Keeping peeled garlic

OK, I just got back from Sam's Club where I bought a 3lb plastic jar of peeled whole garlic cloves. An estimate of how many cloves this would be is around 150 - 200 cloves. Obviously I need a way to keep them from molding, and am thinking of vacuum packing them using my Seal-A-Meal machine., Has anyone ever stored fresh peeled garlic before? If I vacuum pack them, can I then freeze them? Should I put a small amount of vinegar in the bag before vacuum packing them? Heres hoping someone knows the answer to my dilemma

Okay, storing garlic can be tricky, probably your best bet for anything approaching long-term storage is to freeze it. Just put the cloves in a ziplock bag and squeeze out as much air as possible before freezing, or better still, vacuum seal the garlic if you have the gear. Take out whatever you need from the bag and stick it back in the freezer, or re-vacuum seal. This will last for at least 3 months, usually more with no effect on the garlic apart from it possibly changing color a little that won't affect the taste.
Re storing garlic in olive oil in the fridge, this can be dangerous and not recommended unless you really know what you're doing as garlic is low acid and a breeding ground for botulism if stored in olive oil. The 'recommended' way to do this is to soak the cloves in vinegar for at least 12 hours, better for 24 hours, then dump the vinegar &it can be used, then put the cloves in a jar with olive oil and it "should" be okay for a couple of months in the fridge say the 'scientists'. I'd prefer to freeze them!

Okay, storing garlic can be tricky, probably your best bet for anything approaching long-term storage is to freeze it. Just put the cloves in a ziplock bag and squeeze out as much air as possible before freezing, or better still, vacuum seal the garlic if you have the gear. Take out whatever you need from the bag and stick it back in the freezer, or re-vacuum seal. This will last for at least 3 months, usually more with no effect on the garlic apart from it possibly changing color a little that won't affect the taste.
Re storing garlic in olive oil in the fridge, this can be dangerous and not recommended unless you really know what you're doing as garlic is low acid and a breeding ground for botulism if stored in olive oil. The 'recommended' way to do this is to soak the cloves in vinegar for at least 12 hours, better for 24 hours, then dump the vinegar &it can be used, then put the cloves in a jar with olive oil and it "should" be okay for a couple of months in the fridge say the 'scientists'. I'd prefer to freeze them!

Thanks Shel, your information is about what I had thought out for myself. I will likely freeze 20-25 cloves per in vacuum bags, and use those within a short time. 20-25 cloves really is not a lot of garlic around here.

Those large jars of garlic you can get at Sam's Club or Costco's for us, are tempting and LOL, glad to say we resisted the temptation last time there and opted for a smaller jar at the local supermarket. It cost a little bit more but the upside is that we don't have to go on 'safari' through our freezer to find what we did with it!

Bob, Shel et al,

I'm very curious about this. What advantages are to be had (other than the saved labor for peeling the cloves yourself) to using prepackaged garlic, rather than using fresh ? I've never used garlic from a jar or a prepack, having naively assumed that there is some loss or change in flavor and texture due to preservatives and exposure. Our kicthen work is a bit tedious for Dawn's forty clove turkey soup, so I'm all ears.

Bob, Shel et al,

I'm very curious about this. What advantages are to be had (other than the saved labor for peeling the cloves yourself) to using prepackaged garlic, rather than using fresh ? I've never used garlic from a jar or a prepack, having naively assumed that there is some loss or change in flavor and texture due to preservatives and exposure. Our kicthen work is a bit tedious for Dawn's forty clove turkey soup, so I'm all ears.

Jeff, don't know the brand we buy, but the cloves are in excellent condition, pretty uniform in size, peeled and ready to go. We buy the smaller supermarket size jars and refrigerate them and would think they're perfect for 40 clove chicken, unless of course you make the rec that calls for the cloves to be unpeeled...in which case...LOL, back to the drawing board.
Anyway, back to the topic, we find them very useful and a big time-saver.

Speaking in total ignorance.....but the last time I saw large quantites of peeled garlic the box said .."product of China". Although the convenience is nice and I use at least 2 -3 heads of garlic/week in cooking- more if weekend cooking for the upcoming week - I prefer to peel by hand from a local grower.
The vacuum pack/freezer idea sounds like a good solution

Bob, Shel et al,

I'm very curious about this. What advantages are to be had (other than the saved labor for peeling the cloves yourself) to using prepackaged garlic, rather than using fresh ? I've never used garlic from a jar or a prepack, having naively assumed that there is some loss or change in flavor and texture due to preservatives and exposure. Our kicthen work is a bit tedious for Dawn's forty clove turkey soup, so I'm all ears.

