So much garlic!

June 6, 2021 10:34 AM

What do I do with a never-ending stream of garlic?

My wife and I use Blue Apron for work-week lunches. It's a fantastic service for us (but this post isn't/shouldn't be about the merits and drawbacks of meal-kit services), but it does come with one thing I'm not sure how to handle.

So. Much. Garlic.

To be clear: we love garlic! And we use it in the recipes every week. But even if we lean heavy on the garlic and use 2 teaspoons when a recipe calls for one, or whatever, we always end up with at least one head of garlic left over every week. There's only two of us, so there's only so many opportunities to shove garlic in things every week.

As of right now I count like 9 heads of garlic just sitting on the counter, waiting to be used...somehow. We've given some to neighbors, but that seems like something we wouldn't want to depend on being able to do every single week.

My first instinct is to run it all through a garlic press to mince it and then freeze it, so we can use minced garlic in a bunch of other stuff, but it's my understanding that garlic doesn't really keep all that well. Does that include freezing?

I don't necessarily need recipes for garlic, or tips for how best to roast garlic or whatever - we've got that covered. What I need is a preservation strategy for the excess garlic we currently have, that we can periodically do as the garlic backlog builds up, to make sure none of it goes to waste.

posted by pdb to Food & Drink (28 answers total)

Roast them all and use all 9 heads to make a garlic spread. Or you could pickle them.

Do not mince and then freeze into garlic icecubes unless you're less particular about your garlic than I am. Do not dry them unless you're less particular about your garlic than I am.

Strategy for the future: use even more garlic than double what the recipe calls for. Recipes never call for enough garlic.
posted by aniola at 10:41 AM on June 6, 2021 [12 favorites]

Your neighbors, if they're anything like me, would be perfectly happy to take your garlic every week.
posted by aniola at 10:42 AM on June 6, 2021 [8 favorites]

My friend had too much garlic and made toum.

If you have the time and space (I suspect this should be done in a garage or porch) and a rice cooker or slow cooker you can make black garlic.
posted by ftm at 10:48 AM on June 6, 2021 [6 favorites]

I would try drying it out in small batches until you find a method that works and gives you results you like. You want it to end up in granules, so you might see if mincing and then drying or drying and then crushing works better.

I peel and freeze it and it works fine for me as long as I let it thaw for a few minutes and then mince it. You don't get the usual chunks as it breaks down more, but you still get the flavor. I always use more than asked for, but it still builds up.
posted by soelo at 10:55 AM on June 6, 2021

I peel and freeze garlic cloves all the time. I never had a problem. I just use a zip lock freezer bag.

Here's a link with some other storage ideas.
posted by rakaidan at 11:01 AM on June 6, 2021 [5 favorites]

Came in to suggest toum. And pesto. And chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
I know you didn't ask for recipes, but they are the obvious solution. In theory I like and eat pickled garlic, but in practice I don't really.
I really, really hate the taste of frozen garlic and garlic powder, so when we are overwhelmed by too much garlic, I will look at recipes with garlic.
One of those is very gently sautéed garlic in olive oil. It mustn't brown, just melt. Then spread on toast.
posted by mumimor at 11:02 AM on June 6, 2021 [5 favorites]

James Beard’s 40 Garlic Chicken is astonishing.
posted by FencingGal at 11:05 AM on June 6, 2021 [4 favorites]

Chimichurri (which I make with four times most recipe's specified amount of garlic) freezes well and is always useful. Stir fried choy sum or Chinese broccoli with huge amounts of singed, quartered garlic, oil, salt, and nothing else (which requires great restraint) can be fantastic.

Also, if you left them in my building lobby with a note, I'd happily take them home. (I'm not sure it's worth the effort to send them to a food bank. But, it might be worth looking into.)

