This should be a scratch-and-sniff screen to convey the potency of this celebration. There's pretty much nothing you can imagine that hasn't been done to garlic. Stuff it, pickle it, puree it, fry it, dry it, even whip it into ice cream (not recommended).The Hudson Valley Garlic Festival is very well-organized and laid out. There are long corridors of all-garlic food products, areas for eat-now food stalls and a long stretch of craftsman's wares, very wisely segregated from the greasy fingers of garlic eaters.
We hit the ground running with Garlic Knots; think dinner roll meets garlic bread. We chased that with fried garlic, 'cause how can you not try that? I was expecting crunchy, tempura-style cloves, but instead they were like oily roasted garlic. Good, but not that different.
We sampled our weight in pickles and dips.
There is a whole separate area showcasing varieties of raw garlic and growing information. As you know, I have no green thumb. In fact, my boyfriend needed to rescue the herbs I bought just last week. I seem to rise to the occasion of killing green things. So I saw this pavilion as more of a photo opportunity than a learning experience.
The only void in the festival was the lack of breath mints. We were shocked a gum or mouthwash company wasn't handing out samples. A perfect marketing opportunity wasted.
We came away loaded down with pickles and olives and honey (oh my!) Our bellies are full, our breath is foul, and we will sleep easy knowing tonight no vampires will come knocking.
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