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Garlic!

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    Posted: 08 October 2010 at 14:20
 So I'm in the supermarket the other day and as I walk through the produce department I glance at the discount rack and spot a styro meat tray with ten bulbs of garlic for a mere 80 cents.
 Now, you're probably asking yourself what would anybody want with ten bulbs of garlic, and to be honest the same question crossed my mind also but before I could come up with an answer my hand struck outward like a rattlesnake and the garlic was in my cart. I just cant pass up a bargain.
 I finally got around to dealing with it yesterday.
 I started by doing a test run. I cleaned the cloves of one bulb and sliced them as thin as possible. I then put them in the dehydrator and four hours later they were as crisp as potato chips.
 At that point I made my plan. Clean all the garlic at once and put it in the food processor to chop it up.
 My next step was to put it all in the dehydrator and head into town for awhile. The lesson learned upon returning later in the day was, When you put that much garlic in a dehydrator you just might want to put the dehydrator out on the deck to do it's job. Holy Moley! I had to open the windows!
 The next step was another learning experience. When you put the dried garlic back into the food processor cover it with a wet kitchen towel. That white smoke you see sneaking out while it's being ground up isnt smoke, it's garlic dust!
 Well, I got the kitchen cleaned up, and I've probably driven off every vampire for miles around, but I'm pretty happy with my finished product, a 50/50 mix of garlic powder and garlic granules of the high test sort that you pay huge $$$s/ounce at import stores, and it all reduced down to only take up 1/4 of the space in an empty peanut butter jar.
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 October 2010 at 15:23
You did great Diya and I would have snapped up those garlics as well. 10 bulbs is really not a lot to have in the house. Excellent advice and procedures you shared with us, thanks! I had to chuckle at the part where you had to open the windows....though garlic does smell good though.
 
Check out this method of storing garlic; very tasty and easy. Mojo De Ajo, it's posted elsewhere on our site.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DIYASUB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 October 2010 at 15:34
 Hey, I checked it out and it sounds like another excellent use for garlic. I'll definitely be giving it a try in the future!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 October 2010 at 16:18
Originally posted by Rivet Rivet wrote:

 
Check out this method of storing garlic; very tasty and easy. Mojo De Ajo, it's posted elsewhere on our site.


You know Rivet....I still have not made that, but I know for sure if I did, it would all be gone before I had a chance to store it. A bottle of wine and a loaf of warm crusty bread, and all that garlic is gonna be Hoserized! Tongue
Go ahead...play with your food!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Boilermaker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 October 2010 at 19:24
I'd slice the tops off a couple of the heads, drizzle them with extra virgin olive oil and roast them in the oven until tender and then finish them off with a sprinkling of fresh grated Parmesan, put them back in the oven until it is nicely melted then squeeze the cloves out and spread on some crusty bread.  Yum!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DIYASUB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 March 2011 at 16:39
 Time to update this thread and issue a warning.
 
 I was in the supermarket again yesterday morning and this time I hit it really big. I grabbed all five trays of discounted garlic!
 I started processing to make garlic powder and was really proud when I read the labels. Each tray weighed .88lb and cost 99 cents.
 Then it dawned on me, I had better than four and a half pounds of garlic to deal with!
 Pretty tedious work. Break the head apart, clean the individual cloves, split 'em, put them on the dehydrator tray.
 (Here comes the warning)
 I had just finished the third pound when the tingling began and soon progressed to an intense burning in my fingertips where I had been in contact with so much garlic juice. It took nearly an hour of soaking my hands in cold water before the burning sensation went away.
 So there ya go, If you're gonna deal with a large amount of garlic, use gloves!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 March 2011 at 16:55
Diya, you are a man with superb taste! Thumbs Up
 
Anyone who likes garlic that much is A-OK with us at the Hacienda. Last night Mrs Rivet baked 3 full garlic cloves to go with her sourdough rolls, and we have not a single garlic left~ we understand, fully, your love of garlic.
 
You got a great deal and keep picking them up, no sense in passing that by. And, did you know that if you rub your hands in a bit of olive oil, the burning will go away, and it will soothe your skin too. Don't need much, probably two tablespoons rubbed in well and you'll be good to go.
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DIYASUB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 March 2011 at 17:43
 Thanks for the tip Rivet, I'll be using gloves for the next batch but I'll also keep the olive oil handy.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 March 2011 at 02:12
Originally posted by Rivet Rivet wrote:

  And, did you know that if you rub your hands in a bit of olive oil, the burning will go away, and it will soothe your skin too. Don't need much, probably two tablespoons rubbed in well and you'll be good to go.
 


