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Post by countryjo on Apr 17, 2015 7:34:01 GMT
I read on a blog someone froze garlic......has any one done it. I would love to do that, my garlic goes bad before I can use it all. Yet I want to keep plenty on hand to cook with........
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Post by sss3 on Apr 17, 2015 8:57:02 GMT
I dehydrate it.
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Post by siletz on Apr 17, 2015 15:51:18 GMT
I haven't frozen mine so can't help you there. But, I dehydrate mine. I slice it and throw it in the dehydrator until it is crispy. We live in a humid climate so when they are done I seal them in foodsaver bags to keep them dry. They stay fresher and more potent when left in the slices. Then, once a month or so I powder a batch up in my blender. It makes the best garlic powder ever. You also might look at growing part of your garlic of a long storing variety. One of the varieties I grow is Inchelium Red specifically because it lasts almost until the next year's garlic is being harvested.
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Post by countryjo on Apr 17, 2015 17:33:33 GMT
Thank you for answering......
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Post by sss3 on Apr 17, 2015 17:56:48 GMT
When I dehydrated garlic, only had a 4 tray dehydrator. Had other things drying on 4 trays. Sat garlic tray on top of dehydrator. Garlic dried quickly and was great. After that, thought 4 trays had become 5 trays.
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Post by solargeek on Apr 20, 2015 4:59:22 GMT
I "roast" my garlic in the skin in olive oil in the microwave and then pop out the individual cloves by running a butter knife over the end of the now cooked garlic.
Then I freeze small amount in olive oil. Delish!
Don't overcook it. Only a minute or 2 at most to start and then 30 seconds until a steak knife goes in easy.
Oh, and you cut the top off to pour the olive oil over it. I can fit about 4-8 (if stacked) whole garlics in the glass covered bowl.
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Post by feather on May 3, 2015 18:49:07 GMT
I both freeze mine and dehydrate it.
To freeze, take a cup of cloves, dip in boiling water for 1 minute, then cool off in ice water or cold running water, slip off the clove covers.
Place peeled cloves in a food processor or chop by hand, add olive oil.
Pack in sandwich sized zip lock bags, pressing all the air out and flattening them for convenient storage in the freezer. (not too thick)
To use: take out of the freezer and break a piece off while frozen (which is why you don't want them to be very thick), reseal the bag and put back in the freezer.
This is handy and doesn't take a lot of room in the freezer.
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Post by here to stay on May 3, 2015 18:54:49 GMT
I also freeze and dehydrate. Towards the point the garlic is going to sprout, I peel it and put them in a container and put the whole container into the freezer. Take them out to chop or press as needed. Being frozen doesn't seem to make them too hard to do that. This holds me til next harvest.
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Post by ketoriverfarm on May 3, 2015 21:54:51 GMT
I too freeze the cloves after peeling them. Just put into freezer bag. Take out what you need. They soften up in fifteen minutes on the counter. Then slice or chop or use whole.
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Post by Awnry Abe on May 3, 2015 22:10:09 GMT
DW froze several quart bags of cloves to get us through the winter. They incorporate into a recipe far better than most frozen things.
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Post by Ken on May 4, 2015 16:59:51 GMT
I have noticed with my frozen garlic that after thawing they take on a sort of translucent look. Other than that though, they seem fine.
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Post by woolybear on May 4, 2015 18:47:59 GMT
Can they still be frozen once they've sprouted? Mine have sprouts about 2" long.
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Post by feather on May 4, 2015 18:52:05 GMT
Can they still be frozen once they've sprouted? Mine have sprouts about 2" long. I don't think it matters if they've sprouted. While some chefs in the US say, don't eat the garlic or garlic sprouts because they are bitter. (which I don't taste at all) Japanese and Chinese chefs purposely sprout garlic and the sprout is considered a delicacy. If it was me and I wanted to freeze it, I'd chop the sprout and garlic clove together, add oil, pack in baggies, freeze flat. If they are sprouting, you could try to plant them right now--another option. |
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Post by woolybear on May 5, 2015 20:44:39 GMT
Egads I don't want to plant anymore, lol. I have about 30 plants growing now - more than I can ever use in a year. I'll give the chop, oil, freeze a try and see how I like it. Thanks for the info
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Post by Awnry Abe on May 6, 2015 1:46:10 GMT
We are considering taking a portion of this year's crop, say 3/4 of them, and going straight into food processor and,/or whole clove into freezer bags. This is as opposed to tying them up and hanging in the barn loft for drying.
