Garlic-Infused Oil substitute

Substitutes for Garlic-Infused Oil with ratios

1. 2Fresh garlic cooked in plain oil

   Different texture

   Use 1 clove for every 1 tablespoon oil called for

   If you are not avoiding FODMAPs, this is simpler and tastes better.

   What changes

   Slice or grate the garlic into the cold oil, bring it up gently, and carry on with the recipe. The difference is that you now have garlic solids in the pan, so the dish is more pungent and slightly sweeter as the garlic cooks, and you get little browned bits rather than a clean perfume.

   Best for

   everyday cooking, sauces, sauteing, soups

   Not suitable for low FODMAP cooking. The fructans that cause the problem are in the garlic flesh, and here you are eating the flesh.

2. 3Asafoetida (hing) bloomed in oil

   Different taste

   Use ⅛ teaspoon asafoetida for every 1 tablespoon oil

   The classic Indian answer and the standard low FODMAP workaround.

   What changes

   Warm the oil, add the powder, and it foams and turns from acrid to something remarkably close to cooked onion and garlic in about twenty seconds. It is savoury and alliumy rather than fresh and sharp, so a pasta aglio e olio made with it tastes rounder, more like a soffritto and less bright. Raw asafoetida smells awful, which alarms people. It must be cooked in fat.

   Best for

   curries, dals, low FODMAP cooking, vegetable dishes, soup bases

   Check the label. Most compounded hing is cut with wheat flour, so buy pure asafoetida if you need it gluten free. A little is plenty; too much tastes soapy.

3. 4Green tops of spring onion or leek, wilted in oil

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 2 tablespoons chopped green tops for every 1 tablespoon oil

   The green parts of spring onions, leeks and chives are low FODMAP while the white bulbs are not, so this gets you a gentle allium note the safe way.

   What changes

   Much milder and grassier than garlic, with none of the sulphurous punch, so a dish made with it reads as fresh and oniony rather than garlicky. Best combined with asafoetida oil, which supplies the depth the greens lack.

   Best for

   low FODMAP cooking, stir-fries, dressings, noodle bowls, finishing

   Wilt them in the warm oil for a minute rather than boiling them, and strain if you want a clear oil.

4. 5Garlic powder stirred into oil

   Taste and texture differ

   Use ¼ teaspoon garlic powder for every 1 tablespoon oil

   This works if you simply want garlic flavour and do not have fresh cloves.

   What changes

   Dried garlic tastes flatter, slightly toasty and a bit dusty compared with the clean perfume of an infused oil, and it will not dissolve, so the oil goes cloudy and can taste gritty in a dressing. Fine stirred into a marinade or brushed on bread, poor as a finishing oil.

   Best for

   garlic bread, marinades, roasting vegetables, seasoning blends

   Not low FODMAP. Dried garlic still contains the fructans, and powder is concentrated, so it is worse for that purpose than a fresh clove.

5. 6Plain olive oil, and let it go

   Different taste

   Use the same amount

   Honest answer for the many recipes where garlic oil is one flavour note among several.

   What changes

   In a big tomato sauce, a soup or a tray of roasted vegetables with herbs and lemon, leaving the garlic out costs you a background savoury layer that most people will not miss. Where you will absolutely notice it is in a dish that is mostly garlic oil, meaning aglio e olio, garlic noodles, garlic bread or a bare dressing. There, use one of the options above.

   Best for

   tomato sauces, soups, braises, heavily spiced dishes

   Add a little extra salt and a squeeze of lemon. Both make a dish taste more complete when you have removed a savoury element.