# How to use fresh Garlic?



## Mayor (Feb 3, 2009)

Hi guys! First question. I see allot of people cooking with fresh garlic. I have never done this. Brought some fresh at Walmart, 2.88 @ lb.
I got what I would call 8 or 10 bulbs of garlic. Is this what you call it, a 
bulb of garlic? And this bulb consist of about a dozen or so cloves when 
you split it apart? I see allot of recipes calling for 1,2, or 3 cloves of garlic? They call for crushed, minced, or whole? Is fresh garlic a real
strong spice? I am doing a whole chicken in a crock pot. I used what I call a
whole bulb, 10 or 12 cloves I guess. I peeled the cloves, I guess your 
suppost to do that? What is the best way to do that? I put 4 or 5 whole cloves inside chicken. Smashed/crushed the other 6 or 8 cloves and put them in the bottom of crock pot. Do you guys think this is way to much garlic? I'm I using it right, I guess is my question? How do you mince, crush, peel, roast, etc.....Sorry this is dumb, but have to ask to learn.
Thanks in advance for all your help! Dave


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## Scotch (Feb 3, 2009)

The bulb is the whole thing; each individual piece is called a clove (not to be confused with the spice called cloves). Usually there are about a dozen good, fat cloves on a bulb. (Before we were married and still in college, my now-wife was reading the instructions to me as I prepared Swiss steak. Not knowing the difference, she said the recipe said to put in 6 cloves, so I did. It actually said six cloves _of garlic_. Really weird Swiss steak.) 

Just pull off the number of cloves you need at one time and store the rest of the bulb in a dry place. It should keep a couple of weeks. Discard when it sprouts or the cloves start to shrivel. 

RAW garlic is very strongly flavored, but it's less intense when cooked. The amount needed in a recipe varies. Strong sauces, such as spaghetti sauce, need maybe 4 cloves, milder sauces use less to avoid overwhelming the other flavors. Better to use too little than too much -- until you become a garlic nut, in which case you can never have too much.

For a chicken in a pot, I'd probably use about 4 cloves. However, I have one really great classic recipe that calls for 40 cloves -- they get very mild as they roast with the chicken pieces.

In most sauces, it makes no difference whether the garlic is minced or crushed, and in stews you can throw in whole cloves and they'll mostly dissolve in an hour or two. 

Easiest way to peel a clove is to put it on the cutting board, lay the side of a large knife on top of the clove, and whack the knife with your hand just hard enough to slightly crush the clove. The skin will then come right off, and you can easily chop it up. I usually slice the clove into several thin pieces, then use an up and down chopping motion to mince the slices. Pieces should be about ½ the size of a grain of rice. Note that some recipes call for paper-thin slices of garlic, which are then sauteed until golden. 

Or use a garlic press, if your hands are strong enough. No need to peel the cloves, just stick them in the press and squeeze, then toss the skin before doing another. The garlic is pushed right through the skin into your pot.

When cooking garlic in oil, be careful not to let it brown. It should never get more than slightly golden. Burned garlic can be very bitter. 

HTH!


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## Argamemnon (Feb 3, 2009)

I seriously didn't know there were people who didn't know what fresh garlic was, or how it looked like. Don't get me wrong please, I certainly don't mean to offend. I just didn't know such people existed, lol. Just wondering; have you never seen your mother cook with fresh garlic?


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## cara (Feb 3, 2009)

Argamemnon,

are able to write a post without a slight insult to the poster? It seems to me that it happens quite often..

Yes, there was a time I didn't know about fresh garlic, 'cause my Mom never used it.

Mayor,
I think 10-12 cloves could be a bit too much... depends on how much garlic taste you like.. I wouldn't have any problem with that, but we use garlic a lot and in bigger amounts ,o)
To the taste:
Haven't you tried? That's something I do with all new things, just try it and you can judge the spice..
crushed garlic is much stronger in the smelling, 'cause there is more surface to interact with the O2 and so more Allicin is set free..


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## Argamemnon (Feb 3, 2009)

I did not insult by any means. I have never insulted anyone here; quite the contrary actually (if you had actually paid attention).


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## jfield (Feb 3, 2009)

Hi, Mayor!  

You are in the enviable position of getting to play with what is to you a whole new ingredient!  Very cool!

