MY HOMEGROWN CROP OF GARLIC GETS ME TO ALMOST FEBRUARY, and then it’s just not what it used to be. You know how it goes—you’ve bought late-winter cloves that start to sprout and just don’t feel as firm or weigh what they did before time took its toll. I don’t have a perfect storage spot; considering that I do quite well. But this year I’m laying in a supply in the freezer, too, following safe, sane methods—no, you cannot just pack it in oil and refrigerate! My tactics for growing, harvesting and enjoying a year of garlic. Both softneck and hardneck types are welcome here, by the way—dare I ask which camp you’re in?
Welcome to Garlic Week, edition Number 7 of the Summer Fest recipe swap (details of how this annual online harvest event works are at the bottom of the page, along with links to garlicky ideas from all my collaborators).
Like any bulb, garlic is a little particular about above-ground storage conditions. Once it’s fully cured, commercially grown garlic is stored at about 32 degrees and 65 percent humidity, and depending on the species and variety, may last six months or even longer. My very primitive basement—an old stone foundation, no heat except for the little bit given off by the furnace—is a bit too warm, but it’s all I have. The garlic hangs in mesh bags from the rafters (as do my onions).
Into the Deep Freeze
THIS YEAR I’M FREEZING a portion of my harvest, trying a few methods gathered from university extension services and my collection of preserving books. Important note:
Even at below 40 degrees, such as in the refrigerator, you run the risk of harmful bacteria forming after about a week, including spores of Clostridium botulinum, the cause of botulism. Oil-packed peeled garlic sold in the market contains a preservative, such as citric acid. Achieving safe preservation this way is best left to commercial packers.
(Ditto with your oil-packed sun- or oven-dried tomatoes—something I shudder when I think I did for many years. Better to dry the tomatoes, pack them crisp in airtight bags, then soften a week’s worth at a time in oil before using. Herb-infused oils, particularly those with garlic, run the same risk.)
The trouble: bacteria can form in water droplets trapped within the oil, says the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Plus garlic is a low-acid food (therefore more prone to bacteria formation), and the low-oxygen conditions that bacteria loves are ideal thanks to the oil packing. A perfect storm.
- Whole, unpeeled cloves can be frozen as is, then thawed and used as needed. Last fall I also peeled a batch, tossed them lightly in oil and froze in bags. Looking good!
- I’m more optimistic about the convenience of making a log or small brick of chopped garlic—not unlike my parsley logs—and slicing off just what I need for a recipe.
- Likewise, a puree of garlic and olive oil can be frozen like my other pestos, in cubes or small containers. (The University of California at Davis recommends 1 part garlic to 2 parts oil, for a sauté mixture that remains safely frozen but is soft enough to scrape the needed amount off at any time.)
- With all freezer methods, freeze immediately after preparation; do not refrigerate or store at room temperature even briefly first.
The Cultivation of Allium sativum
GARLIC COULDN’T BE EASIER TO GROW: Plant like any bulb in fall; topdress with organic fertilizer when shoots start really growing in spring; keep it well-watered during active growth; weed well. The details:
Hardneck Versus Softneck: Which to Grow?
SOFTNECK GARLIC (Allium sativum), the common type of supermarket familiarity, has a row of largish outer cloves and a row or two of inner small ones. It would keep better than what I grow, but I like the bigger (though fewer-per-head) cloves of the hardneck kind (shown above), which also has the bonus of producing scapes (flower stalks that you cut off and eat before bloom) in May or thereabouts.
My reason: Hardneck garlic (Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon) is better-adapted to Northern winters (its long roots–or at least before I trimmed them after curing–hold it in the heave-and-thaw ground especially well), and frankly I just hate all those tiny inner cloves of softneck at peeling time. Nor does comparatively puny softneck make as nice a roasted head of garlic as the bigger-cloved kind.
How Do the Varieties Compare?
HAVE A FAVORITE GARLIC? Add your ratings to Cornell’s “Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners” variety-comparison database of more than 70 garlics. Unlike tomatoes and squash, for instance, which have loads of ratings from commenters, the garlic department could use our feedback!
Time to Order: Garlic Sources
OCTOBER IS PLANTING TIME, since about a month before frost is in the ground is perfect timing. Order now—and in coming years, order even earlier for best selection. Eventually, if all goes well, you’ll achieve garlic independence (where you have enough heads for eating and to supply your own “seed” cloves). I got there last year.
