Garlic is one of the most popular spicy and very aromatic seasonings, which is an indispensable component of many cuisines around the world. Most Mediterranean, Asian and Oriental dishes would not be complete without it. Garlic is added to snacks, sauces and dressings, meat dishes and soups to give them a special aroma and taste. Often, instead of a natural vegetable, garlic powder is used when cooking.
It is obtained by drying and chopping fresh vegetables. First, peeled garlic cloves are cut into pieces and dried in a vegetable dehydrator or oven at low temperature for several hours. Then crushed using a coffee grinder or blender.
We decided to do without auxiliary devices and go the simple way, drying the garlic naturally at room temperature. However, this method of making garlic powder takes much longer than using an oven or dryer. But it is more economical (does not require electricity or gas) and useful (less valuable qualities are lost).
You can make garlic powder either from a fresh vegetable or from one that has been stored for several months.
Ingredients:
- heads of garlic.
How to make garlic powder at home:
Divide 1 head of garlic into cloves, peel each one, rinse with cold water, and dry.
Cut each slice into thin (no more than 2 mm thick) transverse slices (chips). The thinner the plates are, the faster they dry.
Place all the chips on parchment paper (you can spread it on a table, baking sheet or tray) in one layer, leaving a little free space between them.
After a day (or maybe a little earlier), carefully separate the stuck garlic slices from the parchment and leave to dry for another day or two. Stir the garlic chips from time to time so that they dry evenly on all sides.
On the third (or even the second) day, the garlic chips were already thoroughly dry. This can be determined by stretching the plates with your fingers. If they crumble easily, you can proceed to the final stage of preparing the spicy vegetable powder.
Pour the raw materials into a blender bowl or coffee grinder and grind to the desired state (powder or small granules). We are not in a hurry to open the device immediately after completing the process of grinding garlic chips, otherwise small particles of the spicy vegetable and its specific aroma will hit the nose sharply, and this can cause irritation of the nasal mucosa and facial skin. We wait about five minutes, then open the lid and pour the prepared garlic powder into a bowl or directly into a small dry jar (airtight container) for storage. So, from one head of garlic we got about one and a half tablespoons of very fine powder.
We store the container with garlic powder in a cool, dark place (in a cabinet, for example), where there is no access to sunlight.The shelf life of such a seasoning, prepared at home from a natural product without any chemical additives, can be at least six months.
If there is even the slightest suspicion that the garlic has not been completely dried, you can throw one cube of refined sugar into a jar of ready-made powder; it will absorb all the moisture. By the way, if you add other spices to garlic powder (salt, onion powder, ground pepper, parika), you can get an original seasoning for first and second courses.
Enjoy using it!
