Freezing garlic for the winter at home.

Is it possible to freeze garlic?

Many people ask me: “Is it possible to freeze garlic in the freezer for the winter?” Yes, sure! Garlic can be frozen and stored for quite a long time. Freezing garlic for the winter at home is a great way to preserve the flavor of your dishes for a long time.

And if you cook with garlic as much as I do, you'll find that freezing garlic can actually save your life. I use garlic in most of my dinners, especially Lebanese dishes. Doing this in bulk will save you a lot of time, and I'll share my garlic freezing secrets with you!

Peeling a clove or two of garlic every day, mincing or pressing them, and then cleaning out the garlic press can be very tedious. Freezing garlic in large portions every 3-4 months is a great way to save yourself the daily grind and always have prepared garlic on hand.

Yes, frozen garlic will not be crispy like fresh garlic. But the flavor definitely remains strong and lasting, and it's much better than the jarred garlic you find at the grocery store.

But wait, maybe you can just refrigerate the garlic? Yes you can, but it is not recommended to do it for more than 4-5 days because the taste and texture of the garlic will deteriorate and the garlic may become toxic. If you find that you have too much garlic, or if you are trying to save time on meal prep, freeze the garlic in the freezer!

Advantages and disadvantages of freezing

Storage problems are easily solved by freezing. This method has both advantages and obvious disadvantages. You need to be familiar with the peculiarities of such preparation of vegetables for the winter before freezing the entire harvest or part of it at home.

How to freeze garlic

Garlic is very easy and forgiving when it comes to freezing. There are many ways to freeze garlic:

Whole, unpeeled heads of garlic
Individual unpeeled garlic cloves
Individual peeled garlic cloves
Chopped garlic
Garlic paste

Kombucha, benefits and harms, how to prepare it correctly. What does kombucha help with?

Depending on your cooking needs and use of garlic, any of these methods for freezing garlic will work. I mostly use the frozen garlic paste method, which I'll share with you. But before freezing, we need to prepare the garlic paste itself. So let's get started.

Freezing methods

Prepare garlic as follows:

Entirely. For this type of freezing, it is customary to use unpeeled heads. This option is used quite rarely, because when defrosting, the shape of the clove will be lost and cleansing will become impossible. If you still decide on this method of freezing, the heads must be put in bags and put in the freezer.
Slices, previously peeled. Once removed from the freezer, this garlic does not need to be peeled and is ready to be used as a seasoning.
Ground mass. This option is considered the most optimal. To preserve the spice, you need to grind the garlic and put it in containers. Small bags with clips are also suitable, where you can put one portion of the workpiece. If you use a container, you will have to remove the required portion of the garlic mass using a sharp knife.

It is important that when freezing garlic in a container, you cannot completely defrost the product. The mushy mass formed during the thawing process cannot be re-frozen.

How to make garlic paste

Peel the garlic

Start by completely peeling the garlic and removing any large green sprouts. I go to the prepared foods section at my local health store and they usually give me a big jar of freshly peeled garlic.

Prepare garlic for chopping

The garlic I buy in bulk is peeled by machine, which is much easier than peeling it yourself. But, unfortunately, this method does not give a perfect cleaning and you have to peel the garlic by hand, so I recommend using a paring knife to remove anything that the machine couldn’t handle or that you missed while peeling. For 5 cups of garlic you need to spend about 10-15 minutes.

Chop the garlic by hand or mince it in a food processor

Use a knife to finely chop the garlic. We will make the garlic paste using a very sharp knife and flaky salt. Salt helps speed up the crushing of garlic by further softening its structure more quickly. This method is great if you're making a small amount or don't have a food processor.
Use a food processor to chop the garlic. When making several cups of garlic, when I make garlic "in bulk", I always use a food processor. There is no need to add salt or oil, but you can if you wish. If you are adding salt, add 1 teaspoon per 4-5 cups of garlic cloves. If you are adding oil, you can use up to 1/2 cup of oil.

Just a minute in the blender and we're in business - the garlic paste is ready! You can turn off the blender when the garlic is completely crushed and does not look like a paste, as in the photo below.

Smoothies - blender recipes for weight loss

Transfer the garlic to airtight freezer bags.

Pack the garlic paste into small bags for safe long-term storage in the freezer. For convenience, you can use a knife to mark lines (like on a chocolate bar), marking small squares of 2.5 cm in size, which will be equivalent to about 1 teaspoon of garlic paste.

Frozen garlic for the winter: methods, subtleties, reviews

Knowing how to preserve last year's garlic grown in your own garden, you can always meet your family's spicy seasoning needs. Timely dug up, fully ripe and well-dried bulbs are most often stored in a cellar or underground, sprinkled with wood ash for disinfection.

What should those summer residents who do not have their own vegetable storage do?

You can try putting the crop in a specially insulated box with a thermostat inside, and putting it on the balcony. Maintaining an optimal temperature (about 0°C) in an improvised storage facility throughout the winter with constant temperature fluctuations is quite difficult, but with certain devices and a great desire it is possible.

