Plant a few cloves outside. If all else fails, at least you'll have some to use later.
Out of curiosity, has anyone tried to use their food saver to prolong the storage life (seal and refrigerate) of garlic? I just thought of it and wondered if it might work...
I peel the garlic and put the cloves (separated) in a jar and cover with oil. (Olive oil if I have it) As I use the cloves I top the jar up with oil - this serves two purposes - a ready supply of "fresh" garlic and garlic oil for use as required. Marinades, dressings, basting, etc.
Editor's Notes: We've had posts about this being dangerous. You can grow botulism in your oil. It would probably be fine for a day or two, refrigerated but longer than that you risk food poisoning.
For peeled garlic, I would say you would have to cook it pretty quick. with the peel off it will lose moisture rather quickly. If It still has the skin on you can store it at room temperature just about anywhere. They sell earthen garlic pots (liek the one below) for storing garlic in and they help keep it fresh longer.
I have a pottery garlic keeper. It has a lid but then on one side it has some air holes. Garlic stays fresh in there a long time; however eventually if not used, it will totally dry out. I find buying just 1-2 fresh garlic bulbs at a time is more than sufficient for my family. I have seen the garlic in the jar that looks like a good idea....you keep in the frig and just spoon out how much you need. i've even seen Rachel Ray on foodnetwork using it!
My supermarket had trays in the produce section yesterday with about 50 peeled garlic cloves for $1.25 . I bought one and now I don't know what to do to keep them. Any suggestions?
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Request: Storing Garlic
Archived on 04/02/2007
Does anyone have any advice on prolonging the shelf life of whole garlic. My mother-in-law just gave us an entire bag. We usually only buy bulbs as needed and thus store them in a bowl in the pantry. However, we have discovered in the past that if they are not used they seem to dehydrate and become bad after a few weeks.
David from Birmingham, AL
Answers:
RE: Storing Garlic Cloves
I found this page and thought it might help you store the garlic.
According to a cooking show I saw quite a while ago, you can keep fresh garlic in the freezer. First, take the outer skin off the garlic and separate the cloves. I leave the thin skin on the individual cloves at this point. Stick the cloves in a zipoc bag, where I believe the show stated they can be stored for up to three months. When I need some garlic, I take whatever quantity I need out of the freezer and let it defrost for about 20 to 30 minutes. Then, I peel off the thin skin and cut it up however I wish for my recipe. Garlic this way tastes almost as good as fresh garlic. Just a note, though, the garlic turns a bit golden-yellow from the freezing and thawing, but its taste is still good. (12/06/2005)
After I pick my garlic from the garden. I cut the tops off & then i string them & hang them too dry. When they are dry hang them in a cool place. You are going too have too leave the skins on the garlic. My garlic lasts all winter long & i eat a lot of garlic. If the garlic is dry i would just sting them & hang them up. (12/07/2005)
