Ah, that fresh, pungent homegrown garlic flavor! It’s such a lot better when it comes to your own garden. Garlic is often stored as whole heads for a couple of months to a year, counting on the storage conditions and therefore the variety – softnecks store longer than hardnecks – but all of your garlic are often preserved for extended storage by freezing or dehydrating. Here’s the way to make your garlic last, so you’ll enjoy it year-round!
Storing Whole Heads
Store whole, unbroken heads during a cool (about 60 to 65 degrees is ideal), dry, dark place with moderate humidity. Keep them during a mesh bag, sack or cardboard box permanently air circulation. If you had braided your garlic for curing, you’ll leave it within the braid for storage also, just stop the heads when you’re able to use them starting at rock bottom of the braid. don’t store heads with damaged cloves, as they spoil easily. These should instead be used directly or preserved by drying or pickling.
Refrigerator Pickles
It’s not an honest idea to store your cured garlic heads within the fridge, because they’re going to have a bent to sprout at this temperature. However, you’ll store them for a couple of months within the fridge if you pickle them. There are many recipes online for pickled garlic, but the simplest is refrigerator pickles, which don’t require water bath canning. to form them, start by peeling enough cloves for a little jar. Here’s a fast track for peeling tons of cloves fast: cut the blunt bottom off each clove, blanch them for one minute, cool during a bowl of drinking water, and therefore the skins will slip right off! Put the peeled cloves within the jar filled with vinegar and add some salt. you’ll also add a couple of chili peppers or herbs like rosemary for gourmet flavor. Put the jars within the fridge immediately, and use them within two months. Let it sit a minimum of every week before enjoying, therefore, the flavors have time to develop.
Freezing the Harvest
Garlic is often stored for extended periods within the freezer, as whole cloves (peeled or unpeeled) or chopped. Simply use the cloves once you need them, no got to thaw first. you’ll make ready-to-use garlic paste by pureeing garlic with two parts vegetable oil and freezing it. it’ll stay soft within the freezer. don’t store this paste within the fridge or at temperature, as there’s a risk for botulism at the hotter temperature. The freezer is additionally an honest place to store roasted garlic. Bake bulbs at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until soft. Our Terracotta Garlic Baker is great for this. Cut the tops off the cloves, and squeeze out the roasted paste. No got to thaw before using because it stays soft within the freezer.
Dried Garlic and flavorer
For even longer-term storage, try dehydrating them! Peel, thinly slice and dehydrate the cloves until crisp. The dried garlic is often stored in an airtight container at temperature, or within the freezer. this will be used as-is or ground into garlic powder. To further preserve it as flavorer, mix three parts salt to at least one part garlic powder. Don’t let your homegrown garlic spoil before you’ll use it…preserve it!
