How to Store Garlic

As garlic is a valuable culinary herb that possesses innumerable health benefits, adding it in the diet plan is a good step towards maintaining optimal health. Considering the rich nutrition that it provides, you don't want your harvested or store-bought garlic to get spoiled at any cost. So, storing this herb properly is important in maintaining its qualities. The storing site matters a lot in increasing the shelf life of garlic.

The storing area for garlic cloves depends on whether you have new season garlic (young wet bulbs) or dried cured ones. The former type has a mild flavor and is used for replacing onions and leeks in food recipes. As the new season garlic is fresh and contains high moisture, you can store it in the refrigerator for 7 days.

For cured ones, the best place to store garlic bulbs is an area where they get the required reduced light, room temperature, less humidity, and optimal air circulation. To be more precise, the ideal place for storing garlic is a cool, dry, and dark place.

If you have harvested garlic bulbs from your own vegetable garden, consider storing them as whole bulbs for long-term usage. Even if you do not grow your own garlic, it is still important to know how to store them. Since its price gets very high during specific time of the year, you can purchase garlic in bulk and store them for later use.

While some people freeze garlic, it is not suggested as it alters texture and flavor of garlic. Here's how you can store garlic bulbs for a long time.

The first step concerning how to store garlic bulbs is drying them in a well-ventilated and dark corner. For homegrown garlic, brush off the dirt after harvesting the bulbs. Dry them for about a week or so. Once they are dried, remove the outer covering (not all) and trim the roots.

Arrange them in wire-mesh basket (or plastic container, mesh bag, paper bag, etc.) and store them uncovered in the selected storage area. The point is to keep them in room temperature and aerated condition, away from direct sunlight, and high humidity.

Some people prefer storing roasted garlic to get an instant supply of this flavorful ingredient for cooking. An easy method is to take garlic bulbs (without outer papery cover) and slice off the top portions to slightly expose individual cloves.

Place them on a baking dish and drizzle olive oil from top. Wrap the baking dish with foil, and bake in a preheated oven (400°F) for 45 minutes. Then, separate cloves, and keep in an airtight container with one part olive oil.

In a nutshell, store whole garlic bulbs without dividing into individual cloves. It is found that the shelf life of garlic cloves is relatively shorter than that of whole garlic bulbs. So, use the separated cloves right away in cooking, before they get spoiled.