Jeff, the brand I bought is "Spice World" and as Shel said the cloves are pretty uniform in size. They are very fresh and natural to the touch, and smell like...well like garlic. I have always bought the (so called) fresh head of garlic in my local grocery, and usually buy 2-3 of them. I find that there are always cloves that are shriveled, and that some often have dark spots on them. If I could get them from the grower I would do that but alas. So, long story short is that I bought these, and will use my seal a meal vacuum machine to pack them in bags of 20-25 per and freeze them until needed. I am a little concerned about how they will survive the freezing, but theres no experience like experience.

I'm going to pick up a small container of peeled garlic and try a simple saute dish, side-by-side with second pan using some fresh garlic. This will be fun. Thanks.

[Robin Garr]

I've never used garlic from a jar or a prepack, having naively assumed that there is some loss or change in flavor and texture due to preservatives and exposure.

I don't think that's the least bit naive, Jeff. Fresh almost always trumps prepared food, not least because you're paying a premium for someone else doing the prep work ... or, if you get it really cheap, you have to ask why.

Jeff,

I am applauding your experiment. Do let us know what the results are.

I've never even considered storing peeled garlic, but then, I grow my own. Still, I can't imagine how already peeled can compete with fresh, in the paper, garlic, especially if something has to be done to keep the peeled "fresh."

Hope your experiment bears out my prejudice on the matter!!!

I don't think that's the least bit naive, Jeff. Fresh almost always trumps prepared food, not least because you're paying a premium for someone else doing the prep work ... or, if you get it really cheap, you have to ask why.

Just to set the record straight, these are peeled whole cloves of garlic. They are in no other way "prepared"

[Robin Garr]

I don't think that's the least bit naive, Jeff. Fresh almost always trumps prepared food, not least because you're paying a premium for someone else doing the prep work ... or, if you get it really cheap, you have to ask why.

Just to set the record straight, these are peeled whole cloves of garlic. They are in no other way "prepared"

Bob, they've been put through an industrial process, had the protective skins removed and been put up in jars and sent through a commercial distribution process. I don't see the merit in paying someone else to do such a simple chore for me, but that's just my opinion, and we all know what opinions are worth.

I've never set foot in a Sam's Club or Walmart either, but I suppose I might be exposed to these things at Costco ...

I've never set foot in a Sam's Club or Walmart either, but I suppose I might be exposed to these things at Costco ...

By choice?

I ask because it's a choice that I made a long time ago, after setting foot in one of them.

Funny, I've set foot in examples of each (Costco, Sams, Walmart) and never wanted to return for anything. We don't eat junk food. We use few medicines. We buy nicer clothing. Produce seemed priced well, but my favorite touchstone items (raspberries, pomegranates, lemons, tomatoes) seemed awfully big and tasteless. The meat we bought (chicken pieces, large tray of 16 thighs) was spoiled when we tried to cook it the next day. We returned it for some lamb chops, which admittedly were good.

I know these stores are popular, but we shop elsewhere.

OK, now the garlic cookoff results from dinner last night. This is not science.

I bought fresh garlic and a 6 oz. jar of whole garlic cloves. The jar contents looked just as advertised. The plan is to slice and sautee six cloves from each source, and cook some fresh chanterelles in each pan, followed by shallots and pasta. Then we'll have a single-blind taste test using two examples of a real familiar dish.

Visually, there's a big color difference, in that the fresh product color is a pale buff, the jar product more yellow. The aroma of the uncooked and cleaned fresh product is more intense and seems natural; there's some sort of papery aroma mixed with the jar product. Slicing reveals a bit more green tint inside the cloves in the jar product, but green is present in both.
The sauteeing and cooking process is uneventful, no apparent differences noted at all.

The final pasta dishes look identical but there is a clear taste difference noted by my three dinner guests. They each prefer plate #1, with the natural garlic. They think the garlic is better integrated into the dish, compared to plate #2, which had a bit of garlic sting (one said burn) on the palate.

I'm inclined to bench this container for pinch hit duty only, though it's pretty close to the fresh product in appearance, taste and aroma. The work necessary to peel garlic is worth it to me.