Scotch gave you some very good advice.  I recently learned another cool way to peel garlic w/o smashing it.  Put the cloves--papery skins and all--in a Rubermaid or some other small, lidded container.  Shake them really hard.  The skins will come right off, and you don't crush the garlic at all.  I didn't believe the chef who told me until he showed me!

Figure that the larger the pieces of garlic you have, the milder the dish will be.  Putting a whole clove of garlic in a dish will yield a milder garlic flavor than taking that same clove and cutting it in pieces.  The strongest flavor will come if you mince it very small or even smash it into a paste with some salt.

For mild, sweet garlic, try roasting whole bulbs of garlic:  Cut off the top of the bulb, so all the cloves are exposed.  Drizzle on a little olive oil, and wrap it up in a square of tin foil.  Roast in the oven at abut 375 degrees until the cloves are very soft.  You will be amazed at the differences in the flavor profile!

Play with your garlic, and just have fun in the kitchen


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## jennyema (Feb 3, 2009)

You might want to freeze some of that garlic before it gets old and sprouts


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## Saraaaaa (Feb 3, 2009)

hi mayor! I love garlic, I love the taste and am encouraged by its health benefits as well. I even eat raw garlic (with certain asian dishes). I would recommend using just a few cloves of garlic to try out first (the taste could be strong and unpleasant to some people). Garlic goes well for vegetable stir-fry, slow-cooker dishes, crock-pot dishes. 

~Saraaa


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## Yakuta (Feb 3, 2009)

I would suggest that you take a few cloves and then peel and super finely chop them.  Mix them with oil or butter and rub them on the chicken (skin, inside the skin and all).  You don't want to keep them in big chunks or else it will burn and burnt garlic is the worst thing you can eat (it's bitter and taste's really bad). 

You may have not used garlic before but I am sure you have had store bought items or eaten in a restaurants where it's used in dishes.  Example most italian restaurants will use garlic in any pasta preparation.  I am assuming you have had Mexican food or salsa which also uses a healthy dose of garlic.  If you can recall the taste of those dishes the fundamental ingredient that adds the spark is garlic.  

Since you brought so many bulbs you can peel them all, throw the little cloves in a food processor and process them.  You can then put them in little containers and freeze them.  You can use them in dishes like stews, pasta, roasts etc about a tsp or couple tsps and you will see what a difference it makes to your end result. 

All the best and you will love garlic.


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## toni1948 (Feb 3, 2009)

Mayor Dave, I'm just happy that you purposed to give fresh garlic a try. I have a friend who uses garlic salt, and she uses way too much. So much so, that it overpowers everything she cooks.

I love fresh garlic, and when I buy it, I never purchase less than 5 heads at a time. I mince mine mostly for the dishes I prepare. I usually add to it, onions, carrots, sometimes celery and sweet peppers, and it creates a wonderful foundation to build a dish. So..Good for you!!

Do you have a good, sharp knife that you use for cooking? It is essential that you have a sharp knife when slicing or mincing garlic. You can hurt yourself using a dull knife.  Use your knives slowly until you get comfortable using them. Or like one of the posters said, whole cloves will dissolve in soups, stews. When it's cooked, it can become sweet. You will never come in my kitchen and not find onions and garlic.

I commend you for having the courage to try your hand at cooking. There should be more like you.   Dave, you done good!!!   This is great place to come if you have any questions.

Welcome to our Community.


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## Mayor (Feb 3, 2009)

Thanks for the welcome!  You guys are all so helpful, and from all over the 
world! Ok, Argamemon, no offense taken.  I can't remember mom using garlic fresh.  She was a great cook.  Born in 1927, passed in 2000.   She could cook, can,bake,pies, frostings,desserts,etc., all from scratch.  My problem is I didn't pay attention to her cooking, I just ate it!
Cara, tryed garlic in the crockpot chicken, to much I think, also I think I over cooked it.  The chicken was 210 degrees when I took it out.  
Yakuta and Saraa are right, I think the garlic burnt, was to strong, bitter.
(Break time)


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## Mayor (Feb 3, 2009)

