A good harvest of garlic is always good. But it’s not enough just to harvest, you also need to save it. Let's look at one of the storage methods - cooking granulated garlic. This method is very convenient, especially in urban apartments, since it does not take up much space, but at the same time you will always have fragrant seasoning for a wide variety of dishes.
Harvest
It is necessary to remove garlic from the beds in dry weather. A few days before harvesting, you need to stop watering and let the soil dry well.
Having pulled the garlic from the ground, you need to shake the earth off it and put it on the bed for four hours, so that it dries out. Then it must be moved either under a canopy or in a ventilated room for final drying.
When the stems are dry, they must be trimmed, leaving at least ten centimeters. Transfer the garlic into mesh boxes and put in storage.
Garlic storage
If you plan to knit garlic in braids, then the stems must be left longer so that it is convenient to bind them. Such ligaments are kept suspended in a dry room.
If there is not enough storage space for the crop, you can cook granulated garlic, which does not take up space, and in its properties does not differ from ordinary.
How to prepare garlic for drying?
Before you dry the garlic, you must properly prepare it. Namely:
- disassemble the heads into separate cloves;
- remove the husk and film;
- trim the darkened and damaged flesh.
How to chop garlic?
Before you granulate garlic, you need to chop it. There are several ways to chop garlic:
- Grate the garlic on a coarse grater. This method is not very good, because with it, too much juice is allocated from garlic and taste and aroma are very quickly lost.
- Grind garlic with a food processor. This method is comparable in efficiency and the result with the above proposed, therefore, is also not recommended.
- Cut the garlic into thin plates. You can cut both along and across. The most optimal cutting method for subsequent drying.
- Cut the garlic into two halves, making a cut along the clove. This option is best for subsequent drying of garlic on the street.
How to dry garlic?
Before you make granular garlic, it must be dried. There are also several drying methods.
- In the oven. The container in which the garlic will be dried must be covered with baking paper and put the chopped garlic plates in it. Heat the oven to 50 degrees and place a pan with garlic in it. The door must be left slightly ajar to avoid overheating, as well as leaving fresh air in. After forty minutes, you must remove the pan and turn all the garlic plates to the other side. Re-put it in the oven only after complete cooling. Garlic should be dried in this way from three to six hours, turning it over every forty minutes. Time depends on the thickness of the sliced plates, the thinner they are, the faster they dry.
- In the dryer. Garlic sliced in one layer is placed in a dryer for vegetables and fruits. Set the temperature to 50-60 degrees. Drying time also depends on the thickness of the cut and takes from four to six hours. The dryer is not recommended to be installed in damp rooms, as this increases the drying time. Setting the temperature above 60 degrees leads to the fact that garlic loses not only its taste and aroma, but also all its beneficial properties.
- In a natural way. The most time-consuming drying method. Prepared plates must be laid out in a thin layer on a horizontal surface and put in a dry, well-ventilated room or outside in the shade. The plates must be periodically turned over and monitored throughout the day so that they are not exposed to direct sunlight. With this method, a dry product for the manufacture of granulated garlic can be obtained no earlier than two weeks later.
What is granulated garlic?
There are many ways to prepare aromatic spices. It is worth talking about what it is and for what purposes it is used.
Granulated garlic is a garlic powder obtained by grinding cloves into granules not exceeding the size of a millimeter.
Such garlic is no different from fresh and retains all the beneficial properties, as well as taste and aroma. In addition, it is much more convenient to store not whole heads, namely granulated garlic.
How do they do it?
So, if you have precisely followed all the recommendations, then you should get thin dry plates of garlic, which, with the slightest pressure, break and crumble on them. To get granulated garlic from this "surrogate", it is necessary to grind the plates in a mortar, coffee grinder or blender.
The less time you spend grinding, the larger the granules you get. Accordingly, the larger the granules, the more granular garlic is felt in the finished dish. A photo of the powder that you should get is presented below.
How to store?
Granulated garlic prepared in this way does not require a lot of space, and is stored much longer in terms of time. The prepared powder must be laid out in glass jars (it is better if the glass is dark) and tightly screw the lids. You need to store jars of granulated garlic in a dry and dark place - then it will not lose its taste during the year.
How to use?
Use garlic powder in the same way as any other seasoning - add 1-2 pinches to different dishes. It can be added to salads, meat, soups and main dishes. They are used both fresh and after heat treatment.
If you want granulated garlic to retain its aroma and useful properties for a long time, carefully close the jar of powder after use, and pick up the powder only with a clean and dry spoon.