15 replies to this topic

[Shel_B]

Got a few questions about using garlic.  In no particular order,

 

Can roasted garlic be frozen?

 

Is roasted garlic available in jars or frozen?

 

How long can home made roasted garlic be stored (refer, freezer, on the counter)?

 

I've seen, and once or twice tried, jarred, peeled garlic.  It didn't seem to taste as fresh, intense, or as flavorful as good bulbs from a head that is peeled at home.  Was that my imagination, or does prepared, peeled garlic loose something along the way and with passage of time?  Is it processed with chemicals and additives?

 

Thanks

 

... Shel

[gfweb]

Cooks Illustrated answered the last question.  They found that jarred minced garlic didn't taste the same as fresh minced when raw, but cooked they were equivalent.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The Deadly Dinner Party

[Smithy]

With all due respect to Cook's Illustrated, I disagree with their findings regarding jarred minced garlic when cooked. I decided years ago that it never measured up to the fresh stuff, even after cooking. Perhaps the stuff has improved since then, or I was using a substandard product.

I don't know about canned or frozen brands, but Amore makes a concentrated roasted garlic paste that comes in metal tubes that roll up like toothpaste tubes. (Refrigerate after puncturing the seal!) I like their products: sun-dried tomato paste; basil pesto; anchovy paste and roasted garlic paste are all in my convenience-food stock.

[Shel_B]

With all due respect to Cook's Illustrated, I disagree with their findings regarding jarred minced garlic when cooked. I decided years ago that it never measured up to the fresh stuff, even after cooking. Perhaps the stuff has improved since then, or I was using a substandard product.

 

 

Well, FWIW, I'm not intereswted in minced garlic, just the whole cloves.  I've always been disappointed with jarred, minced garlic.

 

... Shel

[Smithy]

With all due respect to Cook's Illustrated, I disagree with their findings regarding jarred minced garlic when cooked. I decided years ago that it never measured up to the fresh stuff, even after cooking. Perhaps the stuff has improved since then, or I was using a substandard product.
 

 
Well, FWIW, I'm not intereswted in minced garlic, just the whole cloves.  I've always been disappointed with jarred, minced garlic.
 
... Shel

Ah! I misread "jarred, peeled" as "jarred, minced". Never mind...

[OliverB]

I tried pre-peeled garlic a couple times, not impressed. The kind I had was in a box, sealed in a couple vac sealed bags. I had to use a lot more garlic than using fresh. I won't go back, not even if I need a lot of garlic. Smack with knife, remove peel, chop.

As for roasted, I've seen it in glass jars, and the larger Safeways here also have it at their olive bar where you can buy as much or little as you need. Not the same as fresh roasted, I think a lot of the aroma is volatile and gets lost, but good in a pinch.

 

As for storage, in the fridge I'd give it a week or so, then throw it out. If you have a food saver or something like that, seal in small portions and freeze, that should easy keep for half a year if not longer I'd guess. Never tried it though, roasted garlic has a very short survival rate in my house :-)

Oh, once I bought a jar of minced garlic and that was just plain terrible. Bitter overtones, no real garlic flavor, I threw it out.

[judiu]

Jarred, peeled garlic? Why bother! I was making ribs and kraut, which calls for a LOT of pressed garlic (I was cooking for a crowd), used about10 cloves and it barely even tasted of anything. (GRUMP) (/GRUMP)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

With all due respect to Cook's Illustrated, I disagree with their findings regarding jarred minced garlic when cooked. I decided years ago that it never measured up to the fresh stuff, even after cooking. Perhaps the stuff has improved since then, or I was using a substandard product.

I don't know about canned or frozen brands, but Amore makes a concentrated roasted garlic paste that comes in metal tubes that roll up like toothpaste tubes. (Refrigerate after puncturing the seal!) I like their products: sun-dried tomato paste; basil pesto; anchovy paste and roasted garlic paste are all in my convenience-food stock.

 

I've tried garlic paste in a tube (I do not recall what brand) and found it unsatisfactory.  I use a garlic press, mortar, food processor, or knife as appropriate.  I also use a lot of organic garlic powder.

[TheTInCook]

I like using the peeled garlic I get in Styrofoam trays at the Asian market. I assume they break it down from a big jar of the stuff. There doesn't appear to me to be a trade off for the convenience, except I think that garlic in the skin roasts better.