A Garlicky P.S. of a Book Giveaway
NEW YORK TIMES FOOD COLUMNIST Melissa Clark’s latest cookbook debuted this week, and more than 10 percent of the 150 recipes in “In the Kitchen With a Good Appetite” feature garlic in their titles. True; I counted.
Over on my story about the delicious new book I’m offering a chance to win one of two copies (if you get there by September 12, 2010 at midnight). Can you almost taste the Crispy Tofu With Garlicky Peanut Sauce and a side of Garlicky Swiss Chard now? Heaven. Like I do, Clark adheres to the philosophy that “mashing anything green with garlic and oil” is a good idea. Even fennel fronds, she said just the other day. Like I said, enter here.
This Week’s Garlicky Links
SUMMER FEST IS A cross-blog recipe (and tip) swap–and you’re invited to participate. Simply post your link or recipe or idea in the comments below my post, and also on the blogs of the other participants listed here. Want more information? Get the details (and the schedule for upcoming weeks, including our shift into Fall Fest after September 22). My collaborators’ garlicky goodies:
- Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple: Garlic Knots
- Nicole at Pinch My Salt: Spicy Pickled Garlic
- Sara at Food2: Easiest Recipes Ever, Starring Garlic
- Michelle on Cooking Channel: Roasted Garlic
- Liz at Healthy Eats: 5 Reasons to Eat More Garlic
- Kirsten at FN Dish: Garlic Chicken Greats
- Caroline at the Wright Recipes: Ajo Blanco Soup, and Confit Garlic
- The Gilded Fork: Garlic Dossier and Recipes
- Paige at The Sister Project: Spaghetti with Garlic and Zucchini
- Food Network UK: Glorious Garlic
- Alana at Eating from the Group Up: Pickled Garlic
- Cate at Sweetnicks: Double Dose of Garlic—Cuban Black Beans and The Best Pork Ever
- Alana at Eating from the Group Up: Pickled Garlic
- Caron at San Diego Foodstuff: Italian Marinated Eggplant and Sorrel and Garlic Sauce
Hi Margaret,
We tried growing garlic for the first time this year and got 15 small heads of Music, German White, and Spanish Roja, all delicious. We plan to improve the soil for next year and keep up more with the weeding, and hoping that will produce bigger bulbs. Also, we’re looking forward to going to the Hudson Valley Garlic Fest in a few weeks and finding some new favorite varieties.
Thanks for the tip about freezing. We didn’t need to this year, but maybe next year when we have 100 bulbs!
Stay tuned for a possible contribution towards Garlic Week for Summer Fest.
Your posts about every theme ingredient is always so interesting and informative Margaret. Thanks for sharing all this!
This is what I did this week http://bit.ly/ck7C1r
oh I love all this information about garlic. I want to plant this year, and as I live in Wisconsin, where the winters can be rough, I’m wondering if it will be alright to plant in my raised beds? They are 12″ deep, but my concern is the bulbs freezing and then just rotting in the spring. it can get to -20 here.
Thank You! The timing of your post is absolutely perfect. Yesterday I dug up so much garlic my husband laughed and said “can’t you find someone who you can give this away to?” Last night I spent the evening googling garlic storage tips and recipes.
Lo and behold who is on my sidebar this morning? My fave garden advisor with scads of hints and tips, how did I get so lucky?
Such great information here, as always. I don’t have a garden where I live, but I’ll know where to turn when I finally have one!
This week I made garlic soup with poached eggs:
http://4seasonsoffood.blogspot.com/2010/09/garlic-soup-with-poached-eggs.html
Hi Margaret:
I really want to grow garlic but am wondering if it’s just too warm in central San Diego. Do you need a cold winter to get a good harvest, particularly of hardneck varieties?
Great tips! I especially appreciate the information about freezing garlic. Now I can buy more varieties at the Greenmarket without worrying that it will be too much to eat all at once!
This week I wrote about the health benefits of garlic:
http://www.thefoodpsychologist.net/thefoodpsych/?p=434
Hello Margaret!!
Excellent information – as usual!! I am so glad that you discussed storing garlic in oil and the potential danger. With so many people turning to canning these days, it is vital information. Freezing garlic in cubes works well (at least it has for me!!) – I am not a huge fan of the jarred garlic. Since I LOVE garlic, I made Caramelized Garlic Pilaf – can’t wait to see what everyone else has come up with!!!
