It’s a well-known rule for going out to dinner on a date — never order something with garlic. Though garlic’s strong taste and smell are a favorite within food, its pungent scent is a little less welcome when it comes out of a lover’s mouth. But worry not, garlic enthusiasts, for help is on the way. An Italian duo consisting of a construction engineer and a commercial lawyer has found a way to cultivate garlic that won’t make your breath smell.

The two entrepreneurs, Alessandro Guagni and Lorenzo Bianchi, told The Guardian that their newly engineered garlic has a milder flavor, is easier to digest, and the best part: it’s odorless. The team calls the crop “kissing garlic,” and hopes to get it into some of Italy’s finest restaurants and high-quality food markets.

They began work on the unique garlic three years ago, when Guagni came across a farmer’s stand selling a type of garlic he had never seen before. “It was very big. One bulb weighed from 300 to 800 grams, about 10 times as big as normal garlic,” Guagni said. “The taste was very good and very light so we thought about the possibility of reintroducing it in the market.”

The product was not totally new — some restaurants served a fresh pasta dish that had the garlic in its sauce, but when Guagni and Bianchi inquired about the supplies, they ran into a problem. “We asked: ‘Where can we find it?’ And they said: ‘No, there isn’t any. You will never find it because it is over. It’s extinct,’” Guagni said.

The pair learned that the garlic they were after was actually called aglione, or “big garlic.” Most chefs use conventional garlic, but Guagni and Bianchi were determined to find this variety. Eventually, they were able to track down some small producers, and bring aglione seeds back with them to a plot of land Bianchi owns in the Marche region of Italy.

They have been cultivating the garlic with the help of their tractor and a friend for three years now. The pair also gets some help from non-human labor — ducks eat the weeds around the garlic but don’t disturb the bulbs themselves, and produce natural fertilizer for the plants. Guagni and Bianchi have grown garlic on 2 hectares of land, which they say is enough to produce 30,000 plants. The two are thinking big and thinking ahead, considering creating a supplement or soap with their plants, since garlic is known for its anti-bacterial properties. Bianchi also said their product “couldn’t get more organic.”

Garlic dates back to ancient times, and major civilizations including the Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans documented their use of the seasoning not only for taste, but health benefits as well. Garlic contains vitamins like manganese and vitamin C, and is known to boost the immune system, reduce blood pressure, and improve cholesterol levels. The famously strong flavor may even help you live longer.

With aglione, it seems you won’t have to choose between your health and the wellbeing of your date anymore.