Peeled Garlic

[lindag]

I used to by the bags of fresh garlic from Costco but now I find I just can't use them up before they sprout.

I have found small bags of fresh, peeled garlic at my local Safeway store.  Each small bag contains several smaller bags inside.

The bag of fresh, peeled I got from Costco seems to contain mostly nice sized cloves; I didn't see any of the itty bitty ones.

[huiray]

Here are two heads of CHINESE GARLIC I peeled just the other day using the "lightly-crush" way.  I think the whole process took maybe 3-4 minutes or thereabouts; not counting the time it took to stop, "stage" the shots (including getting the ruler and placing it on the cutting board) and take the pictures, which might have taken just as long as I took several shots at each stage.  Every clove from both heads were used/peeled.

 

Edited February 4, 2015 by huiray (log)

[patrickamory]

Hooray for huiray… sorry guys but I just don't get buying peeled garlic. You _know_ it has to be less fresh by definition. And the pleasure of smashing them to peel them, and the resulting burst of fragrance and freshness, is entirely lost.

[kayb]

I buy the three-pound bag of peeled garlic cloves at Sam's; there are no Costcos in Arkansas. I poach mine in olive oil until they're tender, then ladle them into a plastic tub with a tight lid, covering them with the olive oil. Use them for anything i'd use any kind of garlic for. I don't care for the taste of uncooked garlic, as in a dressing or such -- it has a metallic taste I just don't like. But this stuff? Astounding.

[Anna N]

Hooray for huiray… sorry guys but I just don't get buying peeled garlic. You _know_ it has to be less fresh by definition. And the pleasure of smashing them to peel them, and the resulting burst of fragrance and freshness, is entirely lost.

Patrick,

I cannot agree with your contention that fresh garlic is by definition fresher than peeled garlic. That logic will only hold if the fresh garlic is indeed truly fresh otherwise freshly peeled garlic which is immediately vacuum packed wins the freshness sweepstakes. The analogy I can think of is garden peas. Truly fresh and just picked cannot be beaten but frozen peas win out when garden peas have been sitting around for even a few hours. I suspect that those lucky people who can always find truly fresh garlic have no idea how disappointing garlic can be when it has turned to something resembling a pencil eraser.

[Martin Fisher]

Much of this discussion amounts to arguing personal preference which is nothing but silly.

There are a great number of garlic cultivars.

Those cultivars vary in flavor and other qualities (sometimes greatly.)

Folks utilize them in their preferred ways and that is that.

[patrickamory]

I'll also point out there are many recipes calling for garlic peel… Thai recipes for example, but others. There is flavor in the peel. Probably also good for stocks.

[andiesenji]

Patrick,

I cannot agree with your contention that fresh garlic is by definition fresher than peeled garlic. That logic will only hold if the fresh garlic is indeed truly fresh otherwise freshly peeled garlic which is immediately vacuum packed wins the freshness sweepstakes. The analogy I can think of is garden peas. Truly fresh and just picked cannot be beaten but frozen peas win out when garden peas have been sitting around for even a few hours. I suspect that those lucky people who can always find truly fresh garlic have no idea how disappointing garlic can be when it has turned to something resembling a pencil eraser.

I used to grow my own when I had sufficient help and a larger garden area.  Three or four different varieties, plus "elephant" garlic.  Now I just grow a few shallots because they will grow easily in containers  that are easy for me to reach. 

Truly fresh garlic is great but much of the stuff in supermarkets is months old, at best.  While much is grown in the area around Gilroy, there are some growers in the Coachella valley that are able to produce two crops a year but most of their produce goes to restaurants and hotels and the entire crop is purchased long before the harvest and the buyer is responsible for the storage. 

And that is the reason why so many professional kitchens are able to obtain a superior product. 

[lindag]

I bought the pre-peeled garlic at Costco about a year or more ago.  I'm finding that freezing it causes the cloves to stick together and they're hard to pull apart.  Also, they don't seem to have the same intense flavor that fresh has.  I've gone back to using fresh.

[Shel_B]

On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2015 at 2:21 PM, kayb said:

I buy the three-pound bag of peeled garlic cloves at Sam's; there are no Costcos in Arkansas. I poach mine in olive oil until they're tender, then ladle them into a plastic tub with a tight lid, covering them with the olive oil. Use them for anything i'd use any kind of garlic for. I don't care for the taste of uncooked garlic, as in a dressing or such -- it has a metallic taste I just don't like. But this stuff? Astounding.

 

Do you refrigerate or freeze the garlic?  In any case, how long does the garlic keep?  Sounds like it may be a solution to my problem.  Thanks!

[nonkeyman]

On 2/4/2015 at 8:19 PM, patrickamory said:

Hooray for huiray… sorry guys but I just don't get buying peeled garlic. You _know_ it has to be less fresh by definition. And the pleasure of smashing them to peel them, and the resulting burst of fragrance and freshness, is entirely lost.

I agree! It always smells funky! And the flavor is always slightly adulterated...as a cook I was spoiled. The dishwashers would typically peel all our garlic and shallots...made my life super easy.

[kayb]

21 hours ago, Shel_B said:

 

Do you refrigerate or freeze the garlic?  In any case, how long does the garlic keep?  Sounds like it may be a solution to my problem.  Thanks!

 

I just poach the garlic in olive oil, then store it in plastic tubs in the fridge (a big bag will make two quart plastic containers full). They'll last me about six months...not sure how much longer than that they would keep.

 

[Shalmanese]

All the local bodegas around here sell small pouches of pre-peeled garlic for a dollar or so. I consider myself to have a pretty sensitive palate and I cannot tell any difference between the pre-peeled stuff and the heads also sold there. Pre-peeled garlic is one of the very few convenience products I enthusiastically endorse as worth the extra premium. It's great to just be able to pick as many cloves as you want and use them right then and there. If they're getting a bit old, individual cloves do get moldy but I just throw those out and the remaining are fine. It's so cheap that I always have a bag in my fridge, regardless of how much garlic cooking I'm doing.