Since dried garlic cloves are a flavorful seasoning for soups, seafood, meat and poultry, many people are interested in how to dry garlic at home? There are several proven ways to properly dry garlic yourself so that it does not lose its taste and beneficial qualities. Today you will learn about preparing the product for drying, drying without damaging the integrity of the bulbs, in a bunch, storing in powder form, and whether garlic can be dried in the sun.
You can use vegetables of the Kalininsky, Rostovsky, Kirovogradsky, Starobelsky White, Creole, Southern Violet, Ukrainian White and others varieties. In principle, any of the varieties known among gardeners can be dried. A few days before the planned digging, you should stop watering the crop. Since the soil must be dry, it is not recommended to dig up the plant after it has rained. Don't wait for the garlic to ripen. At this point, the foliage becomes characteristically yellow and is located on the surface of the ground.
In the process of digging up a vegetable of this degree of maturity, both the scales and the teeth themselves will inevitably be easily separated from the heads. They can get dirty with soil. It is forbidden to wash the teeth, as they can become moldy. It is also not recommended to dig up an unripe crop. Since its bulbs will have a loose and loose structure, which will make them difficult to dry and store. Garlic should be dried in a cool, dry place. Do not remove the roots, leaves and stem.
Many people practice drying this wonderful product, knowing about all its beneficial qualities.
Garlic improves immunity, exhibits antibacterial and antiviral properties, reduces bad cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke.
But it also effectively fights worms, helps treat joint pain, and is used as an adjuvant in the treatment of liver diseases.
It is an excellent prevention of impotence in men and diseases of the cardiovascular system in any person.
Drying in a bundle
How to dry garlic in a bunch? Its preliminary drying is carried out directly on the site. After digging it up, it is left there for a couple of days. After the roots and tops have dried and the scales have become more closely attached to the surface of the bulb, you can harvest the crop from the area. If there are cold and rainy days this year, the drying procedure should be carried out in a room with a temperature of +30 degrees and last no longer than 8 days. It is customary to braid garlic with tops into braids, which are hung in a dry place where it is somewhat cool.
After digging up mature garlic, you can dry its heads without chopping them. It is required to allocate a room for the product with a temperature of no more than + 10 degrees. Next, the garlic should be laid in 1 layer for several months. The roots should become shriveled and the leaves should change color to brown. It is necessary to remove some foliage and trim the roots. The stem should be cut at a height of about 2.5 cm from the head. Garlic is stored in this form in stockings. A dark and dry place is suitable.
You can dry the vegetable peeled. It is required to sort clean and mature product. After removing its top layer, the garlic should be cut into plates about 6 mm thick, spread on a sieve or baking sheet, after laying it with parchment paper. Next, drying is carried out in the oven or oven at a temperature of +50 degrees. Checking whether the slices have dried properly is not so difficult. Just bend one in your hand and it should break.
Dry garlic can be made into a flavorful powder. The product must be ground using a coffee grinder. This powder will not lose its smell and taste for 1 year. How to do it? To do this, good heads are selected and the husks are removed from them. You can grind it not only with a coffee grinder. Some people like to finely chop the garlic themselves, others use a food processor. Drying in an oven with the temperature set at + 93 degrees is required.
Sometimes this procedure is carried out in a special dehumidifier. Where the product is placed for 2 days at a temperature of about +35 degrees. By chopping dried garlic and passing it through a sieve, you can store the powder for about 2 months.
Can it be dried in the sun?
You can dry garlic in the sun if this is necessary to obtain a large amount of product during the season and sell it. This method cannot be called justified for self-drying. Since laying the vegetable out in the sun significantly reduces its shelf life in the future. Under the influence of scorching sunlight, the top layer of the vegetable cracks. Which does not have the best effect on the quality of the bulbs.
If you still want to use this method, place the dug garlic in the shade. Then its taste and aroma will not be affected. And you can add your favorite seasoning to various dishes to suit your taste and enjoy their unique taste. It is also recommended to dry in the sun those plants that you plan to plant before winter. This should be done within 3 days.