Edit: re-read the question, and I realize I didn't actually answer it. Sorry! I've never needed to preserve garlic.
posted by eotvos at 11:41 AM on June 6, 2021

I make penne all'arrabiatta with an entire head of garlic. It's delicious.
posted by kdar at 11:53 AM on June 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

Roast! Peel all the cloves. Put them in a pile on foil, douse in olive oil, and roll up the foil. Bake at 375 for about 60mins for a pound of garlic. Then put it in a jar in your fridge and put it on everything - salad, pasta, eggs, toast, beans, tacos, veggies...
posted by entropone at 12:04 PM on June 6, 2021 [3 favorites]

I like the toum idea. I wonder if it can be processed like a jam so it's shelf stable? If so, that would be awesome to have on hand, and a nice gift, too.
posted by happy_cat at 12:33 PM on June 6, 2021

Chicken with 40 cloves will easily wipe out 2-3 heads of garlic.

Serious Eat's Roasted Garlic Focaccia will use up a whole head and then some. If you make pizza, 1 to 2 heads of roasted garlic heads makes for a delicious topping.
posted by mmascolino at 1:00 PM on June 6, 2021

Just adding another enthusiastic toum recommendation. We keep it for months in the refrigerator.
posted by kingless at 1:25 PM on June 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

If not your neighbors, a local soup kitchen or food bank may welcome it.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:30 PM on June 6, 2021

Or Food Not Bombs.
posted by aniola at 2:09 PM on June 6, 2021

Or, literally, you could offer them to passersby when you're out for a walk. I have been known to do this successfully with zucchini. People like food.
posted by aniola at 2:10 PM on June 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

Garlic confit.
posted by carrienation at 2:45 PM on June 6, 2021 [3 favorites]

I grow garlic and while I do pickle and store some I've found the easiest thing is peel and store in small jars in the freezer. It does effect the texture, but mostly in the sense that it's easier to smoosh and mix it with stuff. It's just great to have around, and it takes the pressure off of 'what do I do with all this garlic?'

It's easier to peal in a bowl of water if you tip and tail the ends or give it a whack first. It helps with the sugariness that can make peeling difficult.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:57 PM on June 6, 2021

This Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil recipe uses 10 cloves of garlic. You could make a bunch of that and then gift delicious delicious chili oil to folks who love spice.
posted by thebots at 3:20 PM on June 6, 2021 [3 favorites]

I have this on my list to try soon: fermented garlic honey. Sounds pretty delicious to me, and calls for a cup of whole garlic cloves for every cup of honey.
posted by DingoMutt at 3:39 PM on June 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

Make a massive amount of honey fermented garlic. It is amazing!
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:56 PM on June 6, 2021

Or, exactly what DingoMutt said literally right above me! Yes it is spectacular and absolutely foolproof. You can brush the liquidy garlic honey on savouries (like pizza crusts and bruschetta), and the garlic itself you just pop right into your mouth as a little treat! I doubt it does much for colds and sniffles but it sure as heck does a number on your breath!
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:58 PM on June 6, 2021 [2 favorites]

Easiest option is to separate the cloves from their skin and freeze them in a ziploc bag.

But really, you can also just let it sit in a cool, dark place (not the refrigerator). It will keep for at least a month that way. It might sprout, but you can still eat that, too. It's just a tad more bitter.
posted by hydra77 at 4:06 PM on June 6, 2021

You can make a batch of garlic elixir easily with a food processor and store in your fridge for ages.
posted by knile at 4:55 PM on June 6, 2021

Just a friendly reminder that mixtures of garlic in oil stored at room temperature are at risk for the development of botulism. Garlic in oil should be made fresh and stored in the refrigerator at 40 °F or lower for no more than 7 days.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 5:43 PM on June 6, 2021 [4 favorites]

Oh, the other thing you can do is stick them in the fridge and leave them there til fall*, and then plant them. Then they'll make even more garlic! A garlicky reverse-ponzi scheme in which you have ever-increasing quantities of garlic.

*check occasionally and remove any bad cloves
posted by aniola at 7:25 PM on June 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

Garlic soup?
posted by Jane the Brown at 3:06 AM on June 7, 2021

Garlic freezes with no problems, there is a change in texture but if you're mincing or chopping up to put in a dish that's not an issue. Either freeze the cloves separately to pull out as needed or mince and freeze on silicone paper then sort of break up it and put in a bag frozen so you can pull out as much as needed. This is what we did when we got Blue Apron boxes and were still using the garlic months after our sub finished.
posted by wwax at 5:44 PM on June 7, 2021