# Dehydrating garlic?



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I'm planning on dehydrating most of my garlic crop.

I'm wondering if I can just peel the cloves and then smash them before putting them in the dehydrator?


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

i think it would work, but put your dehydrater out on porch or your house will realy smell,,lol do not ask me how i know this....


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## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

Haven't tried smashing, but slicing or chopping with food processor has worked well.


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

Do you have a garlic press? They are not very expensive and your pieces would be consistent. 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I can get one as long as it smashes them so they dry sufficiently.


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## Lilith (Dec 29, 2012)

I really enjoy garlic braids all year. I pull garlic with the stems on them, and then "french braid" the stems together and hang in a cool dark closet. As I need a fresh clove of garlic, I break one off the string and walah, fresh garlic all year with minimal effort to preserve it. Any left over garlic goes back into the garden in spring. I'm not real sure if the garlic is sprouting from the root, or if it is just going to compost for the seeds I put in the same area, but either way, it works for me.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Please let us know if the smahing works. I've only sliced them to dry. Smashing would be so much easier.


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## siletz (Oct 5, 2010)

I haven't tried smashing, but slice it thin and dehydrate from there. One thing I do, though, is only powder as much as I need each month or so. The rest of the dried garlic goes into ziplocs. This keeps it fresher longer.


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## slimbo (Aug 10, 2013)

from my experiences the larger cloves i slice ....and the smaller 1's i just dry whole... slicing cuts down on drying time...next time in gonna experiment smash some see what happens


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## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

Haven't tried this yet, but I saw where you can put the bulb in a jar and shake, shake, shake and all the cloves will come out clean as if you peeled them


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

You can do a couple things.

You can take a few cups of cloves and throw them in boiling water for a minute, then cool, the peels come right off.

You can dehydrate them with the peels on, as they dry, the peels come off more easily by themselves. Use a hair dryer to blow away the peels. Then grind (process) the cloves for powder. 

I've used both methods successfully.


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

I just store them in the basement, washed, dried and set where air gets at them. They last till next harvest.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Just wondering what everyone does with dehydrated garlic. It keeps so well and tastes so good fresh. We don't use a lot. We do mix with butter for garlic bread....James


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## WestFork (Dec 20, 2012)

We stored ours whole. Dry them and they keep all winter in a cool dry area. Then it's fresh when we want it.


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## siletz (Oct 5, 2010)

jwal10 said:


> Just wondering what everyone does with dehydrated garlic.....James



Well, I seem to always find ways to use garlic in everything. :happy: Probably 95% of my garlic is braided and hung ready to give me fresh garlic through the winter. But, I always dry some up as well to have on hand. I have some hardneck varieties that don't store as long as my softnecks, but have great flavor and give me scapes in the spring so I use these for the powder. For me, it's like a convenience food. It's so much quicker to throw some powder in a dish than to mince a clove if you're in a hurry. I have some homemade herb bread recipes that I use the dried for. My favorite use, though, is on my popcorn. Dried basil, garlic powder, and salt. Yum!


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## used2bcool13 (Sep 24, 2007)

If you look for Mr Herrick Kimball's website he had a pictoral step by step on how he dehydrates garlic and then powders it for use and sells it, I just looked and he now sells the instructions for 1.50. The website is the deliberate agrarian

http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2006/08/home-based-agrarian-enterprises-garlic.html

Great gardening information


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I use my garlic in rice hot dishes.


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## Ms.Lilly (Jun 23, 2008)

When I dehydrate my garlic, I peel the cloves then place in the vitamix. When it is nearly full I add a little water and chop it up. Strain and dehydrate.


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