Have you checked on your garlic supply lately? If you are looking to use up extra fresh garlic or prolong its shelf life, try making homemade garlic powder.
Assess Your Garlic Supply
If you grow softneck garlic, you may still be in good shape. Soft neck garlic tends to have a longer shelf life. And I am also envious at the moment because you likely live someplace warm. It’s freezing here, the wind is howling and my crocuses are buried under several inches of snow.
If you grow hardneck garlic, this is the time of year when things start going south. Give your garlic stash a good once over. Discard any that are beginning to rot or mold. Plan to use any garlic bulbs that look shriveled or soft as soon as possible.
A good way to prolong your garlic’s shelf life is to make garlic powder!
This year, we had a lot more garlic on hand than we will be able to use up in the next few weeks. And we’ve already offloaded a ton of it on friends and family at Christmas time. It’s time to do something with the leftovers before it goes bad.
I have been wanting to try making homemade garlic powder since we use a lot of it throughout the year. It was very simple to do and turned out great – much more flavorful than store bought!
How to Make Homemade Garlic Powder
Step 1: Grab a friend or put on some good tunes.
Prepping the cloves can take some time. Might as well get in the zone and settle in for the long haul as there is no rushing this part.
It took me an hour to peel ~20 bulbs. Although, I was listening to James Taylor and likely working at more of a relaxed Saturday pace.
Also, batch the remaining steps as described below and this process will go a lot faster.
Step 2: Peel the garlic cloves.
I set up a three bowl system for this as follows (I’m right handed, reverse the order for left handed). Place a bowl on the left for unpeeled garlic, one in the middle bowl for waste, and one on the right for peeled cloves. Any cloves that were a struggle to peel get hucked to the side to deal with at the end.
This is the part where you are either A) thankful you selected an easy to peel variety, or B) cursing and making a mental note to order a different variety next year…with larger cloves and papers that fall right off (German white and Zemo is great for this).
Step 3: Using a paring knife, cut off the root end and any damaged spots from each clove.
Step 4: Slice the garlic cloves into thin sheets.
This is where my salad shooter, fitted with a slicer attachment saved the day. I dumped those bad boys into the hopper and had the whole batch sliced in under 90 seconds. If you are using a knife or other type of slicing instrument, slice them as thin as possible (they will dry quicker).
My Presto salad shooter may be from the 90s, but I still swear by it. It saves us a ton of time slicing and shredding vegetables for processing in the fall, and we use it for salad fixings throughout the year.
You can still buy them, and replacement parts, on Amazon here (affiliate link).
Step 5: Spread the slices out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
I also added a cooling rack under the parchment for better airflow and to speed things up a bit. The rack isn’t necessary if you don’t have one.
Step 6: Bake at 200 degrees for approximately 2 to 3 hours.
Keep baking until the garlic slices are completely dry and crumbly when crushed between your fingers.
If you aren’t using a rack under the parchment, I recommend flipping the garlic slices with a spatula occasionally to ensure uniform drying.
Step 7: Remove from oven and cool completely.
Step 8: Grind dried garlic slices into pieces or powder, depending on your preference.
I use a coffee grinder for this. A mortar and pestle, blender, food processor, or even the back of a spoon will also get the job done.If you are planning to use a coffee grinder, it is good to have a designated grinder only for spices. Garlic flavored coffee does not sound very appealing.
I recently purchased this grinder for spices (affiliate link). It has been great so far – sturdy, reasonably priced, and I love that the cup some off for easy pouring and washing.
Step 9: Store garlic powder in an airtight container.
Give it a good shake every day for the first week, leaving the lid cracked between shakes. This will help to release any residual moisture. Then seal the garlic powder up completely.Your garlic powder should stay flavorful and fresh for about a year. You can also freeze it for longer term storage.
We love garlic powder on pizza, roasted vegetables, meat, salads and more!
How are you planning to use your homemade garlic powder? Share with us in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!
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