Garlic storage. We have a surplus of garlic and ,at this time of year, in the house it starts to sprout and turn bitter. Will it lose nutrients if we (a) freeze it? or (b) can it as a pickle?? or any other ideas. (we have already planted this years crop so don't need seed.)

-- Tomas (bakerzee@hotmail.com), March 22, 2002

Answers

This is a problem similar to having too much money! If you have a Ball Bluebook, look up the recipe for Dillybeans. Use that recipe to pickle the garlic, eliminating the beans. We pack in 1/2 pint jars, since it seems about right. But then, any group that we join for a supperfest eats them so fast that it will probably be more logical to can in pints. Conversely, if you are inundated, I can send you my snail mail address and shipping costs! GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), March 22, 2002.

Might consider trying to drying it as whole cloves.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 22, 2002.

PLANT it,, so it can grow you some more,, so you can have too much again,,, wish I had that problem

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), March 22, 2002.

Grind it up in the blender, mix with a lot of water and a couple table spoons of cooking oil and save it in gallon jugs to spray on your plants to keep bugs and critters away.

-- Stacey (stacey@lakesideinternet.com), March 22, 2002.

I had the same problem last year. I peeled all of them, chopped them up and put them in the dehydrator. Don't know why you couldn't use an oven and cookie sheets on low temperature. Still got some left and it's great in just about anything containing water to reconstitute it. Store in a canning jar.

-- Tis I (really_tis_i@yahoo.com), March 22, 2002.

Peel it and pack it into jars and fill with olive oil. Put it in the fridge or the freezer. The garlic can be used as fresh and the garlic oil is a gourmet treat.

If you do this with fresh garlic, the sulpher off gassing will cause the oil to foam like a draft beer when you open it. This oil is a natural sulpha antibiotic and can be used to treat infections.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@somewhere.com), March 22, 2002.

I mince mine and then pack it in water or oil for cooking. 1 tsp =1 clove. It really nice if you can do the processing while sleep over company is in the house . :>)

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 22, 2002.

Laura is right. The best way to store garlic is too cover the peeled cloves with olive oil. Gourmet chefs and Restaraunts pay big prices for oil cured garlic. It has a better flavor. As the garlic is curing, its flavor becomes mellowed. I would also suggest mincing some , as you dont have to try to mince the slippery cloves, and leave some whole for crushing.

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 22, 2002.

Ditto Laura and Kristean's idea. I peeled some garlic that I had leftover a few weeks ago and packed it in small jars covered with olive oil. I put most of them in the refrigerator and just kept one out to use right away. (They keep longer if refrigerated but the oil solidifies. Remove from fridge and let sit at room temp for a day and the oil will re-liquify). I have been pulling out a clove here and there to use but did not try the oil until last night when I was cooking some pasta. Wow- what a treat. I can see why it is so expensive to buy the oil in stores. Absolutely delicious and I recommend this method.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), March 22, 2002.

Flavored olive oils and dressings make great gifts but watch out; there are safe and unsafe ways to make flavored olive oil. The unsafe way is to put anything in the oil that contains water. That would include garlic, lemon peel, fresh peppers, fresh herbs and spices. The oil will not support bacterial growth but the water containing herbs will. Botulism bacteria can grow in this type of environment. http://www.oliveoilsource.com/flavoring_olive_oils.htm

-- Peace and Carrots Farm (wsm311@aol.com), March 22, 2002.

I have seen that warning too, and I have also used minced garlic that I preserved that way (just put in the mason jar and poured an inch of olive oil over it) in the fridge for over a year and never had any problem--wonder if in those cases the jars/lids weren't clean or something. Hmmmmm.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 22, 2002.

I just saw a recipe in Martha Stuart Living today for Pickled Garlic. If you are interested email me and I will send it to you.

-- Sheila in NC (nannie@intrstar.net), March 22, 2002.

I thought garlic was antibacterial?

-- Nina (Ingardenwithcat@hotmail.com), March 24, 2002.