Dehydrating home grown garlic

[pattyk]

I am expecting a lot of garlic through in the spring, and I'm wondering how I can preserve some of it so that it doesn't go to waste. A friend has suggested freezing it - which I will try - and one of the preserving books I have has a recipe for pickling it. Not sure about the picking, but we'll see. I do have a dehydrator though, but I'm concerned about strong smells, and whether or not it will render my dehydrator a 'garlic dehydrator' forever, if you know what I mean.

Anyone got any suggestions/reassurances about using my dehydrator?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Pickled garlic is something that I came across this time last year and it works really well in vinaigrettes and salad dressings.

I guess if you sliced the garlic up and dehydrated it, you could then grind it to have garlic powder. It is something I have successfully done with onions but a lot of onions make very little onion powder.

Also just consider plating the stems together and hanging them French style to dry naturally and be normal shop bought garlic. They will last many months in the right environment stored this way, something I have done in the past. I stored mind in the vicinity of the boiler which kept them dry enough to prevent decay and mould growing for 3-4 months before I had used all of them.

Plus, unless you need the space, you can store them in soil for a while until the growing season starts at least.

 

[DancingLady]

I don't think you want to dehydrate garlic. It will lose its medicinal qualities from the heat. Garlic keeps quite a while if stored in a cool dry place.

 

[Berties]

Pickled garlic is something that I came across this time last year and it works really well in vinaigrettes and salad dressings.

I guess if you sliced the garlic up and dehydrated it, you could then grind it to have garlic powder. It is something I have successfully done with onions but a lot of onions make very little onion powder.

Also just consider plating the stems together and hanging them French style to dry naturally and be normal shop bought garlic. They will last many months in the right environment stored this way, something I have done in the past. I stored mind in the vicinity of the boiler which kept them dry enough to prevent decay and mould growing for 3-4 months before I had used all of them.

Plus, unless you need the space, you can store them in soil for a while until the growing season starts at least.

you could also put it in a pair of old tights,and knot in-between each bulb ,we've done this with onions as well

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

you could also put it in a pair of old tights,and knot in-between each bulb ,we've done this with onions as well

I would need to wear tights first

 

[Corzhens]

From what I see in the northern provinces where their chief crop is garlic, they store garlic in a shed. The garlic plant is woven so it would look like a bandolier to be hung from the ceiling of the shed. That hanging, said the farmers, would help in preserving the quality of garlic as long as 6 months. Perhaps you can try that method for some garlic to test it in your climate.