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Gilroy: Garlic fest invites cooks to enter favorite aromatic recipes

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Got a great recipe for which garlic is a key ingredient? It could earn you a spot in a popular cook-off during this summer’s Gilroy Garlic Festival in Central California.

Each July, people flock to the festival in Gilroy, about 80 miles southeast of San Francisco, to fill up on foods featuring the pungent perennial.

The strong aroma of garlic will be impossible to escape during the July 25-27 festival. Each year, visitors consume more than 2 tons of garlic grown at the local Christopher Ranch.

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The Great Garlic Cook-off, a contest among amateur chefs, is one of the highlights of the annual festival. On July 26, eight cooks will compete for the $5,000 grand prize.

Each recipe must use at least six cloves of garlic, according to the contest rules.

Karen Harris of Colorado took home last year’s first prize after wowing the judges with her “Carnival Style Fish Sticks with Lemony Jalapeno Mayonnaise and Spicy Apple Kohlrabi Slaw.”

The foods typically served up along Gourmet Alley include garlic fries, garlic scampi and zesty garlic fried calamari. For dessert, be sure to try some garlic ice cream, especially because it’s free.

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