Thoughts?
I sure like that look of the barn loft with all of the onions and garlic strung up...
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Post by here to stay on May 6, 2015 1:55:05 GMT
I do both. Making braids that generally take me through February. Whatever's left at that point, I peel and freeze.
I guess I'd rather not take a risk of freezer failure with my whole crop.
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Post by feather on May 6, 2015 2:44:30 GMT
We are considering taking a portion of this year's crop, say 3/4 of them, and going straight into food processor and,/or whole clove into freezer bags. This is as opposed to tying them up and hanging in the barn loft for drying. Thoughts? I sure like that look of the barn loft with all of the onions and garlic strung up... My thought--it will be easier to peel the cloves, if you cure them, dry them for 4-5 weeks first. Even the frozen ones would peel easier with curing. You know who would probably have a good answer? Paquebot-Martin, hope he shows up here. |
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Post by paquebot on May 6, 2015 4:03:25 GMT
No, won't try to tell anyone to freeze garlic. Don't care for the fact that it can be done but it depends upon how easy it is to satisfy someone. Freezing as is results in what Ken described, translucence. Yes, it's still the same clove as before freezing but crushes or grates into mush. That's eliminated when olive oil is used and you have something close to fresh quality.
I have had bare loose cloves last for months just in a plastic bowl. They slowly dehydrate on their own when no longer attached to each other. Strange how they may spoil quicker as an intact bulb but I have a theory on why. The weakest clove is sacrificed to keep the others going. Then the next weakest becomes the goat and so on. By themselves, they don't have a sibling to cannibalize so they slow down and remain edible a lot longer.
Martin
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2015 1:25:40 GMT
Ok...
Let me get all of these methods straight...
1. Leave the bulbs intact and store appropriately. Depending on the variety, they could last until next year's harvest.
2. Break the bulb apart, peel the cloves, store in a plastic bowl and place the bowl in the refrigerator. Should last for months.
3. Peel the cloves, place in a container and freeze. No length of storage mentioned, but it should be quite a while.
4. Peel cloves, slice cloves and dehydrate. Once dehydrated, seal in bags and use at your leisure and/or grind into powder.
5. Mince peeled cloves, place mixture in bag and freeze. Break off what is needed, when needed.
Those were the storage methods that I understood easily. I think that I need more info on the roasting method.
Much of what I see on the internet implies that mixing garlic and oil creates a perfect environment for botulism. Does freezing the two together prevent botulism from occurring?
I have a bunch of garlic that I need to do something with. I am looking into doing several different methods of processing garlic so as not to have all of my eggs in one basket.
Does anyone have any other methods of processing garlic for storage or a variation of any of the above mentioned methods?
I would love to find a method that would produce something similar to what can be purchased in a grocery store (minced garlic in a jar).
Is there a canning method that I have yet to find?
