How to store garlic at home
Problems with the preservation of garlic worry any housewife and any summer resident who has grown it themselves. Garlic is a necessary product when preparing various dishes; it is used, in some cases, as medicine.
Content:
Briefly about garlic
Garlic squeeze is used by gardeners and gardeners in the fight against parasitic insects that harm the crops being grown. Garlic is very effective against powdery mildew, black spot and fusarium.
Even in ancient Egypt, garlic was used as a medicine that priests fed to slaves, protecting them from colds. Mentions of this are found on frescoes made inside the remains of ancient architecture. During all this time, he has not lost his unique qualities. That's why safety task harvested or purchased garlic becomes very important if its long-term use is necessary.
Conditions for preparation for storage
The standard, grandmotherly method has always been braided braids that were hung indoors. In old paintings and historical films, you can often see these interesting weaves of onions and garlic hanging on walls or attics. Why, many still remember very well these braids that their own grandmothers made. But not everyone knows that in addition to braiding, there are many more ways to store garlic.
It would not be amiss to remind you that the garlic that lasts the longest is the one that was harvested on time, preventing the heads from cracking, controlling the moment of yellowing of the leaves, drying them properly in the shade and selecting healthy heads.
Winter harvested around the twentieth of July, and spring - in the first ten days of August. The most important thing to remember is that garlic must be harvested in completely dry weather, early in the morning or in the evening, when the sun's rays are not particularly strong. After which it needs to be allowed to dry for some time in the fresh air and, only after that, preparations for drying begin. In addition, you need to trim it correctly: remove the roots with scissors, a knife or pruning shears, and then burn it with fire, and cut the stem, retreating 1.5-2 cm from the beginning of the neck.
Winter garlic is perfectly stored in a cool, dry room, where the temperature is from +3 to -5 degrees, until about the New Year. Spring - significantly more: until spring and even until the new harvest, taking into account the need to maintain the same temperature conditions.
You need to understand that in apartment conditions, even with proper preparation for storage, you can only achieve 3-4 months of complete preservation. Freezing also entails the loss of not only beneficial vitamins, but also a significant deterioration in taste.
It is best to carry out the following manipulations before starting to add garlic: you need to heat the vegetable oil for two hours, add iodine to it at the rate of 10 drops per half liter, and treat each garlic head with this solution. Let it dry in the sun and you can start using any storage methodswhich will give the best final result.
Storage Methods
Here are some examples of preparation and storage from folk experience:
- Pour a small layer of salt into a wooden box with frequent small holes in the walls, place garlic heads in a row on it and cover them with another layer of salt. Repeat the procedure, filling to the top. With this type of storage, the garlic will remain fresh and juicy until spring. Instead of salt, you can take dry sawdust or ash.
- You can preserve garlic in sunflower oil. The cloves must be peeled, poured into a jar, shaken well to seal, pour in oil and close with a lid with holes so that the garlic does not “suffocate”. This oil has a pleasant garlicky smell.
- You can store garlic in bags made of thick and natural fabric, best together with onion peels. This method is most effective when the garlic is purchased in a store and in not very large quantities.
- There is one more folk recipe storage, in which the heads of garlic are dipped in melted paraffin and then allowed to drain. Paraffin prevents moisture from evaporating from the teeth. This method was constantly used previously in state vegetable warehouses before being sent to the distribution network and gave very good results.
- Many people store unpeeled garlic in glass jars, sprinkled with dry flour (the last layer of flour should be at least 2 cm).
Thus, observing all the rules described above, you can achieve good results, making sure all your garlic finally goes into cooking and doesn't end up in the trash. So that for the first time in winter you don’t have to resort to the services of stores for what you were able to grow yourself in the garden, and now preserve with high quality.
Comments
Why was garlic always stored in stockings? For preservation, constant air circulation is needed. In closed cabinets, garlic “suffocates”, becomes moldy, and becomes unusable.
Previously, I used one of the described methods - dipped the heads of garlic in paraffin and dried them. Indeed, the method is good, but quite labor-intensive. Clay pots or jars with lids for storing garlic are now on sale. Special holes are knocked out in the walls. In general, garlic is preserved well in them.
I also store it as indicated in this article, or rather in a thick cotton bag. And my mother-in-law stores it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, having previously pierced the bag in several places.
I store it in a cool, dark place; when exposed to light, the garlic can sprout. It can also be in the refrigerator, in a bag, on the refrigerator door, but only in small quantities unless...
I can't say anything about this method. I store garlic as my grandmother taught me. I remove it when the head begins to open, without watering it beforehand. Then I cut the roots and braid them into braids. I dry it in the shade for a week and hang it in the cellar. It can be stored for at least 8 months, or even until the next harvest.
As a rule, ancient recipes for storing, and not only garlic, are always reliable. But let me ask you this: when I store garlic in a cotton bag, the garlic still “dries out” quite a lot. Maybe it depends on the cultivation in some way or am I violating some storage rules - I often open the bag, for example?
I first dry the garlic in the sun, then remove the damaged heads and dry them in bundles under a canopy.And so as not to rot from above and below, I cut off all the grass and burn the bottom of each head over a candle. It's easier than dipping in paraffin. And I keep it hanging in bags on the balcony. He needs darkness and coolness no more than 2-3 degrees Celsius. Can you store it at room temperature? Then it will definitely dry out by half.