# How do you store garlic?



## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

I have bought some at the Farmer's Market and was wondering if anyone could tell me the best way to preserve it. I would appreciate it


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

I tried to store it in olive oil in the fridge but that did not last too long. I saw the idea on an italian cooking show.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

We dehydrate ours to use in things later, lots of it , also clean and store cloves in vodka, the alcohol cooks out of it when you use it. > Thanks Marc


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I normally just hang the heads at the ceiling, either braided (if they still have their stalks) or in a basket (they like dark, warm & dry just as onions). They normally last several months that way. If I have a ton of them, I'll also mince a bunch and freeze them in an ice cube tray, and keep them in a double (or triple!) ziplock bag for quick cooking. I've also canned pickled garlic, in slices or whole cloves, which seems to work better and have less safety concerns than packing the cloves in oil. Minced garlic is also pretty easy to dehydrate, by far the easiest and least effort long term storage if you have more than 5 pounds you're worried about keeping or don't cook with (a lot of) garlic often.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

we peel it and freeze it in whole cloves in jars from buying other things from the store. You have to thaw a few cloves so you can mince them up before cooking but it keeps along time that way.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

SquashNut, ours always got mushy in the middle when we froze whole cloves. Maybe they were just too big to freeze well? Some of them were nearly as big as Elephant Garlic. Are you using a smaller variety or only the smaller cloves?


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

I don't think ours are mushy. I don't grow Elephant garlic. We thought it was too bitter. I only kept a couple of rounders and grow those for my dog. He thinks they are toys.

Most of the grlic we plant is northern Giant, brown tempest and Korean red. The northern giant has cloves that weight as much as 3/4 oz.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I haven't tried garlic up here yet, still trying to figure out how to get such a long season plant to mature when I can't overwinter it. But we had all sorts of garlic at our old house. I don't know which varieties since I inherited them from the previous owner (those suckers would NOT die!), but they had some seriously huge cloves (we had one that was nearly 2 oz!) even though they weren't elephant garlic (which I prefer roasted or grilled). Maybe our centers were getting mushy because it was taking too long for them to freeze so the ice crystals were too big or they were just really high in water content. Flat freezing them first may have helped with that. Nowadays, I can just leave stuff outside in winter to freeze way faster than a freezer  In any case, I tend to mince my garlic when I cook with it anyway, so it's just as easy to press the whole lot of them watch TV or something and freeze the minces. Only real problem with garlic in the freezer is when they aren't sealed properly and everything comes out tasting like garlic. Not so bad if it's just meat & veg... not so great when your butter is in there, it makes your waffles taste awfully strange LOL.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

How do you keep the minces in small portions?


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I found a set of ice cube trays for sports bottles that make a perfect 1/2 tsp "bullet". I pack the minces in really tight, then stick the tray in a gallon bag, and let them freeze for a day or two. Then I pop them out into quart bags, which I put inside a gasketed freezer container so they don't get squished or stink up the freezer.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Ok, i thought the garlic cubes would have to be individually wrapped. I'll have to try that.


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## Aseries (Feb 24, 2011)

Me and my mom buy 20lbs of garlic and we dehydrate the whole thing. another way to store garlic is grow it and just leave it in the ground til you need it... 

We usually have enough garlic powder to give away several cups all year to a few good relatives and have enough left over well into the next year..

Plus its really really stong when you make it yourself..


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

Thank you everyone 

I think I may just try storing it in a basket in the pantry. That seems like it would work for me. (not enough to braid) I have tried keeping it in a brown paper bag in the fridge but it ends up becoming a little rubbery.


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## my3boys (Jan 18, 2011)

I keep mine in one of those garlic-keeper jars made of ceramic/pottery with holes in the side. I got mine on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-5-Inch...1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1315953776&sr=1-1

It looks nice on the counter too.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

An absolute essential if you use garlic and onions frequently, or if you're going to process several lbs at once... stainless steel 'soap'



completely neutralizes the odor of garlic, onions, shallots, peppers and fish on your hands AND even takes the sting out if you forget to wear gloves when working with peppers. LOVE IT!