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Post by solargeek on Sept 1, 2015 2:18:48 GMT
Ok... Those were the storage methods that I understood easily. I think that I need more info on the roasting method. I have roasted and frozen and had excellent results. NO need to mince, it is so tender and (if you want) carmelized that it melts into your food. Recipe Ingredients: small glass bowl with lid olive oil I "roast" in the microwave. Do not peel. Pretty easy. 1. Cut off bottom of head of garlic after pulling off any obviously bad cloves (use best garlic) or loose or dirty garlic paper. You want a relatively clean garlic head so you can re-use the oil below. Cut off About 1/4" of bottom so all clove are exposed. 2. You will need a small glass bowl that has a cover (like Pyrex)- place some olive oil in the bowl to cover bottom of bowl. 3. Place cut side down in bowl- load as many in as fit on the bottom. Do not stack. Cover to 1/2 way up the garlic head with olive oil. I usually put at least 5 heads in my bowl. I micro covered for 2 minutes. Then open and baste the uncovered tops of the garlic with the hot oil, but put back cut side down again. Micro in 30 second increments till steak knife goes into cloves EASILY. Depending on age of garlic this could take 2-4 30 seconds steps. Baste each time. You will be done in under 5 minutes!Wait till garlic cools, drain off oil straining it for loose peels Squeeze cloves out of the head and add some of oil to cover the garlics in your storage container. Refrigerated when cool. At least overnight. Then, freeze! That's it. I literally eat spoonfuls of this stuff when I defrost the jar. |
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Post by feather on Sept 1, 2015 4:26:29 GMT
Ok... Let me get all of these methods straight... 1. Leave the bulbs intact and store appropriately. Depending on the variety, they could last until next year's harvest. 2. Break the bulb apart, peel the cloves, store in a plastic bowl and place the bowl in the refrigerator. Should last for months. 3. Peel the cloves, place in a container and freeze. No length of storage mentioned, but it should be quite a while. 4. Peel cloves, slice cloves and dehydrate. Once dehydrated, seal in bags and use at your leisure and/or grind into powder. 5. Mince peeled cloves, place mixture in bag and freeze. Break off what is needed, when needed. Those were the storage methods that I understood easily. I think that I need more info on the roasting method. Much of what I see on the internet implies that mixing garlic and oil creates a perfect environment for botulism. Does freezing the two together prevent botulism from occurring? I have a bunch of garlic that I need to do something with. I am looking into doing several different methods of processing garlic so as not to have all of my eggs in one basket. Does anyone have any other methods of processing garlic for storage or a variation of any of the above mentioned methods? I would love to find a method that would produce something similar to what can be purchased in a grocery store (minced garlic in a jar). Is there a canning method that I have yet to find? There are no approved methods to can garlic that I have found. Canned garlic is acidified, using? citric acid w/oil, vinegar w/oil, I have no idea and I won't give any advice about that for your family. My family, uses fresh (or using your method 1) or frozen/chopped/in oil, stored in flat zip lock bags, and often the dehydrated garlic ground up. If you use method 1, it needs to be cool but not refrigerated (or they will sprout in spring) and slightly damp, like a basement, if it is too dry, they will dehydrate on their own. I don't use methods 2 or 3. I do use method 4. I do use method 5 but add oil to keep them sealed and easier to break off for cooking. We just harvested 2000 bulbs of 6 types if anyone is interested in it. We discount bulk garlic, and I have imperfect bulbs discounted, all the regular stuff is $14/lb plus shipping, found here: Joysgarlic.com I take cash on pick up or paypal or barter if you have anything to share. Here is a link to the recipes and hints portion of the website: joysgarlic.com/hints.html Trellis you might like the information on that page. I hope that helps you. We've been growing and using home grown garlic for 5 years (in any volume). Solargeek, your roasting method may work well--but I have zero experience with that. |
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Post by solargeek on Sept 1, 2015 16:59:29 GMT
Ok... Let me get all of these methods straight... Trellis you might like the information on that page. I hope that helps you. We've been growing and using home grown garlic for 5 years (in any volume). Solargeek, your roasting method may work well--but I have zero experience with that. Feather, I have used the oven method but often scorch the garlic in the last 10-15 minutes no matter how much olive oil I use. Also, the olive oil doesn't taste as good after being baked for so long. That is why I switched to the microwave method. I can process 1 lb. in less than 15 minutes. And no danger of scorching and I can re-use the olive oil. The steps seem like a lot when you set them out but in reality, all you are doing it getting the dirty garlic paper off, hacking off the bottom, and putting them in oil. The basting is a piece of cake with a brush or spoon. |
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Post by siletz on Sept 14, 2015 15:46:57 GMT
I just ran across this recipe for canning "pickled garlic". It says the vinegar acidifies it enough to make it safe to can, but it can still be used in cooking as a fresh clove would. Anyone heard of this or tried it before? I might give it a try with a few jars and see how it turns out. www.growingagreenerworld.com/pickled-garlic-recipe-video/ |
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