Festival taps into garlic love

Updated: Saturday, October 09, 2010 9:29 AM

CHEHALIS, Wash. -- The aroma of garlic filled the air at the annual Chehalis Garlic Fest and Craft Show. Garlic also filled the food booths with such specialties as garlic french fries, garlic-buttered corn, garlic ice cream and roasted elephant garlic.

One of the busiest sites at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds was Ashley Creek Farm's assortment of 60-plus varieties of organic garlic, from Ajo Rojo to Zemo. The Littlerock, Wash., farm usually sells between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds of its product during the three-day festival, farm owner Mark Sand said.

"We harvest 10,000 pounds or more, and sell here, on the Internet and on the farm," he said. "We've been growing garlic for 20 years."

Hundreds of customers milled around the baskets, making their selections based on a chart that listed the heat index, shelf life and best uses for each variety.

In addition to the dried garlic, the farm sells value-added products like salsas, dipping sauces, basting and barbecue sauces, mustards and pickled garlic.

-- Steve Brown

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