As I launched into preparing a pot roast recipe recently, I saw that it called for a clove of garlic. I buy garlic a head or two at a time, so I reached into the cabinet to get one. As usual, several of the segments had started to go brown-gray and mushy.

In hindsight, probably half my garlic gets wasted this way. So the natural question is, what's the right way to store garlic to keep it from going foul so quickly?

Yes, I could google it, but I'd rather get actual good advice from the membership.

Thanks, all!

I solved that problem by going to prepared garlic in a jar. It gets stored in the fridge and lasts a long time. No dicing or mincing needed and it tastes just as good. I buy fresh garlic only when I know I'm going to use it right away. Like when I make roasted salsa.

I keep mine on the countertop.

But I go through about a head of garlic every week or so, so it's never around long enough to go bad.

Fully cured, hanging in the dark, 50ish degrees, and bulbs not touching each other. I grow 100-150 per year and store them this way.

For everyday garlic, I just keep 2-3 bulbs out in the kitchen in a hanging three tier basket thingy. Garlic on top, onions in the middle, and spuds (or fruit) in the lower.

At normal indoor temps and lighting, there's not a whole you can do to extend the shelf life unfortunately.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
I solved that problem by going to prepared garlic in a jar.

You know, about halfway through mincing what I needed, I remembered that I had a jar of that in the fridge. (Insert facepalm here.)

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I grow 100-150 per year and store them this way.

I keep thinking I'd like to grow my own garlic, but that thought is quickly countered by the fact that I can't keep it very long without it going funky.

In a colander I keep on my kitchen counter, which also holds onions, shallots and potatoes.

Maybe that's not best, but that's what I do.

I buy 5 lbs. pre-peeled from the Korean market. I run the 5 lbs through a meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen-Aid using the finest setting. All the ground garlic goes into a couple random containers stored in the fridge. It never goes bad, and doesn’t mold due to the high sulfur content in garlic. Preserved by its natural contents. Anytime I need garlic, it’s pretty much instant.

(I know they sell this same product in stores, but they add citric acid to preserve the color, and it gives it a shitty sour taste).

Yes, we use a lot of garlic. About 20-25 lbs a year. No vampires around here.

A large percentage of garlic comes from China. DO NOT buy chinese garlic. Buy only California or Mexican garlic. Locally this can be found at Publix & Costco. Press the outside of the cloves to make sure it is hard. Look at the stem residue & buy the garlic that has dried roots showing. Most prepackaged garlic comes from China.

https://www.google.com/search?...ceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8


"Imported garlic is often grown in sewage water and human sewage is specifically used as an inexpensive fertilizer."

"Garlic bulbs with roots scooped off the bottom (leaving a clean concave) are Chinese."

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:
A large percentage of garlic comes from China.

I did not know that. Thank you.

In the summertime, I enjoy going over to the town next door and hitting up the farmers' market, but that's a non-option for a few more months.

Beancooker, I like the grind-it-yourself plan. I may need more than fresh garlic to justify getting us another appliance, though.

If you cook regularly and cycle through your produce, then specialty containers are unnecessary just away from sunlight, keep their skins on. Mushy or, cloves going bad is more a case of they were already bruised upon purchasing, late to the market, or moisture got into them.

I have two-tier basket on my counter, one has fruits and other the has onions, garlic and shallots. There are ceramic garlic jars available, while not essential they're nice touches to the kitchen counter. Garlic kept whole with their skins left on should last several weeks without going bad...a germ might grow but those are easy to remove. If you're worried about them going bad, put them in a sealed container and into the fridge.

I can store garlic in the fridge? Interesting. I figured that would just dry it out.

As it goes, the current storage method is simply a small bowl, kept in "the cookbook cabinet." I figured the dark and relatively cool (as in, not right over the stove) would be decent storage. It's becoming clear that I was (again) wrong.

We keep ours in one of these from Emile Henry…

https://www.emilehenryusa.com/.../products/garlic-pot

Pretty much what RogueJSK said.

In a small porcelain container on the counter and I go through 1 or two bulbs a week.

"one clove"? That's for beginners. I out about 3-4 in one serving. Or half a bulb in a small casserole.

I hate that briny crap, it tastes "metallic" to me, and detracts from any other flavor.

Not a "snob", just don't care for the taste.

@Beancooker Thanks!
I am going to try chopping and putting some in the fridge without anything added and see how that works. Would make it easier to use than chopping fresh every time.

BTW, I use a lot of Thai and other small Asian peppers, and when I can get them fresh from Asian market(s), I will buy them, rinse and dry, then pull the penduncle (stem thingy) off, then toss them in freezer bags and use an HVAC vacuum and a small plastic hose to vacuum seal them and toss them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, I can get as many as I want and chop 'em up or mortar them. They don't stick together and I can simply press as much air out of the bag and put if back in the freezer. So I can get 6 months at a time and they are just as tasty as fresh.

But you cannot thaw them and use them like you would fresh as they get mushy.

(I eat a lot of Thai and other Asian dishes)

I leave mine in the grocery store.....no problems that way....LOL!

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
It never goes bad,

Your personal experience says different, but I don't know that I'd trust it more than about a week. But that's just me.

Looks handy though.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
It never goes bad,

Your personal experience says different, but I don't know that I'd trust it more than about a week. But that's just me.

Looks handy though.

What you’re looking at in the pic I posted, is over a month old.

Something to think about here is the chemistry. When you buy dried apricots, peaches, mangos, etc, and they all look nice and fresh and colorful, it’s because they have been sulphured. Garlic naturally is sulphur rich. That’s why your farts stink when you eat a lot of garlic. This is what preserves it when you grind it up and store it.

As far as the garlic I buy, I choose Christopher Ranch garlic, grown in California. The Korean market has both California and Chinese, but I’ll pay the extra for California grown. Same with the garlic granules I use. I only use California garlic for the exact same reasons described above.

Signonkey, I don’t know how chopping it will do. When I grind it in a meat grinder, it’s minced and a tad mushy, and wet. So there is lots of sulphur rich juice keeping it preserved. I have had ill results with slicing garlic and storing it.

Paging agony! Please report to the garlic aisle. I miss that guy.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:... I don’t know how chopping it will do. When I grind it in a meat grinder, it’s minced and a tad mushy, and wet. So there is lots of sulphur rich juice keeping it preserved. I have had ill results with slicing garlic and storing it.

Gotcha, thanks. I have mortar and pestle and can turn it into mushy paste. I'll try a head and keep it in a small glass jar and see how long it can be kept, taking a tiny sample every few days to "mimic" in and out of the fridge and opening the container. Once I find the "end of life" time, I'll adjust my preparation. I keep my fridge about 33°-34° F and am the only one to use it, so a lot of things last much longer than when I had "other people"...

Oxidation has in impact, and I might try adding peanut oil to see how that affects a similar jar.

Also going to make "minced garlic balls" and freeze them and see how that works.

Now I'm feeling a mite peckish.

On my vampire repellent necklace, of course.

Freezer. You can freeze whole heads or individual cloves and they still have so much more flavor than minced garlic in a jar. Garlic loses flavor quickly once its minced.