That would be the end of my cooking for the day...I'd just be standing there, licking my hands all afternoon.LOL
Go ahead...play with your food!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MomInAnApron Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 March 2011 at 07:13
Boilermaker, that is exactly what I do with them as well. I freeze them like that too. It comes in handy to have roasted garlic ready to go. I used some just yesterday in a white/garlic pizza sauce which called for roasted garlic...saved a step!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 March 2011 at 11:54
Originally posted by MomInAnApron MomInAnApron wrote:

Boilermaker, that is exactly what I do with them as well. I freeze them like that too. It comes in handy to have roasted garlic ready to go. I used some just yesterday in a white/garlic pizza sauce which called for roasted garlic...saved a step!


Deb...do you vacuum seal the whole roasted head, or squeeze it out first and just freeze the paste?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MomInAnApron Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 March 2011 at 13:16
I cut the top off them, brush with olive oil and roast them whole (wrapped in foil so as to contain the smell). When cooled I place a bunch of them in a zip loc freezer bag and keep in the freezer whole. 

When I need roasted garlic I take one of the bulbs out of the freezer,  use however many cloves I need and refrigerate the rest and use it up that week. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Boilermaker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 March 2011 at 19:18
That's a great tip, Mom.  I love roasted garlic and will it a try.  What a great way to keep roasted garlic for mashed potatoes, sauces, etc.  Thanks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Feather Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 October 2012 at 12:24
I'm dragging up this old thread because it is so useful and I have experience with garlic.

We grow 2 of the 4 gardens with about 8 or so varieties of garlic, some hard neck and some soft neck types over a thousand bulbs a year. I have 20+ lbs of it currently cured and (harvest was is July) ready to use, some to plant, and some to sell.

I agree with quite a few posts--especially, don't store your garlic in oil, it's not safe that way. And don't put your fresh garlic in the refrigerator--it will begin to sprout. Garlic will keep best at 50 degrees and be careful the humidity is not too high. The soft neck varieties will keep 8+ months while the larger hard neck varieties will keep 6+ months.

You can roast it and use it.
You can acidify it and keep it in the refrigerator--pickle it.
You can dehydrate it.
You can clean it and grind it up and freeze it flat in small ziplock bags.
I do all four.

Dehydrating:
Here are some tips on dehydrating garlic, something I think I've learned over the past few years.
4 cups of cloves will give you about 1 cup of garlic powder.
Yes you will lose garlic powder in the air around the food processor.
Yes dehydrate it outside if you can-we have a cabinet built outside to hold the convection/micro/dehydrator during the warmer months. It comes inside during the snowfall season. The smell of garlic is lovely but overpowering day and night if you do this inside. (same with onions)

Peeling the cloves:
The most tedious part of dehydrating it--is peeling the cloves.
Here's a good tip for you. Don't bother peeling them up front, just break apart the bulbs first. Start to dehydrate them and check them on occasion to see if the garlic is pulling well away from the peel. (The dryer and more cured the garlic is, the easier the peels come off.) Jostle the cloves around, rubbing them lightly between your hands and the peels will just fall away. Then, blow them lightly with an air supply or hair dryer, and all the loose peels will blow away--like winnowing grains. By the end of dehydrating, the cloves have shrunk due to losing moisture and none of the peels remain.

Grinding the dried garlic:
When processing it in a food processor to make it into a powder--cover the processor with a damp cloth to keep the airborne garlic everywhere to a minimum. With whole cloves, it usually takes 3 ten minute session in the processor to get it very fine, letting the motor cool down between sessions. Seal the powder in air tight containers.

Uses for dried garlic:
Mix the powder with salt, for garlic salt, or just use as a powder--these make nice gifts.

I hope this is helpful to anyone wanted to preserve garlic whether you grow it or buy it.
Best wishes, ~Feather
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Daikon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 October 2012 at 15:45
Peeling garlic is very easy -- if you know the trick.

A one-minute video explaining how to peel garlic cloves in 10 seconds.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Feather Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 October 2012 at 12:49
Good trick!

Here's another I use when I pickle garlic.
Boil water, throw the cups of garlic in it for 60 second, plunge into cold water. The garlic clove peels slip right off with no bruising. ~Feather
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