eliminate it is like eliminating violins from an orchestra."
While critics characterize garlic as bitter and overwhelming, garlic lovers point to the health benefits of eating garlic, in addition to the rich sweetness of cooked garlic.
Food critic Davide Paolini considers the aroma of garlic to be "a real, genuine smell. It's not stink."
By Paolini's estimation, the movement to ban garlic is tyranny. "It's nonsense dictated by people who want to keep their breath under control."
Sweet, roasted garlic.
Pickled garlic.
Pink variety.
Garlic plants.
Freshly harvested.
Hippies Against Mouthwash (H.A.M.).