We haven't gone grocery shopping in over a month. We'd prepared quite a bit of meals before hand and frozen them so that we could be quarantined comfortably. We've also been dipping into our hurricane supply. Hmmm... hurricane season begins in June so we'll have to go shopping before then.
We were noticing that we'd had our garlic bulbs for quite a while and wondered if they would go bad. I picked up two of the bulbs and they sort of caved in... squashed... yuck!
But there was one bulb I thought I could rescue. I wondered if I should refrigerate or freeze them and looked it up on line.
According to Good Housekeeping, you could store them in mesh bags or woven baskets. Garlic lasts best in 60-65 degree temperatures. I can tell you that's impossible in Hawaii.
You can refrigerate them in the crisper drawer of the fridge where it's supposed to be protected from humidity.
You can also use a food processor or blender to pulverize the cloves of garlic with a little bit of water and freeze them in ice trays.
Okeedokee...
I decided to give it a try.
I peeled the garlic using my handy dandy peeler that my daughter gave me.
I stuck the cloves in my NutriBullet.
I pulsed it and then stuck blobs of them on wax paper with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent the smell from stinking up the freezer. Granted, I can't smell it since I've lost my sense of smell and some of my ability to taste, but everybody else around here can smell every little thing. (No, no, I don't have the Coronavirus. I lost my sense of smell/taste years ago.)
I dropped the garlic blobs in a glass jar and put them in the freezer.
However, Art is now saying the Nutribullet smells like garlic.
Oops!
We were noticing that we'd had our garlic bulbs for quite a while and wondered if they would go bad. I picked up two of the bulbs and they sort of caved in... squashed... yuck!
But there was one bulb I thought I could rescue. I wondered if I should refrigerate or freeze them and looked it up on line.
According to Good Housekeeping, you could store them in mesh bags or woven baskets. Garlic lasts best in 60-65 degree temperatures. I can tell you that's impossible in Hawaii.
You can refrigerate them in the crisper drawer of the fridge where it's supposed to be protected from humidity.
Okeedokee...
I decided to give it a try.
I peeled the garlic using my handy dandy peeler that my daughter gave me.
I stuck the cloves in my NutriBullet.
I pulsed it and then stuck blobs of them on wax paper with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent the smell from stinking up the freezer. Granted, I can't smell it since I've lost my sense of smell and some of my ability to taste, but everybody else around here can smell every little thing. (No, no, I don't have the Coronavirus. I lost my sense of smell/taste years ago.)
However, Art is now saying the Nutribullet smells like garlic.
Oops!
Haha. Funny ending.
ReplyDeleteI admire you for your preservation of these bulbs but yes this is a tough smell to get rid of! Kay what happened to your sense of smell & taste? :(
ReplyDeleteSigh... I’ve lost my sense of smell and most of my taste. According to all the specialists, it won’t come back. No idea why this happened. It happened slowly so I didn’t notice it. We figured out that it must have happened about 5 years ago. The doctor said I should make sure the smoke detector works in the house.
Deletewelcome to life, one problem leads to another...lol! I just use garlic salt but we aren't big garlic eaters!
ReplyDeleteI guess the next smoothie will be a garlic flavored one. You can also purchase garlic prechopped I think though extra cost I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI freeze ginger root; just peel & grate the frozen root when needed. My mom always froze chopped fresh green onion and dill.
ReplyDeleteHi Mona, It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve frozen ginger root before and green onion, but never garlic. Thank you very much for your visit and comment.
DeleteThe garlic smell will wear off in your bullet, but it might take awhile. :-)
ReplyDeleteI used to waste a lot of my garlic and they would collapse also. I took a ceramics class from Sunshine Cobb (fantastic teacer and potter) and made a garlic box. It looks like a prison for garlic and sits on my countertop. I put about 20 bunches in 2 months ago - or maybe more because I have lost my sense of time. So far, no spoiled collapsed garlic - I just open the lid, take out what I want and put the rest back in the box.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter bought a jar of already chopped garlic in a jar. It is okay, I suppose, but sometimes you can't beat freshly chopped garlic. Sorry you can't smell anymore. I hope it comes back!
What an adventure. I would miss those senses a lot. I'm missing my depth perception.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!
ReplyDeleteThink you saved the garlic if at the expense of the bullet. Goodness with no sense of smell or taste food must be really boring.
ReplyDeleteYou tried!
ReplyDeleteWE don't use garlic here in this house, but I have chopped and frozen chives and basil, pesto and roasted, chopped poblano peppers.
ReplyDeleteNow you need to research how to remove garlic odor.
I did try covering it with baking soda in a covered bowl, but sorry to say it still smelled according to Art’s keen nose.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great tip for this time! Stay safe and healthy everyone ☺
ReplyDeleteI like a little garlic but I no longer care to mess with it so I buy the stir-in garlic paste in the tube brom the cold produce section of the supermarket. To me, the flavor is much closer to fresh chopped than the garlic from the little jars.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding? I've never seen that, but now I'll keep a look-out for it. Thank you for the tip.
DeleteYou haven’t shopped in over a month! I shop twice a week during Kupuna hours at the nearby Sack and Save. It is almost empty and only seniors are admitted. Masks are required. It is extremely safe. We like to buy most of our food fresh. This includes: fruit, vegetables, salad, meat, and dairy. Fresh is the way to go. I feel the restrictions will be in place until the end of the year. We are experiencing the new norm.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding? Almost empty? That is amazing! I wonder what it's like everywhere else. We still have meals I'd frozen over a month ago, but we'll try going out in a week or so.
DeleteGreat tip Kay, thank you :)
ReplyDeleteI really like the new banner picture.
ReplyDeleteI like the new banner picture too, Kay.It's beautiful. We are some serious garlic lovers around here so I might give this a try. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI like your new banner, Kay!
ReplyDeleteI've wasted more garlic than I care to admit to. Right now, I have a small jar of minced garlic in oil sitting in my refrigerator, and a huge bulb of garlic in a plastic zippered bag sitting on the shelf in my pantry. I'm hoping the one in the pantry keeps better than the last bulb that sat in the crisper in the refrigerator. It mildewed before getting tossed--ewww.
ReplyDelete