Video “Drying garlic”
From this video you will learn how to properly dry garlic and store it in the form of garlic powder.
You will need
- - plastic cup;
- - knife;
- - latex gloves;
- - cutting board;
- - thin plywood or baking sheet;
- - sieve;
- - sealed glass container.
Instructions
Cut the cloves into thin slices. You should not wash them before this procedure. This will make drying more difficult and will further shorten the shelf life of the garlic. You can cut the cloves with a simple knife. But it is best to use a special string cutting machine for this purpose.
Take a baking sheet or sheet of thin plywood. Line them with a clean cloth, parchment or foil. Place chopped garlic on a plywood or baking sheet in one layer. This method is the best answer to the question of how to dry garlic outside. You should not lay the slices in too thick a layer. Otherwise they may rot.
Place the outermost slices of the clove so that the cut point faces upward. This will reduce the amount of juice leaking out of the slices. As a result, dry garlic will retain more nutrients.
Place the plywood or baking sheet somewhere in the area. Choose the least dusty, sunny place, away from the road, sheds, compost heaps, etc. In very dry and hot weather, garlic can also be dried under a canopy. The slices dry out quite quickly. The garlic will be ready in about a week.
So we figured out how to dry garlic in the sun. What's next? And then it also needs to be prepared for storage. To do this, simply grind the dried garlic into powder in a blender. You can, of course, skip this step. However, it is believed that garlic can be stored longer in powder form - more than six months. You just need to eat the dried slices within a maximum of five months.
Sift the powder through a fine sieve. Pass too large pieces through the blender again. If you wish, you can also simply place them in a separate container. This dried garlic is good for preparing first courses. In water, large pieces swell and become similar to ordinary garlic.
Place the sifted powder in a glass jar and close it tightly with a lid. Store the garlic in the refrigerator. Now you know how to air dry garlic correctly.
Do not keep cooked garlic powder at room temperature. In this case, unfortunately, it will quickly lose its useful qualities. Select the total volume of storage containers based on the fact that the powder yield by weight is approximately 1/2-1/3 of the weight of peeled raw cloves.
Video on the topic
note
Do not overcook garlic during storage. A good, high-quality powder of this vegetable is white or, at most, slightly yellowish in color (but not brown or black).
Helpful advice
Ground garlic dried in this way can, if desired, be used in preparing both first and second courses. Some housewives add this powder to pickles.
In order for garlic to be stored for a long time and not lose its taste and beneficial properties, it is important to collect the vegetables in time and dry them properly. Lack of watering the crop a month before harvest significantly increases the shelf life of the product during the winter months.
Preserving garlic for the winter is not difficult, especially if you properly prepare the vegetables for harvesting and storage. Just the absence of watering and fertilizing a month before harvest, as well as proper drying, significantly increases the immunity of plants, thanks to which vegetables are perfectly stored until next summer (of course, if storage conditions are met).
If everything is clear with stopping watering and applying fertilizers, then with drying it is not so simple. Some gardeners think that a couple of days is enough to properly dry the vegetables and send them “for the winter.” However, it is not. The drying time of garlic depends on weather conditions, and not only the weather during which the vegetables are dried is taken into account, but also the weather that was before the harvest. If there were many rainy days a month before digging up the vegetables, then the garlic should be kept in a well-ventilated area for a couple of days longer, otherwise there is a risk of not drying the heads completely, which will inevitably cause them to rot in the future.
Now regarding the actual drying of garlic. After digging up the crop, you need to carefully remove the soil from the heads with your hands, spread the vegetables on the garden bed and leave them for two to three days (of course, if the weather permits, that is, there is no rain). After the specified time, you should continue to dry the garlic, but under a canopy or in a well-ventilated area. To do this, the vegetables should be transferred to a specially designated place, laid out on a flat surface or hung by the stems, and left for another two to three days.