Some of the garlic can be saved using the fresh, warm method. Winter garlic bulbs will last until the new year, and spring garlic bulbs will last until mid-spring. The optimal temperature in the pantry, apartment vestibule, entryway or on an insulated loggia with this method should be in the range from +16 to +20°C. However, even with good ventilation in the room, crop losses cannot be avoided. Some of the garlic will dry out, some will rot, and some heads will sprout.

In what situations is it advisable to freeze garlic?

If there is too much garlic, and you understand that you will not be able to completely use up the harvest before mid-spring, and also in cases where the garlic began to deteriorate en masse in the winter and in early March, dry out or sprout, you need to use another method of preparing the seasoning, for example , storing garlic in oil or pickling whole heads and cloves.

However, thrifty housewives have learned to quickly and easily dispose of excess garlic crops by dry freezing. Garlic packaged in small portions can be used for food throughout the whole year, regardless of the season, which, you see, is very convenient.

The only rule that it is advisable to strictly follow is to use airtight containers, for example, plastic containers or plastic bags with a zipper, to store garlic in the freezer. Otherwise, the pungent garlic spirit will permeate all the products stored in the unit - meat, fish, dough, berries, and vegetables.

According to experienced nutritionists, when quickly frozen in garlic pulp, most of the vitamins, sulfides, mineral salts, sugars, organic acids and microelements remain unchanged. This information is the answer to the pressing question of many readers, is frozen garlic healthy? Naturally it is useful.

The taste of the product does not change much in frozen garlic. Perhaps the only negative noted by professional chefs and housewives is the inconvenience of adding the crumbled mush to cold snacks, such as salads. And for other dishes, including sauces and all products made from minced meat and minced cutlets, frozen garlic is completely suitable.

Both cloves and garlic arrows are stored frozen. Moreover, it is most convenient to cool the vegetable pulp obtained by grinding in a blender. By spending just a little time in the summer or fall, you can eliminate the need to buy, store and constantly peel garlic during the daily preparation of your favorite dishes.

How to properly freeze chopped garlic?

The original method was invented by experienced housewives using modern kitchen appliances. Peeled garlic cloves are ground to a pulp using a food processor, an electric meat grinder with a fine mesh attachment, or a blender. Finely chopped herbs (optional) and a small amount of any broth, be it chicken, vegetable, mushroom or fish, are added to the resulting spicy mass. The rate of liquid administration is 2-3 tablespoons (about 40 ml) for every half liter of garlic pulp with herbs.

The thoroughly mixed composition is laid out in the cells of containers for making regular ice, the containers are wrapped in several layers of polyethylene, placed in a ziplock bag and frozen at a temperature of about –18°C. After the mass hardens and turns into ice, the containers are removed from the freezer, freed from garlic cubes and thoroughly washed with soda and vinegar to eliminate the specific odor.

The resulting garlic cubes are placed in ziplock bags or hermetically sealed in containers. When preparing hot dishes, it is enough to throw 1-2 pieces of frozen garlic mass into soup, roast or stew, taking them out of the bag at the very end of cooking the products. The remaining cubes are resealed and returned to the freezer.

How to freeze garlic arrows?

You can do the same with arrows plucked from bushes at the beginning of summer as with cloves. The washed flower stalks are ground into pulp, finely chopped greens (parsley, dill, celery, cilantro, arugula, basil, fennel, young carrot tops) and broth are added to the pulp, mixed and frozen. These green cubes are an excellent seasoning for food.

Or you can prepare already boiled arrows, which are added not only to soups, but also when stewing vegetables, beans, meat, and when preparing cabbage rolls and stuffed peppers. The flower stalks are washed under running water and cut into strips about 1.5-2 cm long, blanched in salted water for 5 minutes, placed in a colander to completely remove drops of water, packaged in small bags and frozen at low temperatures.

The advantage of boiled garlic cloves is that during storage they do not emit such a powerful aroma as freshly ground clove pulp. However, according to reviews from experienced housewives, they also need to be placed in several plastic bags or containers with tight-fitting lids.

Have you already tried freezing garlic that you grew yourself or bought from your neighbors’ garden? Share your methods of freezing or drying garlic in the comments below the article with all the inhabitants of the Internet!

How to store frozen garlic

I prefer to use ziplock garlic storage bags because they can be placed in the freezer. It's easy to separate a piece of what I need without having to defrost the whole thing. I know many people choose not to use plastic.

Here are some options for containers for frozen garlic:

Dishes for the freezer;
Plastic bags for freezing food;
Durable plastic containers;
Glass containers;
Well folded aluminum foil;
Ice trays;

Recommendations for choosing containers for freezing garlic

Whatever container you use, just make sure you freeze the garlic in an airtight, moisture-proof container to keep the garlic fresh. Some people claim that garlic can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. But for the best tasting garlic, I try to limit my shelf life to 3 months, a rule that also applies to everything else I freeze.

What properties should the cookware have? Here are my recommendations for freezer containers:

Tightness and moisture resistance;
Resistance to low temperatures, as ordinary dishes can crack;
The ability to make notes on the dishes, write the name of the product, indicate the freezing date;

Freeze garlic arrows

Gourmets resort to freezing not only cloves, but also arrows. Gardeners often do not know whether it is possible to freeze such garlic in the freezer for the winter. Fragrant greens will complement the flavors of dishes and add variety to the diet. Thawed garlic mass can be used to flavor hot dishes.

