Safe long-term garlic storage

[Pizzaguy]

I love garlic but we don't love peeling or preparing it. I've gone through I don't know how many 3 pound bags of Costco peeled garlic but the last 1/3 or so gets tossed every time due to age. So I've been on a quest to locate a reasonable method of storing peeled garlic safely.

I've read all about risks of anaerobic storage and botulism. I've tried the bottles of chopped garlic that come in a citric acid bath that just tastes terrible. I've tried lacto-fermentation but that alters the flavor too much. I've tried frozen garlic but that doesn't work for me.

I watched several vids on You Tube today where Indian women show you how to make "garlic paste" or "garlic/ginger paste". Basically they chop up peeled garlic cloves in a blender, add some olive oil and maybe some salt, put it in a jar and tell you it will keep for 6 months in the fridge. But this goes against everything I've learned about botulism. So how does this work? Why don't these people die from botulism poisoning? Some of the posts go on about "my mother did this for 40 years" and so on. Surprisingly, none of the comments on these vids today mention anything about safety.

What am I missing here? Or should I start making my own garlic paste and quit being such a worry-wort?

 

[jennyema]

Freeze it

 

[Pizzaguy]

Thanks but I mentioned that I have tried that already and am not really happy with the way it comes out.

 

[thymeless]

Oiled and in the fridge sound be used within about 2 weeks.

 

[blissful]

I mince it in the food processor, then put it in zip lock bags. I flatten the bags so they can stack, and the garlic will break where you want it. This way I can take a chunk as big as 2 cloves or 3 cloves and put it right back in the freezer.
What don't you like about freezing it?

I've pickled it, but then it's not just garlic, it's also sour/sweet/salty.

 

[taxlady]

I have a garlic freezer tray. 15 sections that each hold about 1 tsp of minced garlic. It has lid, so it doesn't stink up my freezer. We use a Magic Bullet to mince the garlic. I can pop out one or more little cubes while they are frozen and put the rest back in the freezer. I find it quite convenient and seldom even bother to defrost the garlic before adding it to something I'm cooking. I do defrost them before using them in something like salad dressing.

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[Aunt Bea]

I would focus on finding an easier way to peel garlic.

Good luck!

 

[Real Help]

Similar to onions, garlic needs to be stored in a dry and dark place once it has been dried, as moisture speeds up the spoilage process. My grandparents would store their homegrown vegetables in the basement from year to year, and although some of them would eventually spoil, overall, their method was effective. Even today, people in rural areas continue to use these as storage technique. I know two common methods: one is to hang them in the air after braiding their stems, which also applies to onions. The second method involves storing garlic in glass containers, sealing the lids with dry cotton or flax linen, and placing salt in a small compartment right over the cotton lid, to absorb any humidity. The downside to this one, it can take up some serios space depending on how much garlic you have to store.

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

I know what you mean about the Indian garlic paste, or garlic/ginger paste! It doesn't seem safe, either at room temp or refrigerated. However, it can be frozen - I use a tsp of salt to about 6 oz each of garlic and ginger, w/o any oil, and it keeps fine in a mason jar in the freezer. I've never done this with just garlic, but maybe the ginger keeps it from developing an off flavor? I only use this in Indian and Chinese dishes. I might make some of this with some old garlic I have to use up - the last of last year's harvest!

 

[Marlingardener]

Welcome to the forum! You have mentioned two of my favorite things--pizza in your avatar, and garlic!
We have grown our own garlic for years, and I just put it in a basket and leave it on the kitchen counter, out of the sun.
Peeling it is easy. Just put a clove on a cutting board, put the flat side of a chef's knife over the clove, and it it with your fist. The "shell" comes right off and you have a nice, naked clove.

 

[Andy M.]

Not trying to be a jerk here, but if you buy large quantities of peeled garlic and can't use them up before they spoil, maybe you should consider other buying smaller quantities of peeled garlic or whole bulbs.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I love garlic but we don't love peeling or preparing it. I've gone through I don't know how many 3 pound bags of Costco peeled garlic but the last 1/3 or so gets tossed every time due to age. So I've been on a quest to locate a reasonable method of storing peeled garlic safely.

I've read all about risks of anaerobic storage and botulism. I've tried the bottles of chopped garlic that come in a citric acid bath that just tastes terrible. I've tried lacto-fermentation but that alters the flavor too much. I've tried frozen garlic but that doesn't work for me.

I watched several vids on You Tube today where Indian women show you how to make "garlic paste" or "garlic/ginger paste". Basically they chop up peeled garlic cloves in a blender, add some olive oil and maybe some salt, put it in a jar and tell you it will keep for 6 months in the fridge. But this goes against everything I've learned about botulism. So how does this work? Why don't these people die from botulism poisoning? Some of the posts go on about "my mother did this for 40 years" and so on. Surprisingly, none of the comments on these vids today mention anything about safety.

What am I missing here? Or should I start making my own garlic paste and quit being such a worry-wort?