[Robin Garr]

By choice?

I ask because it's a choice that I made a long time ago, after setting foot in one of them.

I made it without setting foot, Thomas. Yes, it's a philosophical and political choice. (And, frankly, an easy one for me to make, since our urban area is pretty much free of Walton properties, and I can easily skip a trip to the suburbs.)

Funny, I've set foot in examples of each (Costco, Sams, Walmart) and never wanted to return for anything. We don't eat junk food. We use few medicines. We buy nicer clothing. Produce seemed priced well, but my favorite touchstone items (raspberries, pomegranates, lemons, tomatoes) seemed awfully big and tasteless. The meat we bought (chicken pieces, large tray of 16 thighs) was spoiled when we tried to cook it the next day. We returned it for some lamb chops, which admittedly were good.

I know these stores are popular, but we shop elsewhere.

OK, now the garlic cookoff results from dinner last night. This is not science.

I bought fresh garlic and a 6 oz. jar of whole garlic cloves. The jar contents looked just as advertised. The plan is to slice and sautee six cloves from each source, and cook some fresh chanterelles in each pan, followed by shallots and pasta. Then we'll have a single-blind taste test using two examples of a real familiar dish.

Visually, there's a big color difference, in that the fresh product color is a pale buff, the jar product more yellow. The aroma of the uncooked and cleaned fresh product is more intense and seems natural; there's some sort of papery aroma mixed with the jar product. Slicing reveals a bit more green tint inside the cloves in the jar product, but green is present in both.
The sauteeing and cooking process is uneventful, no apparent differences noted at all.

The final pasta dishes look identical but there is a clear taste difference noted by my three dinner guests. They each prefer plate #1, with the natural garlic. They think the garlic is better integrated into the dish, compared to plate #2, which had a bit of garlic sting (one said burn) on the palate.

I'm inclined to bench this container for pinch hit duty only, though it's pretty close to the fresh product in appearance, taste and aroma. The work necessary to peel garlic is worth it to me.

My prejudice confirmed. Shout it from the highest hills, or maybe from the lowest spot in the garden...I'll be planting my 2009 garlic crop this weekend.

I bought fresh garlic and a 6 oz. jar of whole garlic cloves. The jar contents looked just as advertised. The plan is to slice and sautee six cloves from each source, and cook some fresh chanterelles in each pan, followed by shallots and pasta. Then we'll have a single-blind taste test using two examples of a real familiar dish.


The final pasta dishes look identical but there is a clear taste difference noted by my three dinner guests. They each prefer plate #1, with the natural garlic. They think the garlic is better integrated into the dish, compared to plate #2, which had a bit of garlic sting (one said burn) on the palate.

I'm inclined to bench this container for pinch hit duty only, though it's pretty close to the fresh product in appearance, taste and aroma. The work necessary to peel garlic is worth it to me.

Jeff, Where did you purchase the fresh whole garlic bulbs (I presume you bought bulbs) and what brand of peeled garlic did you buy. This jar of the peeled garlic is the first I have purchased, but I do get tired of buying a bulb/head of garlic at Kroger, and finding there are several cloves that are unusable. Unusable due to discoloration, or shriveling, or some other problem. A few months ago I purchased a whole baggie (probably 2 lbs) of whole unpeeled garlic heads. and proceeded to keep them in a dark cool environment. Within 2-3 weeks at least half of each head was unusable due to the above listed reasons. This might not be the case at harvest time, but garlic I see in the stores (Don't have WF, or other largish "organic type stores" in Lexington), but perhaps I could search through some Asian stores as we do have several of those. So, as I said, I have grown tired of wasting garlic by buying what I can get at Kroger, Wal-Mart, Meijers, or even the farmers market. Out of season garlic, onions, potatoes, (most root vegetables) in the Midwest are simply a pay your money and take your chances. Robin may have it slightly better in Louisville, but I doubt it is a lot better there, unless WF etc is way ahead of what I suspect they are. So, I saw this jar of really good looking peeled cloves of garlic, and forked over my $5 to give them a try. I probably could have found a smaller jar, but we all impulse buy at times. Today, I vacuum packed most of the cloves, and the 20-30 cloves I didn't pack in plastic bag. I will vacuum pack in a small mason jar for the fridge, and reseal that each time it is opened. Perhaps, I will revive this thread in coming weeks or months, to report my findings.

