Garlic

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Double R

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Anyone freeze garlic?
Anyone mince garlic to have in the fridge?
I’m tired of garlic going bad so quickly.
We’ve got a few jars of minced garlic on the shelf just in case but would like to make my own for the future. All that’s in the jars is garlic, citric acid and water. Online it seems common to add oil to homemade minced garlic. I’d prefer not to add oil.
How do you preserve your garlic?
 
Good question! glad you asked, something that never occured to me. Drove by the Gilroy Garlic festival once by mistake... my eyes started to water and I didn't know why... lol, had never heard of Gilroy or the festival. I'm sure someone there would know... just checked their website... no secrets about garlic being told.
 
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Botulism is a potentially fatal food poisoning that has symptoms including blurred or double vision, speech and difficulty in breathing and progressive paralysis. Without prompt and correct treatment, one-third of those diagnosed with botulism may die.

To reduce this risk of botulism, the garlic in oil mixture should be refrigerated and used within two to three days. Garlic-in-oil should always be discarded after two hours at room temperature, even if salt and acids are present. Commercially prepared oils have added acids and other chemicals to eliminate the risk of botulism, but still must be handled carefully and correctly.
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/stink...ext=Garlic in oil is very,or smell of the oil.
 
I grew/grow garlic & gave it away by the pound.
I kelp it in dry paper bags until I used it, I also eat a raw clove everyday.
If you have room to grow it, even in between flower & want it to stay fresh, grow Elephant garlic, not a true garlic, but a leek & milder than true garlic. Elephant garlic is a biannal, meaning it take two seasons to mature. My Brother in law sales it at his market farm the first year & people keep coming back for more. So you can harvest it at the end of the first season or wait till it clove in season two. That way you can pull a bulb only when you need one, fresh from the flower bed. You can grow it in pots, just keep it watered in well drained potting soil. If you grow your own garlic, we here at HS will be glad to answer any questions & most on line sellers will tell you everything you need to know, so you will buy from them year after year.
 
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joel said:
I grew/grow garlic & gave it away by the pound.
I kelp it in dry paper bags until I used it, I also eat a raw clove everyday.
If you have room to grow it, even in between flower & want it to stay fresh, grow Elephant garlic, not a true garlic, but a leek & milder than true garlic. Elephant garlic is a biannal, meaning it take two seasons to mature. My Brother in law sales it at his market farm the first year & people keep coming back for more. So you can harvest it at the end of the first season or wait till it clove in season two. That way you can pull a bulb only when you need one, fresh from the flower bed. You can grow it in pots, just keep it watered in well drained potting soil. If you grow your own garlic, we here at HS will be glad to answer any questions & most on line sellers will tell you everything you need to know, so you will buy from them year after year.
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I love roasted elephant garlic. Just roast the whole think and the skin peels right off once it’s roasted. It’s delicious.
 
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I grow more garlic than I can use every year. I love to grow it. When it starts to get soft or sprout I clean it and chop it and freeze it. I haven't frozen whole cloves, but I am going to try it this spring. I put the chopped garlic in small jars to freeze it. It is so convenient and really extends the garlic harvest.
 
My brother in law sell the young elephant garlic like an onion & the poeple cut it up like green onions. I cut off the Garlic scapes from the true garlic, to put the growth into the cloves. I am not sure this works, but that how I was taught. I gave most of them away, because I had dried clove from last year, to eat. By the time I havest the crop & dried it the stalks were dry also. The elephant garlic I have leave seed cloves in the bed, which will come up in the Fall. My BIL plant it uder his musadine vine
& it self seeds the cough drop size seed cloves in the soil.
 
freelove said:
I grow more garlic than I can use every year. I love to grow it. When it starts to get soft or sprout I clean it and chop it and freeze it. I haven't frozen whole cloves, but I am going to try it this spring. I put the chopped garlic in small jars to freeze it. It is so convenient and really extends the garlic harvest.
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Do you add anything to it or just chop garlic and freeze. At this point I’m thinking chop, measure a Tblspoon per ice spot in ice trays then pop them out when frozen and vacuum pack 10 or so per package. I originally wanted some thawed minced in the fridge but seems the only way for that is to add oil which we don’t want to do.


Terri9630 said:
We freeze or dehydrate it.
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What’s your freezing process and how do you store it in the freezer? We plan to eventually dehydrate it also but right now looking for minced for quick use for cooking/canning.
 
Double R said:
Do you add anything to it or just chop garlic and freeze. At this point I’m thinking chop, measure a Tblspoon per ice spot in ice trays then pop them out when frozen and vacuum pack 10 or so per package. I originally wanted some thawed minced in the fridge but seems the only way for that is to add oil which we don’t want to do.



I don't add anything to it. You could squeeze a little lemon juice in it. I keep some plain, minced garlic in a jar in the refrigerator. I don't keep it long, but it keeps a few days just fine.

Maybe mix a little coarse salt in with it? Just thinking out loud here.
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zoomzoom said:
My process for freezing is to put whole heads of garlic in a mason jar, put a lid on it then freeze. When I need garlic, just unscrew the lid and dump out as many heads as I want.
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So once thawed, does it have the freshness of a non-frozen fresh garlic bulb?
 
