Garlic Time

For whatever resaon, I hate peeling and chopping garlic. I don’t know if it’s because it’s all sticky, or because it makes my hands smell delicious for days, no matter how many times I wash them. In order to save myself some trouble, I decided to chop and preserve a massive amount of garlic all at once. I used 4 heads of garlic, and some olive oil.

Start by peeling and separating all the cloves.

Here is the easy trick to peel garlic: lay a flat knife blade on top of it…

…then squish it with your hand. Obviously, be very careful and aim the blade away from yourself. I managed to do this about 100 times in a row with no mishap, so it can’t be that hard. We all know how adept I am at injuring myself.

Now just peel those bad boys, and start chopping.

And keep chopping. FOR DAYS. Next time I plan to do this, which won’t be for a long time, considering how much garlic I chopped, I will use my food processor then just make hummus immediately afterward. Those things are not easy to clean, so I like to use it for at least 2 things when I have to use it.

Hell, you could also use it to make breadcrumbs from stale bread before the garlic goes in, and get 3 things made at once. You can also use this same process to freeze lots of fresh herbs, so maybe you can chop up dozens of things!

Scrape your chopped garlic into an icecube tray.

Then cover with olive oil. Put it in the freezer for a few hours, and warn your roommates/spouses so they don’t end up with the worst beverage ever by mistake.

I also put some of the chopped garlic in a container in the fridge, also packed in olive oil. The oil thickens and looks milky when it gets cold, so don’t worry about it. I used some to cook with this week, and everything came out delicious, as usual.

Once your garlic cubes are solid, pop them out of the tray and into a plastic bag, then back in the freezer.

Mine wouldn’t simply pop out of the tray like regular ice cubes, which gave me a brief moment of panic. I just turned the tray over and ran some warm water over the back, and they popped out alarmingly fast. I also recommend scrubbing your ice tray thoroughly after this so your roommates/spouses don’t end up with the second worst beverage ever.

July 31, 2012. Tags: how to freeze garlic, how to freeze herbs, how to peel garlic easily, storing garlic, storing herbs. Cooking.