I love to cook with garlic. The problem is that no one in my house likes to eat garlic. So what is a mom and wife to do? Hide it in the form of garlic powder, of course. That is where growing and dehydrating my own garlic comes in handy.
Benefits of Garlic:
My Grandmother was a big believer in eating garlic and onions. She believed that it lead to long life. Considering she lived to be 92, maybe she was on to something. I will tell you she also ate liverwurst every day too, but that is a topic for another post.
There have been studies linking it’s benefits to cardiovascular health, cancer treatment, and even the common cold. Sir Louis Pasteur supposedly used its anti-bacterial properties in his work and they even found preserved garlic in King Tut’s tomb. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits or history of garlic here is a good article.
Growing Garlic:
Garlic is probably one of the easiest, most rewarding crops to grow. The weird thing is that in most places, you have to plant garlic in the fall and then harvest it the following summer.
First step is finding garlic to plant. The great thing about growing garlic is that you can just use garlic from the store, the farmers market, or saved from the year before. Organic is always better. I like to plant 3 heads of garlic. I find there are usually about 10 cloves in each head which gives me about 30 garlic plants.
Second step is to pull apart the head into individual cloves. Be careful not to damage the bottom where the roots are. If you have any really small cloves I wouldn’t plant them, its not worth it. I use them in some spaghetti sauce instead. Just don’t tell my kids.
Thirdly, plant the garlic and wait. Garlic should be planted about 4″ apart and about 2″ deep with the root end facing down. I find that garlic is one of those plants that do well being mulched with hay, or leaves. Especially since it over winters.
Lastly, harvest your garlic. In my area, I usually harvest garlic around the beginning of July. Garlic is usually ready to harvest when the scapes (tops) are starting to dry. You don’t want to let them dry out in the ground though. By the way, the scapes are edible too.
Even though I dehydrate my garlic, I still do let it cure for about 2 weeks. Hang it somewhere dry and warm (the experts say about 80 degrees). Don’t wash it. Once it is cured you can store it as is or move onto dehydrating it.
Dehydrating Garlic
Dehydrating is a great skill to learn. It is really easy to dehydrate and the dehydrator does most of the work. Also, dehydrating allows us to store foods longer and in smaller spaces. PS: You don’t have to buy a fancy dehydrator if you are just starting out. I have a Nesco and it has worked just fine for me.
First, peel and slice your garlic. Thinner even slices do best. The main goal with any dehydrating is to make sure your pieces are similar in size so that they dehydrate at the same rate.
Secondly, place all the garlic in your dehydrator trays. I like to spread them out so that they dry evenly. Especially since we are grinding it into powder. Garlic can be deceiving and look dry on the outside but not on the inside. Taking these steps can help with that.
Next, we let the dehydrator do the work. I like to dehydrate my garlic on a low setting of 125 degrees for about 10-12 hours. It really depends on how big your garlic slices are and the humidity in the room. Check it every 3 hours until it is done. You want it to be completely crispy.
Lastly, I grind the dehydrated garlic in a coffee grinder. You could grind it in a food processor as well, but I feel like a coffee grinder does a better job. I have an inexpensive coffee grinder that I use just for herbs and spices.
I do like to include one more step. After I grind my garlic I like to spread it out on a cookie sheet or plate and let it dry out for an hour or so before storing it in jars. I feel this helps get out any residual moisture.
Some of the Ways I like to Use Garlic Powder
Basically, I add garlic powder to everything. Sauces, refried beans, ground meat, taco seasoning, and so much more.
I hope this encourages you to grow and dehydrate your own garlic. However, you don’t have to grow the garlic to still dehydrate it. Even buying some at the grocery store and dehydrating it is a great idea. Doing to allows you to control costs and added ingredients.
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