 

As for the jarred minced stuff, I've had to use it in a pinch at work due to necessity. It wasn't as bad as I'd have thought it would be, and it certainly beats no garlic at all. Pickled garlic is kinda popular now, and it's essentially the same thing.

[Nancy in CO]

Has anyone tried the "2-bowls-shake-like-mad " method? I've heard about this more than once and have never thought to try it. Of course, if you're just using a couple of garlic cloves it's not worth it, but if you're making Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic you might want to consider it. From what I understand, you put 2 stainless bowls of equal diameter together with your garlic inside, and you shake hard for about a minute so that the cloves bang against the bowls. When you separate the bowls the garlic is supposed to be peeled, with the dry skin easily removed.
 

If this is true, it's a good way to peel many cloves for use in recipes that use a lot of garlic and saves all the stickiness of peeling it. Now all you have to do is some knife work and you're done.

 

Hopefully someone in this group has tried it and can tell us if it worked. Garlic soup, anyone?

 

N.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

For removing the skin of garlic cloves when I am preparing a lot I use a soft plastic tube.  Put the garlic in the tube and rub the tube back and forth with my palm on a smooth surface.

[Smithy]

Has anyone tried the "2-bowls-shake-like-mad " method? I've heard about this more than once and have never thought to try it. Of course, if you're just using a couple of garlic cloves it's not worth it, but if you're making Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic you might want to consider it. From what I understand, you put 2 stainless bowls of equal diameter together with your garlic inside, and you shake hard for about a minute so that the cloves bang against the bowls. When you separate the bowls the garlic is supposed to be peeled, with the dry skin easily removed.
 
If this is true, it's a good way to peel many cloves for use in recipes that use a lot of garlic and saves all the stickiness of peeling it. Now all you have to do is some knife work and you're done.
 
Hopefully someone in this group has tried it and can tell us if it worked. Garlic soup, anyone?
 
N.

I've tried it, and it worked pretty well. I don't recall getting 100% success out of the deal, but I think it got at least 80% of the peels off in a short time.

[Smithy]

For removing the skin of garlic cloves when I am preparing a lot I use a soft plastic tube.  Put the garlic in the tube and rub the tube back and forth with my palm on a smooth surface.

Is this one of those tubes specially marketed for the purpose? Or have you found some common household item that makes a good tube? I've been intrigued by the "garlic peeler" tubes but - despite my love of gadgets - reluctant to let this particular specialty item take up space in my kitchen unless it got a resounding review.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

For removing the skin of garlic cloves when I am preparing a lot I use a soft plastic tube.  Put the garlic in the tube and rub the tube back and forth with my palm on a smooth surface.

Is this one of those tubes specially marketed for the purpose? Or have you found some common household item that makes a good tube? I've been intrigued by the "garlic peeler" tubes but - despite my love of gadgets - reluctant to let this particular specialty item take up space in my kitchen unless it got a resounding review.

 

 

I think it was sold for that purpose, but I got it a long time ago and I really don't remember.  It works though.  My hunch is that the garlic tubes originally were for some other purpose and someone had the idea to market them for garlic.

[Mjx]

Got a few questions about using garlic.  In no particular order,

 

Can roasted garlic be frozen?

 

Is roasted garlic available in jars or frozen?

 

How long can home made roasted garlic be stored (refer, freezer, on the counter)?

 

I've seen, and once or twice tried, jarred, peeled garlic.  It didn't seem to taste as fresh, intense, or as flavorful as good bulbs from a head that is peeled at home.  Was that my imagination, or does prepared, peeled garlic loose something along the way and with passage of time?  Is it processed with chemicals and additives?

 

Thanks

 

... Shel

 

 

When I've had more garlic than I was likely to use before it started going off or sprouting, I've frozen it in various forms and states (whole, sliced, minced, put through a press; raw, browned in various  ways). For cooking purposes, it works out fine, and takes up very little space in the freezer. I put it in a small bags, and press it as flat as possible, so taking a out just little out is nice and simple. Freezing ruins up the texture, so I wouldn't use it for fresh applications (apart from the pressed garlic, possibly).

 

I've never looked for frozen garlic, but it probably exists. The jarred stuff has a texture I find unappealing (which would no doubt vanish in cooking, however), and takes up more room and costs a more than freezing your own; the occasional botulism issues associated with it pretty much put me off it all together.