Creoles

Weakly bolting hardneck, 8-11 cloves per bulb

Considered by some to be a subset of Silverskins, they nevertheless tested out to be their own family- in the venerable Fort Collins study which shed so much light on garlic genetics (see http://www.garlicseedfoundation.info/jashsgarlic.pdf). Creoles are named such in reference to their origins in Spain, France, and in their former New World holdings of Mexico, including the future American Southwest, and Louisiana. Meant for further south, they don't reach great sizes up north but are nevertheless reasonably cold hardy, and have, in my opinion, the best all around flavor of all garlics, with the most mild aftertaste. Up north, they've grown consistently hardneck, but the strength of the bolting may vary further south. While a challenge to grow sometimes, they are, in my opinion the most flavorful all-purpose garlics out there. There's not a recipe that Creole garlic won't be great in. The aftertaste tends to go away quickly- they don't bite hard but have well rounded flavor and heat, like a Rocambole but even a bit better. They also store up to 10 months- but they're so damn good you'll rarely test the upper limits of their storage. Mid-season harvest, mostly smaller scapes