Red Janice garlic photo courtesy of A Thinking Stomach.
Red Janice garlic is very popular with growers and cooks alike. As a Turban it’s one of the first garlic varieties to mature each year, satisfying that urge for fresh garlic early in the growing season.
Accounts of its origin vary but most point to it coming from the Republic of Georgia — a geographic area that produced many different garlics. Some claim it was discovered in 1983 in the village of Narazeni very close to the Black Sea.
Red Janice garlic has purple stripes on its bulb wrapper and can be deeply colored, with 6-8 large pinkish-colored cloves.
It has a deep, musky taste and provides some kick (especially raw) as it’s on the hotter and spicier side.
Red Janice mellows ouit nicely when baked, with its heat disappearing and replaced with a sweet, almost sugary taste when baked.
It grows well throughout the U.S. and is adaptable to warmer growing regions but like other Asiatics and Turbans it doesn’t store long, although it is one of the longer-storing Turbans at 4-5 months.
Red Janice Garlic Grower Notes
- “This garlic is a bit of a hot one! Typically contains 6 to 8 cloves with blush, pinkish color. Grows well in most climates but known as a weaker bolting hardneck overall. Harvest earlier than most. – LocalHarvest“
- “Red Janice is a good garlic to grow in order to have hot strong garlic early in May or June, depending on location and is best grown along with a longer storing garlic like Silverskin, Porcelain or Creole so you may be able to have good garlic year around. – Gourmet Garlic Gardens“
- “Very early. One of the first garlics you will harvest. Can be as early as May! The flavor is deep, rich and sharp when eaten raw. Very sweet and spicy when roasted. Red Janice is a favorite around here for its earliness and complex/rich flavor. – Sustainable Seed Company“