You asked if it was healthy... compared to what? Homemade garlic spread? For me, I wouldn't eat this at all.

It's far easier to make some homemade garlic spread with only a couple of ingredients and keep it in the fridge.

Did you look to see what other ingrediants were in the spread? If it is just pureed garlic with nothing else, I would probably want to mix it with hummus or something to tone down the garlic a bit. I agree with sooz that it's far better to make your own.

Toum - Middle Easter Garlic sauce recipe

One of many Garlic Spread recipes online.

I make a plain roasted garlic and butter which I use on steaks to finish (and toasting breads) and several with herbs and roasted garlic (garlic lovers here!), and one that I make up as needed with spices and/or herbs for whatever I'm using it for. Simple ingredients, no ingredients added to extend 'shelf life'. I keep mine both refrigerated and frozen. I would say homemade is better for you.

I roast my garlic intact. When it's done, it just slides out of the skin. You can mush it up and use it like that, without the palm oil ...

and yum, polysorbate 60 ...

60 calories a Tbl ... and that's a ton of sodium for each of the 38 servings ...

other than that, I would probably try it ... Wouldn't want to late night binge it ...

It's essentially crushed garlic plus ersatz butter plus a lot of other things. It's like butter, or a facsimile thereof.

Sushi, is the word you're looking for "margarine"?

Bostonoak, garlic spread (Middle Eastern style) is delicious with pita, and especially whole wheat. Yes, you can make your own, but you have to be careful with it. Garlic in oil, if not handled right, can grow botulism. Cooking apparently doesn't help. It would be better to make garlic paste, and the salad paste, and just mix enough together for one meal at a time, though refrigeration helps.

http://ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu/files/250352.pdf

Re "good for you": To the extent that garlic, oil and the other ingredients are good for you, then yes (assuming correct preparation and storage). Too much raw garlic could potentially be hard on your guts, but that's individual. Garlic is generally considered to be salutary.

Pillog, I don't like using that word. ;-)

LOL, sushipup, I call it "fake butter" or "wanna be butter".

Reading that ingredient list I wouldn't eat it, but it's really easy to make garlic butter, so I do that. I don't know the price, but making my own probably saves me a ton of cash. My daughter is celiac and the gluten free bread is usually nothing to shout about, but she can make it more palatable by using compound butters like garlic butter, cinnamon butter or Ruthanna's tomato and basil butter.

Annie

LOL, Sushipup!

I have some.... what is it called now? Ersatz butter (margarine!) in my fridge. It's old. Not sure how old, but it has that dark yellow outer layer, and has cracks in it, and perhaps some odd unidentifiable clear droplets on it. You all know what I'm talking about! And why don't I just toss it? I dunno. Dumb I guess. Sure won't use it.

I forgot to say above, yes, I roast my garlic to make butters. Looooove roasted garlic. Love the way it smells roasting.

Do make a simple dip with grated raw garlic for DH, which he loves. Strong!

2MD

toss it; think of all the storage space you will gain ... and that's precious right now. A bag of baby carrots will fit there.

bragu, apparently you have a hidden camera inside our house... I'm sous vide'ing carrots in 2-portion packets to eat in the next few days... Just how did you know??? And I'm embarrassed that you can see how full my fridge and storage bins are too (she says, searching for those darned cameras... ) Ha ha!

Guess I might as well bite the bullet and toss that yellow gunk out...

Wouldn't touch the stuff. With palm oil and a variety of chemicals, it isn't healthy. I make my own. I roast the garlic, squeeze it out of the skins, and blend with EVO, sea salt, pepper and a little fresh lemon juice. I freeze it in small containers and thaw just what I need for a spread that day.

(Sous vide carrots? They cook in like, five minutes. Am really confused about sous vide now.)

Sushipup, sous vide isn't all about long cooking. It's also about make ahead, cook to freeze to warm, and a number of other fine things. As noted above, one shouldn't do garlic in an anaerobic situation for storage, but carrots can be cleaned, portioned and dressed days before cooking, or cooked and kept sealed to use over the next few days or freeze. 2Many is mid-remodel and has no proper kitchen, so this is very useful. It's similarly useful for people who have one day per week to cook. All the prep is done and the vacuum seal (that's the "sous vide", not the cooking with a precision temperature) keeps it from going icky during the time between prep and use.

2Many, your fridge situation has been bugging me all afternoon. I've finally figured it out. You keep that decaying tub of margarine as a metaphorical head on a pike warning other ersatz foodstuffs to enter at their own peril.

People who feed vegans unapologetically use margarine. The organic, soy free, hippie dippie kind, but margarine nonetheless. :)