I'm back. 
toni1948, yes I have a new chef knive my daughter gave me for Xmas.  It's a Chicago Cutlery 8", cheap knive she bought at Walmart.  The thing is new, but dull, need to sharpen it.   
Anyway I think am learning, change that to I know I'm learning allot about garlic, thanks to you guy's.
Scotch, jennyema, jfield, Yakuta, Saraa, toni1948 and Argamemnon thanks for all of your help on peeling, slicing, storing, roasting, etc... all very helpful to me.
I can't get over how nice you guy's are to a total stranger.  You have to go out of your way and it takes time and effort to be helpful and nice to your fellow human beings.  You all need to pat yourselfs on the back because you have done that for me.  I appreciate it very much!!!  Hope to be hearing allot more from you guy's!  Thanks again!  Dave Lange


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## jennyema (Feb 4, 2009)

No one's a stranger in our DC community, Dave!

Though some are stranger than others ...  LOL

*"Once you're here, you're family"*

You'll find loads of friendly and knowledgeable people here.


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## cmarchibald (Apr 12, 2010)

jennyema said:


> No one's a stranger in our DC community, Dave!
> 
> Though some are stranger than others ...  LOL
> 
> ...


Amen to that!  I just joined yesterday and I've already been overwhelmed with fantastic advice from very friendly people.  I did a search for "peeling garlic" and found this thread...so apologies for bumping an old topic.  But I thought the contributors might like to know that their advice was still relevant over a year later!  

My boyfriend and I are major garlic nuts, can't get enough of it.  Any recipe I cook that calls for garlic automatically gets 4x the amount suggested, often more.  My boyfriend actually eats garlic straight out of the peel.  

Anyway, I looked up this topic because I cook with fresh garlic all the time and the only thing I find challenging is getting it out of the darn skin!  I have carpal tunnel syndrome and when I'm having a particularly bad flare-up it's really hard to do the tiny, tedious motions I usually follow to get my garlic out.  I do own a garlic press but (once again) it's difficult to use with my wrist.  The best method I've found for mincing garlic is almost identical to what Scotch describes.  Very effective but definitely time consuming.  If anyone has fresh tips for getting it out of the skin and mincing it quickly I'm all ears.  I've tried using my food processor but it leaves big chunks that I end up cutting anyway, and then I've got 5x as many components to wash (no dishwasher!).  In the end it's just less trouble to use the ol' knife 'n cutting board.

Question (for anyone still around to answer):  Several of you suggested freezing the excess.  I buy fresh garlic because it is so much more flavorful than dried garlic powder or canned/jarred garlic.  Do you find that it loses any of the flavor in freezing?


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## BigAL (Apr 12, 2010)

Mayor, you'll love fresh garlic!  But to keep your hands from stink'n too long(after cutting/handling) your supposed to rub your hands on stainless steel.  I guess it works, I don't know, I use gloves.

I keep fresh garlic in the fridge, wrapped in paper towel.  I have bought the prepeeled stuff in a plastic jar, kept in fridge and got moldy fast.  Won't buy that again. 

Something to try that smells and tastes fantastic is roasted garlic.  I cut the top of the bulb(leave the root end alone) just enough to expose the cloves, wrap loose in foil to make a bowl and put in smoker or on grill.  Great on steaks, mixed w/butter, etc.


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## cmarchibald (Apr 12, 2010)

Hey BigAL, do you have a quick 'n dirty trick for making / mixing garlic butter?  If so can you walk me through it?


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## BigAL (Apr 12, 2010)

I'm lazy, I use a press and mix it w/ room temp/soft butter.  Or use the garlic off the grill, mash it up, save the juice, put on the steak and add some butter.

Another way would be to use a spice grinder or blitzer/mixer and puree it and add to soft butter.  

I'm not a cook or any wiz-kid.  Another way is to use gray tape, bale'n wire, and wd-40.


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## sparrowgrass (Apr 12, 2010)

Big Al, you sound like my kind of guy!!


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## Mimizkitchen (Apr 12, 2010)

Wack it with your chefs knife and it peels itself.. As for garlic butter, cut the top of the whole head off garlic of to expose the flesh, place it in foil, drizzle with olive oil, s&p, and a sprinkling of your favorite herb, wrap it up pop it in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes and wala roasted, sweet, flavorful garlic.. Mash into your softened butter... YUM YUM!!!


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