How to dry garlic after digging in rainy weather
If it has been raining for a long time and there are no sunny days forecast in the near future, then you cannot postpone harvesting vegetables. Dig up the vegetables and try to remove any clumps of soil from each head. If you can’t do this, do not wash the garlic under any circumstances, but send it to dry in this form. Collect plants in bunches of five to seven pieces, tie them by the stems and hang them in a well-ventilated area (barn, attic). Leave the garlic to dry for at least seven days.
Garlic is one of the most valuable products, the demand for which never falls. Today, crop cultivation is carried out both by private individuals who have their own plot of land, and by small and large farms. In the process of this production, the problem arises of how to keep the harvested crop safe and sound.
You can find out whether it is possible to dry garlic in the sun and how long it should be done, and what ways to preserve garlic for further use in food by reading this article.
When to dig up garlic?
Before you figure out how to dry garlic, you should know the best time to dig it up. To ensure that the efforts invested in growing crops are not wasted, you need to determine exactly when to harvest the crop, since incorrect timing can negatively affect its storage.
All gardeners know that there are 2 types of garlic - winter (winter) and spring. It is clear that the first type is planted in the fall, and in winter it is in the ground, and the spring type is planted in the spring. It turns out that their ripening periods are different.
How to decide on the collection time? When the shoots grow on the winter variety of garlic (late June), these shoots should be removed so that the plant can devote all its strength to the growth of the fruit. Only on some of them you need to leave them, since they are a guideline for the onset of the cleaning period. When the garlic is fully ripe, the arrow straightens and the seed pod cracks, revealing bulbs. You can find out how to dry garlic below.
The spring variety is dug up later than the winter variety (2-3 weeks). In this case, the degree of maturity can be judged by the lower leaves of the plant. They should be yellowed around the edges, but with a greenish tint in the middle.
Mandatory rules for harvesting garlic
To prevent the vegetable from rotting during storage, you need to prepare for harvesting in advance. Approximately 30 days before the digging date, watering should be stopped. It is important to note that in winter it will be better to store garlic that has finally ripened. To speed up the process, about 12 days before harvesting, you can remove a little soil from each plant. It is best to harvest garlic in warm, dry and sunny weather.
Is it possible to dry garlic in the sun? It is important to remember that it is not advisable for garlic heads to be exposed to direct sunlight for a long time. Otherwise, the vegetable may get a little baked, resulting in short storage.
It is better to harvest the crops using a fork to prevent damage to the heads. The garlic is dug up, removed from the soil and gently shaken from the ground. Until the entire harvest is harvested, the dug up fruits can lie in the garden bed. The vegetable should be dug up only in dry weather (it is advisable that there has been no rain in the previous two days).
The dug up garlic will need several days to dry. In dry and warm weather, you can leave it right in the garden all day, but if the weather is damp and cloudy, you can leave it in a well-ventilated area (in the attic or basement). You can also take the harvest outside every day and bring it into a warm room at night. After complete drying, the vegetables must be freed from soil and stems. The length of the remaining trim depends on the storage method.
Knowledge of how to dry garlic is important for the preservation of vegetables. Usually the plant is laid out in one layer on a flat surface in a dry room. Its upper part needs to be cut off only after 3 weeks of drying. By that time, the stem transfers all the remaining nutrients to the head of garlic. It is recommended to trim the roots immediately.
After complete drying, the harvest must be carefully sorted, removing garlic that is affected by the disease and has various mechanical damage. Sprouted crops should also be discarded.
Garlic for storage in a bundle
How to dry garlic in a bunch after harvesting? During the drying of the dug up crop, the roots and tops of the plant dry well, and the garlic, oddly enough, ripens. The scales dry out and press tightly against the bulb.
If the room temperature is about 30 °C, such drying should be carried out for approximately 6-8 days. After complete drying, the tops should be trimmed. For braiding or forming bundles, it is advisable to leave stems up to 20 cm long, after which the finished bundles are hung in a cool, dry room.
