That savory recipe you’re preparing for the Super Bowl may need something to boost the flavor if you cannot use onions or garlic due to allergy or intolerance. Onions and garlic are widely used in recipes as aromatics but some people are allergic/intolerant to them.

A small percentage of the population is allergic while more often people have intolerance to onions and garlic. Symptoms of intolerance may include diarrhea, stomachache, vomiting, indigestion or burping. Allergy may result in breathing problems, asthma or in severe cases, anaphylactic shock. Garlic can produce reactions whether it’s dried or fresh.

If the problem is intolerance, it may be because you are one of those individuals who is lacking enough of the enzyme required to digest foods, like garlic and onions, high in fructans. Sometimes individuals with intolerance can eat a little of the offending foods without problems. Fructans are carbohydrates that when malabsorbed lead to bloating, gas and digestive pain.

I have onion and garlic intolerance but wanted to make a barbecue sauce for a dish I am preparing for company coming over to watch the Super Bowl. I found out my best plan was to find some suitable substitutions for these foods. Simply leaving them out without making a substitution sometimes is an option but other times will produce a bland result.

Here are some good substitutes for onions and garlic:

•Fennel (good for chicken or fish)
•Celery (widely used as an aromatic)
•Bell peppers (good for spicy dishes)
•Carrot (used in French cooking)
•Celery root (tastes good in sauces or stews)
•Garlic chives (not a good choice if you are allergic to foods in the allium family)
•Peppercorns
•Cumin
•Horseradish
•Ginger

With my new found information I revamped the barbecue sauce recipe I wanted to make. The original recipe had one diced white onion and four garlic cloves as well as smoky paprika and cayenne which I cannot tolerate.

Here is my result for Homemade Barbecue Sauce:

3 tomatoes (diced)
1 can of tomato paste
1 cup homemade broth (chicken or beef)
2 T. brown mustard
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 cup diced pineapple
1 red pepper (in place of onion)
1 T. cumin (in place of garlic)
1 tsp. pepper (in place of cayenne and paprika)

Cook the ingredients in a saucepan for 60 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool and then place in a blender to puree.