Bob,

The fresh garlic was bought at a Vons Market here in Thousand Oaks,Ca. It came as three heads, in a small purple net wrap. Heads were very dry, hard and heavy for size, which is my own preference for indication of good condition. We buy fresh garlic virtually every week unless we have some ready for harvest from the garden. You should understand that we toss out spoiled garlic regularly. We cook virtually every day at home and we just insist on keeping plenty of bulbs on hand, despite our spoilage rate; we must be thinking it's a cost of good eating, as we see this with shallots, onions and spuds. from time to time also. We store whole heads and unpeeled cloves in a vented terracota garlic pot, but I am not really sure of its effect on rate of actual decomposition.

The label on the bottle of whole peeled garlic shows it came Laiwu Dongjing Foodstuff Co., Ltd. It was bought in an Asian market called 99 Ranch Market in Van Nuys, Ca. I go there to get star anise regularly.

I think the bottled approach is a sensible alternative to the use of fresh garlic since you are frustrated with the availability and shelf life of quality fresh product.

BTW, the clerk in the Asian market said that the bottle was nitrogen sealed (?) and that cloves would last after opening for a couple weeks.

Bob,

The fresh garlic was bought at a Vons Market here in Thousand Oaks,Ca. It came as three heads, in a small purple net wrap. Heads were very dry, hard and heavy for size, which is my own preference for indication of good condition. We buy fresh garlic virtually every week unless we have some ready for harvest from the garden. You should understand that we toss out spoiled garlic regularly. We cook virtually every day at home and we just insist on keeping plenty of bulbs on hand, despite our spoilage rate; we must be thinking it's a cost of good eating, as we see this with shallots, onions and spuds. from time to time also. We store whole heads and unpeeled cloves in a vented terracota garlic pot, but I am not really sure of its effect on rate of actual decomposition.

The label on the bottle of whole peeled garlic shows it came Laiwu Dongjing Foodstuff Co., Ltd. It was bought in an Asian market called 99 Ranch Market in Van Nuys, Ca. I go there to get star anise regularly.

I think the bottled approach is a sensible alternative to the use of fresh garlic since you are frustrated with the availability and shelf life of quality fresh product.

BTW, the clerk in the Asian market said that the bottle was nitrogen sealed (?) and that cloves would last after opening for a couple weeks.

Jeff, I greatly appreciate your addressing my concerns. I suppose I should buy less garlic/onions/spuds at one time. Trouble is that onions and spuds are pre bagged, so am tied to that., But garlic is individual so will only buy one at a time from now on. still tonight I used two cloves of the peeled in my meatballs for spaghetti, and it was just fine. We shall see over a longer period of time. Thanks again for sticking with me.

Bob,

Yeah, bags are usually too much all at once, at least for us.

One more thought about keeping peeled garlic: shelf life. I have no idea how long it's been since my test bottle had been factory sealed. Similarly, how well -and for how long - will the opened bottle remainders keep going forward ? I will try to keep you statused on that one.

Garlic is like parsley: it loses its vitality very quickly after being cut. I've never bought a jar of whole cloves, but the pre-cut ones are basically good for about 15 seconds in the fry-pan before they lose flavor. I use them for one thing only... to toss into spinach or rabe just moments before taking out of the pan. (Pre-cut parsley is useful for nothing.)

Jeff G,

I'm not sure I understand what you meant by "pre-cut" as it applies to garlic or parsley.

I wonder if you meant that this is what happens to you when using a preprocessed, peeled, chopped and dried garlic (or parsley) product from a jar, in a frying pan ?

Certainly you are not implying that fresh garlic cloves (or preprocessed peeled, whole ones for that matter), which are then cut by a cook into small pieces (be it as sliced, minced, etc.) lose their entire (or even primary) vitality after fifteen seconds in the frying pan ? It sounds implausible to me, umm, to be polite.

I'm not sure I understand what you meant by "pre-cut" as it applies to garlic or parsley.

I mean like this:
http://www.melissas.com/images/products/2137a.jpg

and like this:
http://www.boyslife.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/seasoning-pot1.jpg

I wonder if you meant that this is what happens to you when using a preprocessed, peeled, chopped and dried garlic (or parsley) product from a jar, in a frying pan ?

Yes.

Certainly you are not implying...

No.