How to Freeze Garlic: Tips for Using Frozen Garlic

You can easily freeze garlic in a freezer-safe bag, an airtight container, or mason jars designed for freezing. This works for garlic in all forms, including whole garlic bulbs (sometimes called heads of garlic), unpeeled cloves of garlic, peeled garlic cloves, chopped garlic, minced garlic. garlic puree, and garlic paste.

You can also roast garlic or sautée it in a butter and oil mixture before freezing. This will lock in savory flavors and speed up meal prep when you decide to thaw the garlic and use it.

The beauty of freezing garlic is that there are many ways to do it and still retain the savory garlic flavor after thawing. Consider some easy options for freezing garlic at home.

1. 1. Freeze whole garlic bulbs. This simple method involves placing whole heads of garlic into a freezer bag, sealing it tightly, and placing it in the freezer. Only select garlic bulbs that are firm, dry, and free from any signs of rot or wasting.
2. 2. Freeze peeled cloves. To cut down on future prep time, you can peel garlic cloves before you freeze them. Peel room-temperature cloves individually and then pile them onto a sheet of plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Wrap the whole cloves tightly to prevent freezer burn, and then place the plastic-wrapped or aluminum-wrapped cloves into a freezer bag for extra protection. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and place it in the freezer.
3. 3. Freeze chopped garlic or minced garlic. You can freeze minced garlic or chopped garlic using the same materials you would use for peeled cloves. The only difference is to finely chop the garlic, or crush it in a garlic press, before freezing.
4. 4. Freeze garlic cubes made from garlic paste. You can make garlic paste in a food processor by blending one tablespoon of olive oil for every whole head of garlic. Once you have your garlic paste, dollop it into ice cube trays (silicone trays work best), and then tuck the ice cube trays into the freezer for two to three hours. Pull out the flash-frozen garlic cubes, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag, and seal them in for safekeeping. You can also create garlic paste balls by placing dollops of garlic paste on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer for two to three hours before transferring the dollops to a freezer bag for long-term storage.
5. 5. Freeze roasted garlic. You can roast garlic and then freeze it to preserve its savory flavor. Roast garlic in the oven, then mash it to help the roasted garlic flesh escape the papery skin. Transfer this mashed roasted garlic to a parchment-lined baking sheet, which you should submerge in the freezer for two to three hours. Pull it out and transfer the frozen roasted garlic to freezer-safe bags for long-term storage.

Freezing garlic lets you hold onto a crop for many months without risking spoilage or botulism (caused by the Clostridium botulinum bacterium). Peeled or pureed garlic will last several weeks in the freezer, while whole bulbs can easily last six months. Smell and inspect the garlic after thawing. If it looks and smells normal, it is almost certainly safe to eat (although poorly sealed garlic may be vulnerable to freezer burn).

Once the thawing process is over, frozen garlic can be used in nearly all the ways you might use fresh garlic. Consider putting thawed frozen garlic into one of these dishes.

1. 1. Soups and stews: You do not need to wait for frozen garlic to thaw before placing it into a soup or stew you are assembling. Let the frozen garlic heat up with the rest of the stew and enjoy its fragrant flavors.
2. 2. Garlic bread: Frozen garlic will retain the flavor of fresh garlic, but it will not retain its texture. However, when you put pureed garlic or garlic paste into a garlic bread recipe, all you need is flavor, not texture. This makes frozen garlic a great choice for garlic bread.
3. 3. Stir-fries: Add frozen garlic to your favorite stir-fries. Let it thaw before placing it in the wok or frying pan. This allows it to cook at the same rate as your other ingredients.

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