How To Preserve Garlic Cloves in Oil to last for months! Along with health benefits and storage tips to keep you stocked with garlic.
How to Preserve Garlic
Garlic is a staple ingredient in many styles of cooking and learning how to preserve your fresh garlic without sacrificing the beneficial compound called allicin (which is one reason garlic so good for you) is key to long term storage. For a delicious shorter term storage method, see How To Roast Garlic.
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What is Allicin
Allicin is produced when garlic is crushed or chopped by the interaction of Alliin (the amino acid present in garlic) with Alliinase (the enzyme released).
Benefits of Allicin
Allicin has been found to reduce inflammation and provides antioxidant benefits as well.
How much Allicin in a Garlic Clove
Garlic cloves can greatly vary in size however garlic cloves have about 2.5 to 4.5 mg of allicin per gram of their fresh weight once they are crushed. A fresh garlic clove usually weighs between 2 to 4 grams.
How to Store Minced Garlic in a Jar
Honestly, I don’t recommend pre-mincing your garlic because you loose so much of the nutritional value (see the sections on Allicin above) but if you need to you can store your minced garlic cloves in a small glass jar with just enough oil covering them so they don’t make contact with air.
Best Way to Store Garlic
When looking to store heads of garlic always store them in a cool dark place that is well ventilated. All alliums, like onions and leeks, like it cool and dark.
A full bulb of garlic that is kept whole can easily last a few months when stored properly. But the head of garlic will start to decline once you begin removing cloves from it. If you want to ensure your remaining garlic cloves will last long enough for you to use them, storing them in oil in the fridge will extend their life by several months.
*It should be noted that storing garlic or any other low-acid vegetable in oil at room temperature is not recommended. Garlic can pick up the bacteria that causes botulism from the soil and these conditions can encourage the growth of the toxins responsible for food-borne botulism. Always refrigerate or freeze your stored garlic for long term preservation.
How To Preserve Garlic Cloves in Oil
How to preserve garlic cloves in oil is just as easy as it sounds! You’ll need a few dedicated minutes to peel all the cloves of garlic (without crushing or cutting them so they retain all their nutrients) but after that you add the cloves to a mason jar, fill with oil (I recommend avocado oil so you can cook with the garlic infused oil at any temperature), screw on an air-tight lid, add a date and place the jar in the fridge for use. The cloves will last this way for up to three months.
Once ready to use, remove as many cloves as you’d like from the jar slice or mince and return the rest of the jar to the fridge.
Recipes with Garlic
- Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Thai Inspired Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles
- Instant Pot Chili
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How To Preserve Garlic
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups garlic cloves 1x
- Category: Homemade Basics
- Method: Preserving
- Cuisine: American
Description
How To Preserve Garlic Cloves in Oil to last for months! Along with health benefits and storage tips to keep you stocked with garlic.
Ingredients
- 3 heads of garlic
- 1–2 cups of avocado oil
Instructions
- Start by peeling your garlic cloves without cutting or smashing them. You want them to be fully intact. Once peeled add them to a mason jar.
- Pour avocado oil over the garlic cloves until they are completely submerged then add the lid.
- Date the top of the lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Notes
*Once ready to use, remove however many garlic cloves you need and mince or chop as needed.
*The avocado oil becomes infused with garlic and is wonderful to use in cooking.
Keywords: how to preserve garlic, how to store minced garlic in a jar, how to preserve garlic in oil,
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