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How do you keep fresh garlic from going bad?

gogounited

gogounited

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Aug 3, 2006
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Sniff, sniff. Wimper. Sniffle.
Name
Penny
Fucking hate making dinner and reaching for a clove of fresh garlic, no more than a week old, only to find it's all crinkly and stale and has an odd odor.

FACK.

Should I refrigerate it? Will it mold from the moisture? Anyone ever frozen garlic?
 
Where are you buying your garlic, dude, and how are you storing it? I'm still using garlic I bought a month ago, and it's still perfectly fresh, with no sprouting.

Garlic storing secrets: Dry air, and low light. Don't keep it in the plastic bag you threw it in when you bought it. If you must, put it in a mesh bag or a paper bag. Don't refrigerate it, or it will mold. Don't freeze it, because that will adversely affect its flavor and texture. Store it in a dark, cool place with plenty of air to circulate around it.

I just leave mine uncovered on the kitchen counter in a nook behind the flour canister.
 
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If you can find fresh garlic that still has a stalk on it, buy several and keep them in a cool, dark place. One vendor at the farmer's market in my town sells them in the late spring/early summer and I tend to buy several bunches with their stalks. Then I put them in a low kitchen cabinet that doesn't get much sunlight or heat. I checked this Sunday's farmer's market offerings and all of the garlic with stalks looked just like my garlic now -- somewhat firm but not so fresh.

A good bulb should still have the thick layer of skin around it, without any cracks in the membrane or any of the garlic flesh showing. You can squeeze the bulb too for firmness. If there's any give, find one that's firmer.
 
I wonder if the garlic going off so quickly has to do with where you buy it? If it is from Safeway it is probably shipped from a long distance and has been sitting around for awhile after harvest. If, on the other hand, you buy from a farmer's market or one of the local "crunchy" stores, the produce you buy is actually fresh and local...and might just last longer once you get it home.
Maybe:dunno

Or, maybe you got a bad head of garlic.
 
Janna said:
Where are you buying your garlic, dude, and how are you storing it? I'm still using garlic I bought a month ago, and it's still perfectly fresh, with no sprouting.

Garlic storing secrets: Dry air, and low light. Don't keep it in the plastic bag you threw it on when you bought it. If you must, put it in a mesh bag or a paper bag. Don't refrigerate it, or it will mold. Don't freeze it, because that will adversely affect its flavor and texture. Store it in a dark, cool place with plenty of air to circulate around it.
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I got it from the Save-A-Lot. Okay, that's probably my first mistake.

I like to leave all my unrefrigerated veggies in a wicker basket on top of the fridge. Tend to seperate the fruit from veggies, and sometimes I'm so silly as to arrange them so they look nice. :laughing Don't have a window in the kitchen, so the only light comes from the fixture. Maybe I just bought a bad bunch. :( It so sucks to go stuffing your chicken, only to wind up with garlic that just crumbles away into the trash can. Any tricky way to pick the best bunch? I usually just smell it, and make sure it's firm.
 
Actually, the problem I have with old garlic, is that it starts sprouting.

Which is nice, because then I can use garlic greens that night.
 
i get my garlic from pacific super. they got pre peeled garlic in a "meat pack"(the packaging you get your steaks in) its a shitload for like 2 bux. i store it in the fridge and after opening i put it in a vaccum bag.
 
R3DS!X said:
i get my garlic from pacific super. they got pre peeled garlic in a "meat pack"(the packaging you get your steaks in) its a shitload for like 2 bux. i store it in the fridge and after opening i put it in a vaccum bag.
Click to expand...
That's the super pesticide garlic from China. Buy local, keep in a cool dry place....

A good head of local garlic costs abt. $.25 more...
 
Valgar said:
Actually, the problem I have with old garlic, is that it starts sprouting.

Which is nice, because then I can use garlic greens that night.
Click to expand...

+1 about fricken time someone says something about Garlic Greens..

You ever chop some up, and mix them with chives on a baked potato? :cool
 
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