I didn’t realize how risky storing garlic in oil was, I’m sure I’ve tempted fate in the past (but am remarkably still here … )but will use your freezing tips to store garlic for the winter. Thanks for the important lessons!
Hi, Caron. The rather informal but very helpful page from this cited source’s website (scroll down a bit) gets to the heart of the matter. There are some hardnecks that will do for you — but not the same as the ones I rely on. This source and I would think also Seeds of Change should be able to steer you to the right variety.
wow…never thought about freezing garlic…but it makes complete sense. thank you for the tip. i posted a couple of recipes using garlic, tomatoes and grilled bread and included pa amb tomaquet http://bit.ly/cnpDD8
Hey,
I have been growing my own garlic for several years. I grow 100+ heads in the PNW and find that I am able to store them successfully in my 60 degree garage through the year. They only start to get soft late May or so. I’ve grown numerous varieties and they have all stored well. Like you, I also prefer the hardneck varieties because those inner small cloves of softneck are very annoying. And I don’t usually braid my garlic tho’ I have in the past just to prove I could do it. Thanks for all the research and information. I’ m learning something new every day.
Regards,
tomw
PS: You left the Seed Saver’s Exchange off of your source list.
Thank you so much for your information on garlic. I was hoping that you’d be explaining how to grow garlic since we have not been successful in the past and are trying again this year. Thanks to our CSA, I usually have great garlic scape pesto in the freezer, which keeps remarkably well. After reading your idea for freezing parsley (and now garlic) , I’ve decided to convert from cubes to logs!
Here’s a roasted eggplant, garlic and red pepper soup garnished with garlic croutons:
http://200birdies.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/roasted-eggplant-garlic-and-red-pepper-soup/
Thank you for all the information about growing garlic! I was lucky last year and planted garlic fairly unscientifically. But it worked! And there’s nothing like local garlic!
Here’s my story for Fall Fest:
http://www.dollopofcream.com/2010/09/plant-yourself-some-garlic.html
thanks for yours information about garlic. I am very intrested in eating garlic.I am daily taking garlic in my food .Good for reducing cholesterol
Welcome, Amarjit. It’s one of my favorite foods/flavors, too, and I agree — very good for you! Thanks for your visit and see you soon again.
@Tom: Yes, when I went to the garlic assortment at Seed Savers, they were basically sold out — so I left it off for this year.
I too will freeze some this year, (too warm of a basement also). Just a note from personal experience as I live in Wisconsin and have raised garden beds (the answer to heavy clay soils you know), I have grown garlic yearly for about 7 years now with no problems. In fact mine is always ahead of two friends who plant in the ground.
Also Territorial Seed Company of Oregon has great varieties of garlic.
Thanks !
Hi Margaret. Here’s another way that works. I’ve pulled jars of garlic out of the freezer after 5 years and they taste like fresh. Here’s how you do it. Peel the cloves as soon after harvest as possible, before they harden. Put the cloves in the blender or food processor with one-fourth cup of cider vinegar and blend or pulse until finely chopped. Spoon into small jars (I use 4-oz. canning jars), smooth the top, and float a teaspoon of vinegar over all, leaving about a half inch of head room. Pop into the freezer and it’s done. Each jar can be moved to the refrigerator when needed, and will last for months, safely preserved by the vinegar. I learned this from a health-conscious nurse after receiving a gift of such garlic many years ago.
And by the way, your blog is equally delicious.
Great post, Margaret! I hope this gets a lot more people planting their own. We are enjoying our second harvest–a local hobby farmer gave me our first seed cloves, and of course I failed to keep them separate and label them, but they are the hardy German Reds and the like. I’ll try your freeze in oil technique, since our basement situation is the same as yours and too wet for me to trust them not to rot. Thanks for the wonderful info!
Welcome, Marideth. How kind of you to share such encouraging words, and also the garlic-storing advice. Interesting! Sort of frozen pickled garlic. WHo knew? See you soon again, I hope.