How to dry garlic without destroying the bulbs
For use as food in winter, garlic is dried in a variety of ways. In this case, it is carefully cleared of the hard upper scales, without destroying the bulbs. Then it is cut into pieces about 5 mm thick and laid out on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Dry in the oven or oven at a temperature of 50 ° C. To prevent steaming or uneven drying, the garlic should be stirred periodically.
In this form, the garlic, spread out in a thin layer, can be dried in the sun if the weather is good. Slices of well-dried garlic stop bending and break easily.
Then, after cooling, the garlic slices should be separated from the scales in the dried mixture, and the finished product should be packaged in resealable jars, boxes or paper bags.
Drying peeled garlic
How long does it take to dry peeled garlic?
The heads are divided into cloves, which are completely peeled. The root collar of the cloves is cut off. All teeth should be free of any stains or damage.
You can grate the garlic, but this releases a lot of juice, making drying it almost impossible. You can also use a food processor, but this will make the slices very wet. Therefore, the best way is hand cutting.
Thin slices are laid out on a baking sheet with parchment. The garlic is dried in the oven (or in an electric dryer) at a temperature of about 60°C. The mass is periodically stirred and ventilated by opening the door (to prevent steaming). All this is done within a few hours.
For such drying, garlic can also be cut in half. Drying time depends on temperature, degree of grinding, quality of garlic and drying temperature. And in this case, ready-made, properly dried garlic should break easily.
Lastly about Garlic Powder
How and where to dry garlic to obtain powder from it? Garlic slices dried using the methods described above can be crushed either in a blender or in a coffee grinder until a powder is achieved. The resulting mass is sifted through a sieve to achieve a homogeneous state. The aroma of garlic, crushed to coarse crumbs, is better felt in dishes.
After all of the above methods of drying garlic, the finished products are placed in sealed jars, paper bags and boxes and stored in a cool, dry and dark room for a year.
Dried garlic is an aromatic seasoning that goes great with meat, poultry, seafood and all kinds of soups. During the cooking process, dried garlic in the oven loses its bitterness, while retaining all its beneficial properties and aroma. That is why dried garlic is ideal for many first and second courses, and it is also recommended to add it to preserves so that preparations for the winter do not explode and are guaranteed to last for 2-3 years.
At home, you can dry garlic in the oven in just 3-4 hours. Depending on the type of dish, you can use granulated garlic or flakes, which are perfectly stored all winter on the shelf along with other spices.
Ingredients
- garlic 0.5 kg.
Preparation
1. To prepare, you only need one ingredient - garlic of any variety, mature, with well-formed cloves.
2. Peel the husks from the cloves using a knife. If there are any contaminants, they should be carefully cut off or cleaned with a damp sponge - do not wash, as excess moisture will take a long time to evaporate and the drying time will increase.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut into thin slices - the thinner the slice, the faster the garlic will dry.
4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment and place the resulting garlic chips on it in one layer. There is no need to grease the parchment with anything.
5. Place the baking sheet in the oven and dry the garlic for 3-4 hours at a minimum temperature of 60-80 degrees - the oven door must be slightly open so that air circulates well. If the flakes were cut a little thicker, the drying time should be increased.
6. Well-dried garlic flakes are dense and crispy and break easily when pressed with your fingers.
7. In order to turn dried garlic flakes into granules, you need to grind it in a blender or mortar.
8. After 1-2 minutes of grinding in a blender, the granulated garlic will be completely ready. The granules should be well dried; if they are slightly damp to the touch, then the garlic should be returned to the oven and dried for another 15-20 minutes.
Mussels (and also mytilids) are the name given to marine bivalve mollusks that live throughout the world's oceans and have been eaten by humans since time immemorial.
The most popular edible mussels for cooking are the Black Sea mussels and, caught in the cold Seas of Japan and Okhotsk, as well as in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, Gray's mussels (or giant mussels).
