I've seen three cooks this week add minced garlic to a hot, dry pan and let it sizzle for a full minute before adding oil. That's how you get bitter, acrid flecks that ruin a whole sauce. Add your oil first, let it heat, then the garlic. Anyone else want to fight about this?
My neighbor's kid tried to make "crispy garlic" for noodles by tossing it into a hot dry pan. The entire building hallway smelled like a tire fire. What recipe or cooking show is even telling people to do this? I need names.
My grandma in Sicily would disown me for that. She taught me to warm the oil with a single whole clove first, just to flavor it, then take it out. You add the minced stuff at the very end, maybe 30 seconds before you kill the heat. That dry pan method is just creating bitter burnt confetti. It makes the whole kitchen smell like a mistake.
Listen to your grandma, @tessa_morgan, because mine would have thrown a slipper at me for burning garlic. I tried that dry pan thing once and set off the smoke alarm. My whole apartment smelled like a diner's dumpster fire for two days. Why do people think charred specks taste good? It's just lazy cooking that ruins a good sauce.