Do you ever look at those giant bags of garlic at the grocery store and think “Sure it’s a great deal, but I’ll never use it all before it goes bad”? Well here’s a super-easy way I’ve learned to preserve it, and avoid buying garlic powder ever again. (Learned from this article at Mother Earth News. Really all this info is there, but I like pictures :-p)
Fair warning, your entire house will reek of garlic if you do this. It took me about half an hour of prep work and 4 hours of actual drying time.
First you have to peel and slice a lot of garlic. You want it sliced as thin as possible, and enough to cover a baking sheet in a single layer.
The peeled stuff in this picture is nowhere enough. It took me 5 whole heads to cover my baking sheet.
Then you pop it in the oven on the lowest bake setting you have, and leave the door cracked open. Remember, you’re trying to dehydrate, not cook it. Mine were on at 170ºF. I checked it and stirred it around a bit every hour and declared it done after 4 hours. Your timing will probably vary if you live in a really humid climate. You want it DRY DRY DRY to where it crumbles or snaps when you try to bend a piece.
Let it cool once it’s dry before you jar it.
You can grind it all up for powder now if you want, but it holds flavour a lot better if you just grind what you need as you go. It grinds up quick and easy into a fine powder in an old school mortar & pestle.
I have no idea how long this stuff keeps, cause I always use it up before it turns, but at least three months so far with no signs of deterioration.
Jar, label & store out of direct sunlight. Use just as you would pre-made garlic powder, tho maybe a little less at first. I find this stuff packs a heavy flavour punch!
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