Read also: How to prune English roses for the winter

Before preparing the greens, they should be washed in cold water and dried, then cut into small strips with a knife: each should be 4–5 centimeters long. At the first stage, the arrow blank must be boiled for 5 minutes, after which the process is stopped by moving the greens into a bowl with cold water.

After blanching, the arrows are individually packaged and frozen. If desired, you can grind the material even further: after thawing, the result will be garlic paste.

–Tags

–Search by diary

–Subscription by e-mail

-Statistics

Thursday, August 30, 2021 21:08 + to quote book

How to freeze garlic for the winter

As a spice, garlic is used in all cuisines of the world, being especially popular in the cuisines of the Mediterranean and China. In the kitchen there are uses for both above-ground and underground parts of the plant.

The underground part, or rather the cloves of garlic, can be used to prepare soups, marinades, various meat and vegetable dishes and even desserts.

Along with whole cloves and slices of different sizes, chopped (crushed) garlic is also used to prepare salads, vinaigrettes, sauces, sandwiches and light snacks.

Garlic: properties and benefits

Natural flavor and aroma enhancer. In addition to taste and aroma perception, the body also receives a set of nutrients.
Benefit for health. Garlic is not only a food and a seasoning for food, but also a medicinal vegetable, recognized as medicinal and used in traditional and alternative medicine.
Prebiotic food. Garlic is a natural prebiotic, a food that helps increase the amount of probiotics. By feeding probiotics, garlic prevents the risk of them being destroyed by bad, disease-causing bacteria.

Read also: Field salad 4 letters crossword puzzle

How to prepare garlic for the winter

Peeling garlic takes a lot of time. How to solve this problem? Some cooks recommend peeling the garlic cloves in advance and storing them in tightly sealed containers. This idea solves the problem with some "buts".

It should be admitted that this is not the best solution, since when stored for a long time without husks, the garlic cloves oxidize and become yellowish. The taste also becomes less bright. Therefore, if you have the luxury of free time, it is better to peel and chop the garlic immediately before cooking.

The best solution is frozen chopped garlic. What needs to be done for this? Peel the garlic, grind it in a food processor, meat grinder, or pass it through a garlic press, fill ice trays and freeze. Although these procedures will take up your precious time, the benefit is that the garlic will retain its full freshness.

How to Freeze Garlic in Ice Trays

Garlic – 5-6 heads
Form for ice
Knife and cutting board
Grinding device
Refrigerator freezer

1. Peel the garlic cloves, wash and chop.

If you decide to prepare a large amount of garlic, it makes sense for you to use a meat grinder with small holes to chop it. A regular garlic press, popularly called a “garlic press,” can handle a small number of cloves. A few cloves can be crushed with the flat side of a cleaver. You can use any alternative grinding methods.

2. Place crushed garlic in ice cube compartments.

Place the required amount of chopped garlic into the cells of an ice cube tray, preparing for freezing. Each cell holds about 2 teaspoons of garlic mass. This is a sufficient amount to prepare any dish.

3. Place in the freezer to freeze overnight.

Place the trays of minced garlic in the freezer overnight. Overnight, the garlic in the cells will harden into strong cubes.

4. Remove the garlic cubes from the ice cube tray.

Lift each garlic cube with a knife and remove it from the tray. Now you need to transfer the frozen garlic to a container for permanent storage. This can be a regular plastic bag or container in which you can place the garlic cubes in a more orderly manner, placing the layers with paper so that they do not stick together. And when you need garlic for cooking, just use a frozen cube.

On a note!

Freezing garlic in a tray overnight is optimal in terms of time. After freezing, the cubes are quite dense and can be taken out of the cells without falling apart. But if you don't have time, leave the tray in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

After you remove the garlic cubes from the cells, be sure to thoroughly wash and dry the tray before adding water to make ice cubes. After all, let’s face it, garlic-flavored soft drinks are not an attractive idea.

There is an even better way to preserve garlic - cover the crushed mass in the cells with vegetable oil before freezing. It will prevent unnecessary oxidation and weathering when the garlic cubes are exposed to air. True, you will have to wash the greasy tray more thoroughly later.

Freezing garlic in olive oil

We hope that, having learned all the intricacies of the method of preparing garlic by freezing in chopped form, you will appreciate and take advantage of its benefits for preparing various savory delicacies.

Tips for freezing garlic

Choose the highest quality organic garlic you can find in the store. The fresher and better quality the garlic, the better it will retain its flavor after freezing. Garlic should be hard - this means it is fresh. Make sure there are no stains, green growth or mold.

After peeling and removing sprouts and stems, dry the garlic thoroughly. The absence of excess moisture helps preserve the fresh, strong flavor of garlic after freezing.

Use freezer safe, airtight containers as directed above. This not only helps maintain fresh taste and reduces the risk of packaging being damaged.

Table number 5: diet menu food list