This creamy garlic mushrooms on toast breakfast is great if you’re looking to make something quick and easy.
Garlic is one of those ingredients that you either love or you hate and if you are like me, (and I suspect you are as you clicked on this recipe) you fall firmly on the love it side of the garlic debate. As well as being a delicious flavourful ingredient, the many superstitions and folklores which surround the stuff have always entertained me.
The Ancient Egyptians
The Ancient Egyptians worshipped garlic as a God and also used it as money. They would swear upon it, pretty much the same way we might swear upon the bible nowadays! The Ancient Egyptians believed that it would ward off illness and increase strength and endurance. As a result, the Egyptian slaves’ daily rations included. It is reported that the pyramid builders were given rations of beer, flatbread, raw garlic and onions.
The workers love it so much that when there were shortages, this caused work to stop. In fact, when the Nile flooded one year and the garlic crop failed, this led to one of only two recorded slave revolts! Unbelievably, when workers threatened to abandon the pyramids and leave them unfinished… they were given more of it! Apparently, it cost the pharaohs the equivalent of 2 million dollars in today’s money to keep the pyramid builders supplied with garlic.
When King Tut’s tomb was excavated, they found bulbs of garlic scattered throughout the rooms. Also, during his reign, 15 pounds of garlic would buy you a healthy male slave!
Another use for it in Ancient Egypt was by unfaithful husbands who would chew on a clove or two on the way home from visiting their mistress. The smell of the garlic would mask the smell of the stranger’s perfume so their wife would not smell it and become jealous.
The Ancient Greek
The Ancient Greeks had their own ideas about it. Again, excavations have found evidence of garlic being important having found it in ancient temples. Athletes would eat it before a competition, believing it would increase their strength and endurance. It would seem that it was considered one of the first ‘performance-enhancing drugs’ though I am not sure how effective it was! Meanwhile, the Greek soldiers were also consuming copious amounts of the stuff for similar reasons.
The Ancient Greeks also hung garlic in birthing rooms to keep evil spirits away. As time went on, this tradition spread across Europe and became commonplace.
Another use for garlic in the Ancient Greek times was for protection from demons. At a crossroad, they would place it on a pile of stones. This was an offering for Hecate, the goddess of wilderness and childbirth. They thought that this would cause the demons to lose their way.
The Romans
Similar to the Ancient Greeks, the Roman soldiers ate garlic because they believe it inspired them and gave them courage. In fact, they were so convinced that it worked, they thought they could transfer the courage to the battlefield by planting fields of garlic in the countries that they conquered.
The Ancient Upper Class
Despite being revered, it was not for everyone. Only the lower classes would eat it and the upper classes would avoid eating it. Religious institutions deemed it to be too smelly. In fact, Greeks could not enter the temple of Cybele if they had garlic breath.
Smelling of garlic was associated with being common. In England, it was deemed unsuitable for refined young ladies. As a result, garlic was not very popular amongst the upper class until much later.
Warding off evil spirits
You are probably most familiar with European folklore to do with it protecting you from vampires and in some cases werewolves and devils too. According to superstition, To keep the vampires at bay, you should wear garlic, hang it in your windows and rub it on your chimneys and keyholes.
Can you believe there is so much information about garlic? And I haven’t even touched on beliefs around dreaming of it being in the house being lucky or its medicinal properties! What do you think about garlic superstition and folklore? Let me know in the comments below!
More delicious breakfasts:
If you decide to make this delicious breakfast, be sure to let me know in the comments what you think! Why not take a snap and tag me on Instagram? @thesliceofjess
Details
1 serving
2 minutes
10 minutes
281
Print
Ingredients
100g mushrooms
2 slices of Wholemeal Bread
2 light cheese triangles
Garlic seasoning
1tsp Very Lazy Garlic
Low calorie spray oil
Directions
- Spray a pan with spray oil. Chop your mushrooms and add to the pan. Cook until softened.
- Put your bread in the toaster.
- Add the cheese triangles to the pan of mushrooms along with a splash of water and stir until melted.
- Add garlic seasoning and Very Lazy Garlic to the pan and stir until the mushrooms are evenly coated with cheese and seasoning.
- Serve the garlic mushrooms on top of your toast and enjoy!
Last updated: 4th November 2021
