Garlic skin burns
Peeling garlic can be a dangerous thing…seriously!
Hello friends!
A few days ago I was preparing my usual garlic paste (to which I have been lately adding some salt and vinegar to keep fresh longer) and as you might guess, it does take a lot of garlic.
Peeling garlic is not one of my favorite hobbies and I only stand it because it means I won’t have to do it for a few months afterwards.
Maybe I was in a hurry, or maybe I was paying too much attention to little sous chef Camila, who was not only helping out but also keeping me company (it was late) and filling my head with all sorts or cool stories (you can’t imagine) Maybe I was too entertained to notice that what started as tickling, went to burning to outright pain.
By the time I realized something was wrong it was too late.
As I now know, garlic contains allicin, which can cause skin burns if we’re not careful.
So, when you’re peeling garlic, if it starts tickling, stop.
Maybe my hardheadedness didn’t allow me to stop, which lead to a whole week of stiff fingertips and last night finally to starting to peel (not garlic this time, just skin)
Advice
- Have someone else peel the garlic for you if you can (that’s what I usually do)
- If you can find a victim, be careful.
- If you’re as dumb as me and it happens to you, for God’s sake, don’t use ICE, it just makes it worse.
- Rinse with lots of water and soap.
- If it continues to bother whine.
- If it really continues to bother, have it checked.
Don’t stop preparing your garlic paste, just use caution!
A big hug from the warm Caribbean
Arturo
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Arturo Féliz-Camilo
Z Yamiris "Sous chef"
Great advice! Sorry to hear about your burn though!
LOL! It’s all good now and I learned my lesson!
Arturo, it’s good to hear you’re okay now. I had extreme pain today from peeling 3 huge bulbs of garlic, and extracting the green parts inside, and found that a prescription cream for burns called SSD (1% Silver Sulfa Diazine) took away the pain within a few minutes, leaving only intense throbbing, which subsided somewhat quickly thereafter. I can’t recommend it highly enough, though from here on out, I plan to use latex gloves when I deal with a large quantity of jalapenos or serranos, or garlic.
Thanks Edward! I’ll check it out!