Sweet Green Apples: Garlic
When I first moved out on my own one of the first things I purchased was a long string of garlic, thinking it would look pretty to hang up while I used it. Turned out that it wasn’t really set up properly for that, so I spent about three months trying desperately to use it up. It finally got to the point where enough of it went bad that it wasn’t worth the trimming, so the next time I went shopping I contemplated a jar of minced garlic, like I used to buy.
And passed on it. I’ve gotten to a point where I enjoy it: peeling the garlic, the papery feel against my fingers. Cutting each clove up, mincing the resultant pile of garlic pieces until they’re just right, careful of my fingers because I’m still learning how to keep them out of the way properly. Putting them in a pan with some olive oil to sautee for a while; the aroma, the sound. Yes, it takes longer than scooping it out of a jar, but I’m convinced it tastes better – and the doing of it is so much more satisfying.
That stuff in a jar tastes weird, too.
When I bought my 5 pound bag of peeled garlic from the Asian grocery and it started going bad before I could use it all, what I did was chop it up into snack-size ziplocks and throw it into the freezer. Still pretty handy like the jarred stuff, and it doesn’t taste funny either. I do that with peppers and onions too.
Ooh, didn’t know how well that would work. I shall keep it in mind for next time, for sure!
If you do ever have a need for the jarred kind (useful if you’re cooking a large meal that requires a boatload of garlic), don’t buy it at the supermarket. Hit up your local Indian market and get it there. Pureed, usually, and nothing but garlic and oil. It’s marvelous stuff.
Sounds good. Now all I have to do is find an Indian Store. Not easy around here.
I used to store my garlic (peeled, unchopped) in a simple brine … kept it from being so sticky when cutting it up, and the vinegar cooks off when it’s sauteed. Not as useful for making roasted garlic, though … which I should do again sometime soon.
I haven’t peeled garlic in a decade. It’s much more efficient if you put the clove down on the cutting board so it is stable, lay the side of your knife flat on the clove, and smash the knife with your fist.
It also makes chopping the garlic much easier since all you have to do, once you remove the shell, is run your knife through it a few times go chop the bits that didn’t smash properly.
Use the bear claw — guiding the knife with the knuckles of the hand not holding the knife. Safe and effective.