Storing Garlic
Valuble Tips On Storing Garlic
If you grow your own garlic in your garden, you will probably be searching for some possible ways of storing garlic that will allow you to use your homegrown garlic throughout the winter. Garlic does store well so this is definitely something you can do pretty easily.
All you need to store garlic successfully is a place that is cool, dark and dry. This could be the basement, a root cellar, a place in the garage, or anywhere else that meets these conditions. The garlic should be placed in mesh bags or containers that have holes for air circulation. Under these kinds of conditions, you should be successful at storing garlic for up to five months.
There are several other ways of storing garlic that work just fine, but each of these is going to require a little more effort on your part initially. It really depends on how you intend to use the garlic as to which method is best for you. For instance, freezing garlic is a good option. You can chop the garlic up, put it in a freezer bag and then into the freezer. Or, you can freeze the entire garlic bulb and pull off cloves as you need them. Another freezing method is to peel your garlic cloves, place them in a blender with oil (2 parts oil to 1 garlic) and puree. You must freeze the pureed garlic immediately. It will remain soft enough to use a little at a time out of the freezer.
Drying garlic is another alternative when storing garlic. Make sure all of the cloves you choose are fresh with no bad spots. Peel the cloves and cut each clove in half the long way. All you have to do next is to dry the cloves at 140 degrees for two hours and then at 130 degrees until they are completely dry. You can put dry garlic through a blender to make your own garlic powder.
If you are one of those gardeners who likes to can every vegetable, the canning process is not going to work with garlic. Because it is not acidic, you would need to use a pressure canner. When pressure canned, garlic loses all of its flavor. You can, however, drop garlic cloves into vinegar or into a dry red or white wine and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for approximately four months. You can use this to flavor all sorts of dishes. Garlic and wine/vinegar cannot be stored at room temperature or it will quickly mold.
The final method of storing garlic is in oil. You have to be very careful though as cases of botulism have been reported from using this technique. You need to peel the garlic cloves, place them in oil, and then immediately get them into the freezer. Garlic in oil can never be stored at room temperature.