Mrs. Zoom would know better as she does it more frequently but as far as I know and can tell, yes.
A couple related notes:
If you're doing whole heads in Mason jars, we prefer wide-mouth jars as it's easier to get the heads out.
We've used this approach using cloves and it too works well.
I would NOT use this approach in a self-defrosting freezer.
 
Double R said:
Anyone freeze garlic?
Anyone mince garlic to have in the fridge?
I’m tired of garlic going bad so quickly.
We’ve got a few jars of minced garlic on the shelf just in case but would like to make my own for the future. All that’s in the jars is garlic, citric acid and water. Online it seems common to add oil to homemade minced garlic. I’d prefer not to add oil.
How do you preserve your garlic?
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I have a terra cotta garlic keeper. Still have garlic in there from last fall that looks great though is almost gone - gasp!
The elephant garlics Joel spoke about are awesome to eat fresh, roast, or slice up in a salad. For dehydrating, I prefer the regular garlic (flavor). I've never frozen it so can't speak to that, but have made my own sun dried tomatoes with garlic and basil in olive oil - delish!
 
Well went to prepare the big bag of garlic I had planned to put away and every darn piece is sprouting. May try and plant it and give that a try just to not waste the entire bag. Gunna have to do some reading on growing garlic in pots. Tomorrow I guess I’ll go to town and get more garlic for our weekend cooking.
 
LadyLocust said:
I have a terra cotta garlic keeper. Still have garlic in there from last fall that looks great though is almost gone - gasp!
The elephant garlics Joel spoke about are awesome to eat fresh, roast, or slice up in a salad. For dehydrating, I prefer the regular garlic (flavor). I've never frozen it so can't speak to that, but have made my own sun dried tomatoes with garlic and basil in olive oil - delish!
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Thanks 😊 I’m going to look Into this garlic keeper.
 
This fall I am planting:
German red,Killarney red,Penn wonder,Shatili, Persian star, Chesnok red,
Siberian,Russian red, a new Elephant garlic.
A repete of Purple glazer & Georgian Red, which do well here in the USA.
The other are test to see if I like them. Geagian Red is from the old SSR & is BRIGHT/hot on the tongue, but does not burn like jalapenos.
I buy from: CHESNOK RED BULK
https://filareefarm.com/
 
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I was gifted about 25 pounds of fresh garlic today.
I have garlic in the dehydrator as I type this.
Will be cleaning more,chopping, freezing it .
Also will be making tomato, mozzeralla, garlic cloves salad with olive oil and vinegar for dinner.
I have option to get more garlic Monday too.
 
MoBookworm1957 said:
I was gifted about 25 pounds of fresh garlic today.
I have garlic in the dehydrator as I type this.
Will be cleaning more,chopping, freezing it .
Also will be making tomato, mozzeralla, garlic cloves salad with olive oil and vinegar for dinner.
I have option to get more garlic Monday too.
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I am in South Carolina, zone 8a, but my garlic will not be ready until late May or June.
Did you harvest early or is it a early type of Garlic, do you have a name & pictures.😇
 
Siberian, Russian red, a new Elephant garlic.
I do not know I have had only one kind of Elephant garlic.
But this is the First time I have ordered it.
 
ellie said:
Wo! Is there more than one kind of elephant garlic????
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answer: only one or maybe two????

Elephant Garlic Basics
Although the common name suggests that elephant garlic is a variety of true garlic, elephant garlic is in fact a leek. Its flavor is said to be mild, lightly sweet with a hint of garlic, but mostly an onion taste. Each large bulb that is produced contains 5 cloves that are yellow in color. Growing this bulb-producing plant is relatively easy and requires little maintenance. Be sure to provide your annual elephant garlic plant with full sun and rich, well-draining soil. Elephant garlic has moderate water needs and is relatively resistant to many of the pest and diseases which affect true garlic varieties.

Cultivars
You do not have to choose a cultivar when deciding to grow elephant garlic, as there is only one variety. Just like true garlic, elephant garlic has been cultivated for thousands of years so that plants produce bulbs of the highest quality. Similar to true garlic, there are two sub-species of elephant garlic, hardneck and softneck varieties. However, both of these varieties belong to the same cultivar, as there is no difference in the bulb produced.

Hardneck vs. Softneck Varieties
Hard and softneck elephant garlic comes in two varieties, which are considered part of the same cultivar. Hardneck varieties are the oldest types of true and elephant garlics. They were cultivated over 5,000 years ago. Hardneck true garlic and elephant garlic cloves are larger, easier to peel and packed with more flavor. Before the bulb is produces, hardneck plants develop a large flowering stem. Softneck true and elephant garlic varieties do not produce a stem.

True Garlic Varieties
Unlike elephant garlic, there are more than 700 different cultivars of true garlic. These cultivars are grouped into two different species, hardneck garlic, also called sativum, and softneck garlic, also called ophioscorodon. While both hardneck and softneck varieties are sold in the grocery store, the most common cultivars include hardneck garlic such as the “rocambole” and softneck cultivars such as the “silverskin and the “artichoke.” True garlic cultivars are diverse in their appearance, color, flavor and the number of cloves that each bulb contains.
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/elephant-garlic-varieties-73477.html
Elephant has two sub-species of elephant garlic, hardneck & softneck varieties. So now we know.
 
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