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Great Garlic Tip


Tropicalsenior

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I don't know how many of you followed my garlic experience or made my candied garlic, but in that time, I peeled a lot of garlic.

A while back I read a tip about peeling garlic and thought that someday I would have to try it. Well, today I did and I am amazed. The picture below is garlic that was peeled in 2 minutes.

20220218_094346.thumb.jpg.eb281108d213a4930e7ccb5f98f04d73.jpg

I put a head of garlic in the microwave for 25 seconds and all the cloves just slipped right out of the peel. I have a very low powered microwave (850) so you might want to adjust accordingly.

It's amazing! The garlic is still raw and the peel is gone.

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3 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I don't know how many of you followed my garlic experience or made my candied garlic, but in that time, I peeled a lot of garlic.

A while back I read a tip about peeling garlic and thought that someday I would have to try it. Well, today I did and I am amazed. The picture below is garlic that was peeled in 2 minutes.

20220218_094346.thumb.jpg.eb281108d213a4930e7ccb5f98f04d73.jpg

I put a head of garlic in the microwave for 25 seconds and all the cloves just slipped right out of the peel. I have a very low powered microwave (850) so you might want to adjust accordingly.

It's amazing! The garlic is still raw and the peel is gone.

Thank you. I will have to try this! Maybe I'll do the chicken with 40 cloves of garlic soon.

 

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Another thing to do would be to put the cloves in a bowl, then cover with another of the same size bowl and shake.  It basically peels itself during the shaking.  I don't bother when doing a couple cloves, but if I have a head or two to do.

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Just now, KennethT said:

Another thing to do would be to put the cloves in a bowl, then cover with another of the same size bowl and shake.  It basically peels itself during the shaking.  I don't bother when doing a couple cloves, but if I have a head or two to do.

I tried that when I was doing my garlic experiment and it didn't work for me. I think it just depends on the age of the garlic. Almost all the garlic that we get now comes from China and it just isn't all that fresh.

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49 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I tried that when I was doing my garlic experiment and it didn't work for me. I think it just depends on the age of the garlic. Almost all the garlic that we get now comes from China and it just isn't all that fresh.

Mine was dug-it-from-the-ground fresh, and it didn't work for me either. I suspect it works best with thin-skinned "soft-neck" varieties, while the stuff I grew was a thick-skinned "hard-neck" variety.

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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Many variables.    I usually want just one or two cloves at at time so mass stripping wouldn't work for me.    My main approach is to buy big and fresh heads that are easily separated into cloves, then, depending on the virility of the arthritis in my wrist, whack like @weinoo suggests.   When that isn't feasible, I cut off a fraction of the clove at the root end and they the paper usually comes away easily.   But, again, I am a biting sow on the quality of garlic I buy.   Never from China, and try for the best and freshest local (Gilroy) stuff.    It's not cheap but neither is my clocked kitchen time. 

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13 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I don't know how many of you followed my garlic experience or made my candied garlic, but in that time, I peeled a lot of garlic.

A while back I read a tip about peeling garlic and thought that someday I would have to try it. Well, today I did and I am amazed. The picture below is garlic that was peeled in 2 minutes.

20220218_094346.thumb.jpg.eb281108d213a4930e7ccb5f98f04d73.jpg

I put a head of garlic in the microwave for 25 seconds and all the cloves just slipped right out of the peel. I have a very low powered microwave (850) so you might want to adjust accordingly.

It's amazing! The garlic is still raw and the peel is gone.


this is a great idea - I’ve never had any joy with the two bowls business 

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10 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Never from China, and try for the best and freshest local (Gilroy) stuff. 

 

Gilroy is a lot closer than China for me too.  But I'll also buy locally grown stuff, when available at farmer's market.

 

We had friends who lived in Morgan Hill, and when it when it was harvest time, and we visited them, the air was perfumed!

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

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13 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

best and freshest local (Gilroy) stuff.  

I used to live in Sacramento and how well I remember that wonderful Gilroy Garlic. Just to drive through the Gilroy area is an experience. You can smell it for miles.

As most of you know, my housemate is allergic to onions and garlic so the only thing that I have been making with garlic is my candied garlic. One head of garlic would last me for a year otherwise. I have found that peeling it and putting it in a jar in the freezer is a great way to store it and yet always have to have it on hand. In a tropical kitchen, garlic starts to sprout or dry out in just a week or so.

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I exclusively use single headed garlic.

That garlic looks beautiful. You've just given me another good reason to sit here and seethe with envy. 

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Kinda related to this tip ... sometimes I blanche or briefly steam garlic cloves. I do it for some concoctions where the raw garlic gets pulverized by a machine, and I want to cut the pungency a bit. The brief heat partially deactivates the enzymes that make all the harsh sulphur compounds. As a bonus, the shells slip off pretty easily after you do this.

 

I've been doing this for the chana masala I like to make (has a lot of pulverized garlic). I don't find it necessary when making a vinaigrette with a stick blender.

 

It's also handy if you ever want to put a garlic clove into a sous-vide bag. Completely raw garlic risks turning the whole meal into a tire fire, but a little preheat can tame it nicely. 

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Notes from the underbelly

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After years of using a garlic press or mincing by hand, I have begun to thinly (think: shave) peeled cloves when garlic is going to be cooked.   The flavor is mild and sweet, and it's a lot easier than the former.     I also have been able to source superb garlic at a Kroger's affiliate.    I don't know if it's local or corporately sourced but it is very reasonable, fresh, delicious.

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48 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I have begun to thinly (think: shave) peeled cloves when garlic is going to be cooked.

 

You and Paulie...

 

 

In the same general idea, I have begun using one of my microplanes.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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I smash. Lightly for slices, aggressive smash for a mince. A few garlic bulbs are in a small bowl right next to my prep zone at all times. I tried the double bowl once. By the time I found two bowls the same size in my 2 dozen stack in the lower cabinet---I could have smashed and be done with it. It did not work that well with my garlic. 50/50. Then I have two bowls that need wiping out of debris. 

When I have 20-30 heads I low and slow roast. Pop out and freeze. 

I will try the microwave. I have a baby pint size in the pantry I use maybe once a month. If that. 

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If I don't need to tame the enzymes, I just give a light whack with a  knife or bench scraper. Just enough to crack the shell so it slips off.

 

Not a fan of smashing. I find the traditional technique of smash and rock-chop-to-death isn't any faster than just mincing, and doesn't give much control or consistency. So I'll often treat garlic just like a little onion. With a sharp knife you could also get slices as thin as Paulie's but in a fraction the time. I've just haven't yet needed transparent garlic slices.

 

 

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Notes from the underbelly

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5 minutes ago, gfweb said:

However you cut it do not frigging burn the garlic.

 

Not even a little.

 

Damnit

There's nothing that turns me off quicker on a restaurant than burnt garlic or over cooked shrimp.

Edited by Tropicalsenior (log)
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Buying Tip - Pick the bulb up and give it a light squeeze to be sure none of the outside cloves are too soft or dry. It should feel firm and not hollow or dehydrated. Also keep an eye out for sprouting, which is another indicator that the garlic is old. 

Edited by Timothy_Boyce (log)
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