Peeling and Chopping Garlic

[Smart Cook]

I use garlic a lot when cooking so I usually buy packs of them. I really hate peeling the cloves just before cooking so I usually store them chopped in a tightly covered container in my refrigerator. After peeling all the garlic cloves, I put them in my food processor until I get small minced pieces. I transfer the minced garlic in an airtight container and fill with corn or olive oil to prevent discoloration and preserve the garlic (any winterized oil will do). I store this container inside my refrigerator. Each time I need garlic, I just take out the container and scoop out the minced garlic. An added treat is I have garlic-flavored salad oil which I can drizzle on a piece of sliced baguette for garlic toast or bruschetta. Yum!

[Liketobake]

Hey Smart Cook Welcome to the forum:D

Do you feel it is better to cook with garlic that has been through the food processor then it is to finely chop the garlic by hand? Is it just a time saver? Are the juices lost?

:D :p

[Smart Cook]

It's a great time saver for me because we use garlic a lot. Filipino cuisine has a lot of sauteeing with garlic, onions and tomatoes and we like the flavor of garlic in our dishes. As for losing the juices, I don't really now. The minced garlic still has the pungency and flavor when we use it even if it has been stored for weeks in the refrigerator. The salad oil preserves the garlic's characteristics, I guess. Why don't you try doing it in small quantities first and let me know if it works for you also.:)

[NOCHEF&JUSTLOVESFOOD.YUM]

Smart cook,

First of all,welcome ! Secondly, I agree with you. I use so much garlic that peeling and smashing each time is a bummer. The trick is, as you and I do, to use it fast enough so it doesn't get rancid.

I also freeze garlic and whether frozen garlic has any appreciable health benefits or not is a function of whether it is frozen whole or chopped or crushed first. Garlic that is frozen whole has few, if any, health benefits as the alliinase is neutralized by the cold and while flavorful, the polysulfides do not form. On the other hand, if you crush or finely chop garlic and wait 15 minutes before putting into freezer bags or ice trays, it will have formed the allicin already and the sulfides will form upon thawing and result in the health benefits that studies have shown for garlic.

I freeze garlic in small cocktail-size ice cube trays and pop out a few of the 1/2 square cubes whenever I want garlic to cook with.

[Liketobake]

Do you grow your own garlic or purchase it some where?

:D

[Smart Cook]

Thanks NoChef for the new tip. I will also try freezing my garlic.

Hi Liketobake. I still owe you a Filipino recipe. I don't grow garlic. There's a region here in the Philippines called Ilocos (up North) that produces garlic, but mostly we import garlic from Taiwan. The ones grown in Ilocos produce small heads, and therefore small cloves, but they are more pungent and flavorful than those from Taiwan which have big cloves. It's difficult to peel the local variety so I guess that's why more prefer to use the Taiwan variety. I buy garlic from the supermarket.

[Jenyfari]

Great tip. Thanks for posting.

[George©]

Smart cook,

First of all,welcome ! Secondly, I agree with you. I use so much garlic that peeling and smashing each time is a bummer. The trick is, as you and I do, to use it fast enough so it doesn't get rancid.

I also freeze garlic and whether frozen garlic has any appreciable health benefits or not is a function of whether it is frozen whole or chopped or crushed first. Garlic that is frozen whole has few, if any, health benefits as the alliinase is neutralized by the cold and while flavorful, the polysulfides do not form. On the other hand, if you crush or finely chop garlic and wait 15 minutes before putting into freezer bags or ice trays, it will have formed the allicin already and the sulfides will form upon thawing and result in the health benefits that studies have shown for garlic.

I freeze garlic in small cocktail-size ice cube trays and pop out a few of the 1/2 square cubes whenever I want garlic to cook with.

Wow....that was a great response. That is one of the best garlic freezing tips I have ever heard, and quite honestly I was unaware of most of what you said. I use tons of garlic, but mostly because I just love the taste. I really don't mind peeling and chopping my garlic though. Just smash the cloves with your knife and it peals like a dream, and makes it easier to chop. But after reading this, I may think about taking some of your advice as well.

[Barksdale]

I use garlic a lot when cooking so I usually buy packs of them. I really hate peeling the cloves just before cooking so I usually store them chopped in a tightly covered container in my refrigerator. After peeling all the garlic cloves, I put them in my food processor until I get small minced pieces. I transfer the minced garlic in an airtight container and fill with corn or olive oil to prevent discoloration and preserve the garlic (any winterized oil will do). I store this container inside my refrigerator. Each time I need garlic, I just take out the container and scoop out the minced garlic. An added treat is I have garlic-flavored salad oil which I can drizzle on a piece of sliced baguette for garlic toast or bruschetta. Yum!


What you are doing is very, very unsafe. Storing garlic in oil can result in BOTULISM CONTAMINATION.

Oil does not preserve garlic, it provides the perfect atomosphere for botulism to grow.

Botulism can kill you or leave you living but without organ function. It's nothing to mess with.

You must never store garlic in oil for more than 7-10 days and keep it refrigerated. Unless you properly acidifiy it.

[Barksdale]

bump

[George©]

What you are doing is very, very unsafe. Storing garlic in oil can result in BOTULISM CONTAMINATION.

Oil does not preserve garlic, it provides the perfect atomosphere for botulism to grow.

Botulism can kill you or leave you living but without organ function. It's nothing to mess with.

You must never store garlic in oil for more than 7-10 days and keep it refrigerated. Unless you properly acidifiy it.

Hmmm....that's interesting...I never would have guessed that because oil is used to store and marinate so many different things....

[Barksdale]

Botulism thrives in anerobic (no oxygen) environment. Oil is the perfect medium for it.

ANYTHING grown in soil can be contaminated by botulism, so storing any fresh herb or vegetable in oil that has not been properly acidified is very dangerous and should NOT be done.

Commercial infused oils must by law be acidified and they also generally process them by boiling the oil or otherwise using sufficient heat to kill the bacteria and their toxins.

[George©]

Botulism thrives in anerobic (no oxygen) environment. Oil is the perfect medium for it.

ANYTHING grown in soil can be contaminated by botulism, so storing any fresh herb or vegetable in oil that has not been properly acidified is very dangerous and should NOT be done.

Commercial infused oils must by law be acidified and they also generally process them by boiling the oil or otherwise using sufficient heat to kill the bacteria and their toxins.

Thanks for all that information....that is truly really good stuff to know. Thanks again.

[loves_2_bake]

Hi! I picked up this really easy idea from Rachel Ray's tv cooking show and it works well for me since I use lots of garlic in my cooking!

First peel a garlic clove. Hold the garlic clove at the stem end and lightly grate on a thin grater. You end up with tiny pieces of garlic perfect for any kind of cooking, and it's much easier than chopping that tiny clove!

This works very well for me because I don't have a garlic press and I just plain HATE chopping... it never gets minced enough for my taste!

I know this is a simple idea... but I hope everyone enjoys!

Thanks!!~ :D

[George©]

Hi! I picked up this really easy idea from Rachel Ray's tv cooking show and it works well for me since I use lots of garlic in my cooking!

First peel a garlic clove. Hold the garlic clove at the stem end and lightly grate on a thin grater. You end up with tiny pieces of garlic perfect for any kind of cooking, and it's much easier than chopping that tiny clove!

This works very well for me because I don't have a garlic press and I just plain HATE chopping... it never gets minced enough for my taste!

I know this is a simple idea... but I hope everyone enjoys!

Thanks!!~ :D

Hmm....good idea....you would have to end up chopping the nubs left over...unless you just wasted them!