Every year, during the season of active fishing/collection of these delicious shellfish (at the very end of August), the small Belgian village of Erseke hosts “Mosseldag” (Mussell Day) - a holiday during which people eat valve mollusks in truly huge quantities in local restaurants and cafes. By the way, here is the only “Mussell Exchange” in the world, so there is, as they say, “no end” to buyers (retail and wholesale), as well as tourists.
Now mussels are not only caught in natural habitats, but also artificially grown on special platform farms. And the cost of the meat of such mussels in the refrigerated display cases of supermarkets is somewhat cheaper than the meat of their “wild” counterparts.
Nutritional value and chemical composition of mussels
The nutritional value:
- Calorie content: 77 kcal
- Proteins: 11.5 g
- Fats: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 3.3 g
- Water: 82 g
- Saturated fatty acids: 0.4 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
- Ash: 1.6 g
Macronutrients:
- Calcium: 50 mg
- Magnesium: 30 mg
- Sodium: 290 mg
- Potassium: 310 mg
- Phosphorus: 210 mg
- Sulfur: 115 mg
Vitamins:
- Vitamin PP: 1.6 mg
- Vitamin A: 0.06 mg
- Vitamin A (VE): 60 mcg
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine): 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): 0.14 mg
- Vitamin C: 1 mg
- Vitamin E (TE): 0.9 mg
- Vitamin PP (Niacin equivalent): 3.7 mg
Microelements:
- Iron: 3.2 mg
Mussels are one of the lowest-calorie foods that modern people eat. They are rich in healthy proteins (by the way, there is much more protein in mussels than in any fish or even meat) and contain almost no carbohydrates.
What are the benefits of mussels?
The benefits of mussels are determined by the composition of their meat (muscle), as well as the mantle and shell fluid, which are also used to prepare delicious dishes.
The inclusion of mussels in the diet of a modern person (with regular consumption) provides:
- improvement of metabolism;
- improving immune status.
Mussel meat is a product that can provide fairly reliable prevention of arthritis. And besides, such meat stimulates:
- circulation;
- removing toxins and waste from the body.
Mussel meat is literally saturated with mineral salts, vitamins (here almost the entire group B, as well as vitamins PP, E and D), and microelements. Mussels contain a lot of phosphorus, iron, manganese, zinc and cobalt. High content of iodine, as well as healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Like any seafood, mussels have a beneficial effect on activity .
They also improve mood and prevent numerous nervous disorders. Regular consumption of mussels is the key to strong bones, prolonging external youth, and maintaining the natural beauty of skin and hair.
The positive effect of mussel meat, mantle and shell fluid on male potency has been proven. Some doctors even call this product "natural Viagra."
But mussels are not recommended for children, pregnant and lactating women due to some features of their existence that can affect the quality of nutrition of these population groups. So not everyone can appreciate the beneficial properties of mussels.
Why are mussels harmful?
Mussels can be harmful to human health. Especially if they do not undergo mandatory pre-sale preparation (we are talking about mollusks living in their natural habitat). They can interfere with blood clotting and can cause serious allergic reactions.
In addition, the harm of mussels has been proven for patients suffering from gout, since in the human body protein compounds are converted into uric acid, and it can be painfully deposited in the joints.
But in general, mussels have few contraindications. In fact, anyone can eat these shellfish in reasonable quantities. Unless, of course, you have an individual intolerance to seafood.
Features of preparing and eating mussels
Freshly caught mussels, unless they have been artificially grown on special plantation farms, cannot be eaten. They must be kept (and for at least a month) in fresh settling ponds.
The fact is that these valve mollusks are living natural filters, whose mission is to cleanse the natural environment of their own habitat. They are capable of accumulating toxins and microorganisms harmful to human health. And they simply need a fairly long quarantine to get rid of their sometimes downright dangerous “baggage.”
When buying mussels in a supermarket, it is better to choose frozen packages. Unless you live near the shellfish farm described above. And you should pay attention to the appearance of the purchase - if the mussels are stuck together in an ice lump, there is a great danger that they were already defrosted at some point. And maybe even spoiled.
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