Eight months is a long time to wait for fresh garden garlic, but then you get an easy-to-store, big flavor, heart-healthy edible that will keep for many months and provide vigorous cloves for replanting. What could go wrong?
Well, one year it started raining a week before the garlic was ready to dig, and it didn’t stop. The bulbs were already showing streaks of black mold when we pulled them from the mud to save them. We cleaned and dried them the best we could, and as the curing process advanced, I dehydrated the worst ones for use in stocks and soups.
The dried garlic was a culinary hit, and now I don’t want to be without it! Or pickled garlic, either, which may be the most underrated relish in the universe. Fresh garlic is great, but preserved garlic is also delicious and wonderfully convenient to have in the kitchen.
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Just after harvesting, peeling back one leaf can reveal problems and speed up dryin
Curing Imperfect Garlic
If you’re not worried about molds or insect issues, you can cure your garlic by simply letting the plants dry in a warm, shady place with their leaves and roots intact. But what if you have a problem? In my area, two insect pests, onion flies and allium leaf miners, often lurk in garlic bulbs or stems, so I use a special technique to spot them early. On the day the bulbs are dug, I take the lowest leaf that is still showing some green, and pull it off all the way to the root. This creates a clean bulb and exposes suspicious holes and grooves, making it easier to separate good bulbs from bad ones. Peeling off only one leaf does not affect the storage quality of the crop.
Even if some garlic bulbs show problems, it is still best to proceed with the curing process. There is a three-fold increase in garlic’s flavor compounds as the bulbs dry, so waiting at least a month to undertake preservation projects is a good strategy.
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Garlic slices darken slightly as they dry, finishing to a pale yellow-brown color
1. Drying Garlic
Dried garlic is great to have on hand for slow-cooked dishes where you want some garlic flavor but are running low on fresh cloves. You can slice or chop garlic before drying, but no other pre-treatment is needed. Consider moving your dehydrator outside when drying garlic, because the pungent aroma can be overpowering, especially at first. It takes six to eight hours to dry garlic slices in a dehydrator set at 135°F (57°C). I store my dried garlic in a jar in the freezer, where it will keep for several years.
In addition to using dried garlic in cooking, you can grind the pieces into garlic powder or garlic salt, which are naturally clumpy and best made in small batches with a spice grinder. Note that commercial garlic salt has starches added to keep it flowing freely.
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Canned pickled garlic cooks during processing, which tames its flavor
2. Easy Pickled Garlic
The easiest pickles you will ever make are simply peeled garlic cloves placed in a clean jar, covered with vinegar, and stashed in the refrigerator. Vinegar’s high acidity level prevents the growth of bacteria or molds, so the cloves stay in pristine condition for weeks or even months. When you need garlic for cooking, it’s already peeled and ready to chop.
Vietnamese pickled garlic is equally simple to make. Place slices of garlic in a clean jar with several strips of hot red pepper, and cover with rice vinegar, which has a slightly sweet flavor. Keep the pickled garlic at room temperature for a couple of days, then move it to the refrigerator for long-term storage.
Beyond these easy refrigerator pickles, you can make canned pickled garlic, which is a wonder ingredient for winter salads. The brine is as delicious as the garlic, and can be doled out to sauces or salad dressings by the spoonful. Garlic is a low-acid vegetable, so you need a strong brine that is 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water, but that’s the only special consideration. After the pickles are assembled, process the jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes to sterilize and seal them. A little jar of canned garlic pickles makes a fabulous gift!
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As garlic cures, flawed bulbs can be set aside for preservation
3. Freezing Garlic
Freezing garlic has its pros and cons. Freezing softens the texture of garlic, which doesn’t matter if it is chopped and frozen in cubes. However, chopping releases aromas that can escape containers, thereby making your whole freezer smell like garlic. If you want the convenience of freezing without unwanted odors, freeze whole, unpeeled cloves in an airtight jar.