I quit buying Costco fresh garlic. The bulbs are to small. I find big heavy bulbs at a local grocery.
I keep garlic in an open dark glass container in the pantry. If the bulbs are heavy and fresh they have a very long shelf life. Easily a month for sure. Maybe longer, but we use it up so who really knows. I rarely have to toss garlic bulbs and cloves.
I grate garlic a lot these days and need a whole clove to work with. I have found the little silicone sleeve to peel cloves easily and fast.
Just insert the cloves into the sleeve, roll it on the cutting board and out comes a perfectly peeled garlic clove. No mashing and no peeling, but you can only peel about 3-4 at a time. And no knife if grating.
I have seen the refrigerated bags of peeled cloves at Costco as well. I have been tempted as they look very good. No blemishes and no spots. Perfect.
I was watching Cooks Country and they indicated these fresh cloves were good and store well in the freezer. I would have to freeze them as there is to much in the bag to keep in the fridge. You say they don't freeze well? I was going to try it.
They also indicated you could grate them frozen so no thawing required. Maybe this is the key?

 

[taxlady]

According to Kenji Lopez-Alt, those pre-peeled cloves of garlic were blanched briefly in boiling water to loosen the skins. That deactivates some of the enzymes that release the garlic flavour. So, he only uses them for things where a good, strong, garlic flavour is not necessary.

From Wikipedia:

When fresh garlic is chopped or crushed, the enzyme alliinase converts alliin into allicin, which is responsible for the aroma of fresh garlic.

After about 10 minutes, the enzyme has done its work and the flavour won't be destroyed by heat.

 

[Katie H]

I love garlic but we don't love peeling or preparing it. I've gone through I don't know how many 3 pound bags of Costco peeled garlic but the last 1/3 or so gets tossed every time due to age. So I've been on a quest to locate a reasonable method of storing peeled garlic safely.

I've read all about risks of anaerobic storage and botulism. I've tried the bottles of chopped garlic that come in a citric acid bath that just tastes terrible. I've tried lacto-fermentation but that alters the flavor too much. I've tried frozen garlic but that doesn't work for me.

I watched several vids on You Tube today where Indian women show you how to make "garlic paste" or "garlic/ginger paste". Basically they chop up peeled garlic cloves in a blender, add some olive oil and maybe some salt, put it in a jar and tell you it will keep for 6 months in the fridge. But this goes against everything I've learned about botulism. So how does this work? Why don't these people die from botulism poisoning? Some of the posts go on about "my mother did this for 40 years" and so on. Surprisingly, none of the comments on these vids today mention anything about safety.

What am I missing here? Or should I start making my own garlic paste and quit being such a worry-wort?

It's just my husband and myself and we use about 2 heads of garlic per week. Never had any trouble peeling it. I simply chop off a little of both ends of the cloves, put the cloves in a jar with a lid and shake, shake, shake. Most of the time all the cloves get peeled completely.

 

[jennyema]

Buy a ton of excellent garlic at my local farmers market and freeze it for throughout the year.

Frozen garlic that you’ve gotten from a farmers market is 1000% better than old peeled Costco garlic.

 

[taxlady]

Buy a ton of excellent garlic at my local farmers market and freeze it for throughout the year.

Frozen garlic that you’ve gotten from a farmers market is 1000% better than old peeled Costco garlic.

What do you do to freeze the garlic? Do you mince it? Do you mix it with anything? Have you ever frozen whole cloves of garlic, peeled or not?

All I have done is mince it and freeze it in that little garlic cube tray that I mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[blissful]

@Pizzaguy if you live in Oregon, then the local garlic for you might be hardneck garlic. They have the bigger cloves. You might try buying them a month after harvest, around August, and expect them to last until December or January. The hardneck is great but doesn't last in storage as long as the softneck garlic. Softneck lasts a few months longer. After Feb-March, having fresh garlic that hasn't sprouted is hard to find.

 

[jennyema]

What do you do to freeze the garlic? Do you mince it? Do you mix it with anything? Have you ever frozen whole cloves of garlic, peeled or not?

All I have done is mince it and freeze it in that little garlic cube tray that I mentioned earlier in this thread.

I separate the cloves and throw them in ziplock freezer bags. If I’m ambitious, I peel them but I usually don’t. They are obviously softer than fresh but they taste great.

i don’t mince them because they are easy enough to mince once taken out of the freezer. Plus i might want to use whole. And I never use ice cube trays for anything but ice.

Garlic will be in farmers markets here after July 4. Also some of our neighbors sell it from their garden. This year I’ll probably buy 30 or more heads and freeze them. I ran out of last summer’s a month ago so I’ll buy more this year.

 

[taxlady]

@jennyema I will probably use your whole clove method to freeze garlic cloves. BTW, I don't use an ice cube tray for my garlic. I use a dedicated garlic cube tray with a lid. The cubes hold about one clove each, 1 tsp. I'll still use that, because then I can whiz a bunch of garlic in my Magic Bullet and have minced garlic handy for a short while. That's mostly for convenience. Whole cloves would be to have garlic on hand for a longer time, especially when the stuff from the stores is old and sorry.

 

[pepperhead212]

Here is a photo showing how well garlic can store in my basement. These two cloves are just starting to get green inside - haven't even sprouted yet, and you can see how light colored and smooth they are, about 2 weeks short of a year. This is the Music variety - a hardneck, that only had about 4 cloves per head.
Garlic from last season, almost 1 year old. This is the Music hardneck, and stored best of any this year. by pepperhead212, on Flickr