Margaret, thanks for sharing your wonderfully detailed instructions. I cannot wait to have a garden once again – why did not I meet you when I was gardening??? Your site would have been invaluable. One day…
For this week I followed my Serbian traditions. I roasted beets, and grilled peppers and eggplant, and dressed them in vinaigrette and garlic.
http://bibberche.com/2010/09/grilled-peppers-grilled-eggplant-roasted-beets-with-garlic/
I still have so much to learn about garlic, thanks for the detailed write up! We’re expanding our garden next summer and growing garlic is a must. Love the idea of making a garlic log, easy to lob off a portion to cook with.
To celebrate Fall Fest, I posted a sofrito recipe with garlic from our farm share this week: http://www.artandlemons.com/2010/09/sofrito.html
nikki
Welcome, Art and Lemons, and thank you for adding a sofrito to the mix! Hope to see you soon again.
Hi Margaret-
Re: planting garlic…
Last weekend I received my bulb order from Fedco. I planted my German White garlic cloves according to directions from their website:
“Plant cloves 5-6″ deep and 4-6″ apart, mid to late October, to
early November, before the ground freezes.”
Did I do things right for Maine but wrong for me here in the mid-Hudson valley?
Please help!
Hi Margaret :)
Thank u for this awesome garlic post :) I was planning on getting my garlic planted today. I never planted garlic before so i watched some videos online. One guy suggested to plant the garlic in early spring as soon as u can work the soil when u live in a cold region. Well, I live in Northwestern Ontario (very cold in the winter)
Would u also think it is smarter to plant in the early spring ???
if i wait til after winter, will i still be able to use the garlic i bought already ???
thanx for your help :)
greetings from Canada
Nik
Hello, Nikina. I think fall is the right time — and this Canadian supplier of garlic agrees in most circumstances, and says they have had mixed results with spring planting (and they are pros!). Don’t try to store it over the winter and then plants it; the cloves will be withered and sprouting. They are better in the ground.
This is a great post, thank you! After picking up a head of garlic from the little local store and reading that it was imported from CHINA, I decided I had to grow my own.I thought it was insane that we import garlic. I planted Spanish Rojo hardneck and ‘Italian Late’ softneck last fall in my raised bed stock tanks. I only have a few that came up so far…I’m in Zone 5, where it has been very wet and cool, so not sure what to expect and whether I’ll yet see plants emerge. But with your encouraging post, if they aren’t successful this year, I will try again. I can’t buy imported garlic especially with the amount we use in our kitchen every year.
Hi, Margaret! I have a question about making a garlic log. Do you mix it with oil or just chop it up and put it in the freezer bags, as you do with your parsley log.
We just harvested garlic today, and some of it we got to too late. So the paper is peeling off and I need to do something with it.
Love your website! So informative.
Thanks!
Hi, Audrey. I took the easiest route of all last year and it has worked out fine. I simply peeled the cloves, tossed them in a little olive oil (emphasis on little) and put them in a freezer bag, forcing out the air. I have used them for everything from roasting (to then spread on to adding to soups and stir-fries since — so easy. If you want to make a log, you puree the peeled cloves and roll into plastic wrap, then put into a freezer bag. You could add a little oil, but I would not add tons because if the mix is too liquidy, it will be hard to shape into the roll. Or you can do cloves-only puree.
Thanks so much for getting back to me on the garlic. Think I’ll take the easy route as you did…peel and freeze.
BTW…I really enjoyed reading your book!
Thank you so much for the details of garlic freezing – but I’m confused about the botulism warnings. Freezing garlic in oil can develop botulism? Freezing whole, peeled cloves (without oil) is ok or not? Crush peeled cloves, mix with oil (olive oil?) then freeze in a block is ok? If you freeze unpeeled, loose in a bag and take out, as and when needed, is that ok? I would rather freeze peeled and loose but not if that gives a possibility of botulism!
Hi, Dandy. Some people think it’s OK to put cloves in oil in the fridge, and it’s not. Freezing is OK, as the several versions in the story explain — whole cloves (I peel mine), minced/pureed garlic with or without oil and shaped into a “log” that can be sliced from as needed, etc. — it’s all in the 4 bulleted items under “Into the Deep Freeze.”
Such great information…I am learning all the time. I just recieved my order of garlic to plant. Last year I planted in the spring with the rest of the garden…..let’s just write that off as a mistake and forget about it…..Oh and did I mention I have garlic loving squirrels in my garden. So now they go into the enclosed and electric fences garden. Here hoping for a vampire free next summer…thanks for the info.