Fresh or Powder Much difference

Caesar

I use both. I usually keep fresh chopped garlic in the fridge (chop some up about once a week, more than I need for the meal I'm preparing) and powdered garlic for the rare occasions when I don't have any fresh on hand.

I disagree with your friend. Of course, it all depends on how much powdered and how much fresh garlic you're putting in the pot. And how fine you chop the garlic. But my experience is it's hard to top the taste of fresh herbs, including garlic. That's why I go to the trouble of chopping up a head of garlic just about every week of my life! And if you read just about any cookbook, they'll tell you fresh is better in most cases.

One way to avoid having to chop garlic so often is to chop it and put it in olive oil. You can even buy it this way, though it's expensive. It keeps a while that way. I haven't actually tried this, but have read about it and thought about it. Since much of the time when I use garlic I use it in OO, it sounds like it might be a good way to preserve the garlic without losing it's potency. Maybe others here have tried this and can comment, compare the garlic in oil with fresh and with powdered.

But if you chop the garlic fairly fine and put in the pot and let it cook with the rest of the stuff, it will permiate anything!