(p.s. I guess you can tell by now that we use a lot of garlic and onions at our house  )


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

Thanks Carol! I have not even thought of those garlic keepers. On my wish list now 

PlicketyCat,

I've heard of those bars, I wish I knew about those when I thought I could just be very careful chopping jalapenos! Not good especially when one wears contacts!

I used to buy the minced garlic at the grocery store UNTIL I tried Red Toch from the Farmer's Market. I LOVE this garlic and want to stock up until I can plant my own


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I still wouldn't stick my finger in my eye to fiddle with my contacts, but the ss bar does keep your hands from feeling like they're dipped in fire after handling hot peppers or a lot of onion/garlic without gloves. I normally wear the nitrile gloves when I'm processing peppers or a lot of onion/garlic, but I've noticed that the smell still comes through sometimes and the bar definitely helps with that.

I also had a coverall jumpsuit that I wore when I processed a huge cooler full of salmon... it positively reeked even after washing it several times. I gave it a rub down with my ss bar in the sink as a last ditch effort to salvage it and it worked


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## deb_rn (Apr 16, 2010)

I have grown garlic for many years. The target planting date is Columbus Day... in October. Plant each clove with the point up in worked up ground. Cover with about 4-5" of leaves. They will sprout in the fall... overwinter... and start growing early in the spring. I never take the leaves off... makes good mulch. When they set "tops", cut them off. More energy will go into making a bigger head in the ground that way. When they have died off in July sometime, dig them with a fork... let dry for a few days... then brush the dried dirt off and trim the dried up stems off. Let it dry in a shaded, airy area until fully dry... a few more days, usually... then keep in a cool spot in mesh bags. Save some of the biggest and best to replant in the fall always. You buy it once and have it forever!

Debbie


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

Aseries said:


> Me and my mom buy 20lbs of garlic and we dehydrate the whole thing. another way to store garlic is grow it and just leave it in the ground til you need it...
> 
> We usually have enough garlic powder to give away several cups all year to a few good relatives and have enough left over well into the next year..
> 
> Plus its really really stong when you make it yourself..


How do you dry it?

Do you peel the cloves and dry them whole?

And how do you make it into powder?


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

Whole cloves will dry eventually, but you can speed it up substantially, and reduce the possibility of mold, by either slicing or mincing first and spreading those out on a screen. If you're going for a powder in the end, mincing fine with a press or in the food processor to a paste like consistency works the best IME, then just grind up the dried chunks in the food processor or spice/coffee mill. A thicker mince works a little better if you want to keep dried flakes/minced and any clumps will normally crumble apart easily.


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

I grow a garlic that is not a great keeper but I like the taste. Anyway, I keep some whole to use as long as possible, dry some to use as garlic powder and keep some frozen in whole peeled cloves. The frozen cloves last a very long time, keeping the taste well.


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

I harvest my elephant garlic in May - hang it in the barn rafters for a couple months till dry and then cut off the excess stem, any remaining roots , brush off any dirt and put it in a bushel basket and store it in the house- mine keeps for many months that way. In fact the garlic that I harvested over a year ago was still good enough to use for cooking up to a couple weeks back - when I finally got this years crop down from the rafters and cleaned up and composted the old crop.


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## Durandal (Aug 19, 2007)

I would not leave your garlic in the ground. It will rot. Garlic left int he ground too long will split their skin and allow anything into the plant that can attack it, mainly moisture.

Pull it (late now giving that its September and we should be thinking about planting), hang it, and dry it. Store it in a cool dark area. Mine is a basement. Do not clean it or break it down.

I grow all hard neck varieties so I can harvest scapes in the spring/early summer but unfortunately these do not store as well. The soft neck varieties have several excellent storage varieties.

KISS. When you need 'em, go downstairs and take a couple heads down cut the stems and peel the paper down to one layer to clean them up and store as much as you need in arms reach in your kitchen.

This year I'll be planting about 6000 cloves. Once you buy your seed garlic you should never have to buy more to plant if you do it right. I am hoping to be up to about 9 to 10K heads of four varieties of garlic and elephant garlic (leek).


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