Can I mince garlic in advance?
I really hate mincing garlic in tiny batches for each dish. Is there any way to mince many bulbs in advance and store them for a week or more?
Best Answer
Mince fine a large quantity of garlic in the food processor and freeze it in ice cube trays. When solid move the cubes to a freezer bag.
My Indian friends mince garlic and ginger together and freeze it this way.
Pictures about "Can I mince garlic in advance?"
Can I mince garlic ahead of time?
To Prep-Ahead: It is best to use minced garlic immediately after preparing. To Store: If needed, you can refrigerate for up to an hour. After this amount of time the garlic will begin to get bitter. To Freeze: Store minced garlic in a tightly sealed freezer-safe airtight container for up to 3 months.Is it safe to store minced garlic in the fridge?
WARNING: The USDA advises against storing minced garlic in oil in the fridge or at room temperature, because there is risk of producing botulism toxins. If you want to mince garlic ahead and store it, freezing is the safest way to go.Can I chop garlic the night before?
It's safe to chop your garlic the night before. It will change color slightly due to oxidation, probably not enough to affect the look of the dish. It will lose flavor overnight though, so I wouldn't chop it until I'm ready to use it.Can you prep garlic in advance?
Garlic: Can be peeled and whole cloves stored in a glass jar or resealable bag until ready to use. Stays good for 7 to 10 days. Fresh minced garlic can lose its flavor/potency when prepared too far in advance, so chop as you go to preserve the flavor.Preserving Minced Garlic Inspired
More answers regarding can I mince garlic in advance?
Answer 2
This was a really big thing to do a few years back. Problem was that people would mince it and then store it in oil which is an oxygen free environment. You'd think that was a good thing until we realized that garlic seems to have a higher chance of botulism and botulism loves oxygen free environments. Very nasty!
Best thing to do is just peel your cloves and store them in an air tight container so they don't dry out too much. When you need garlic use a garlic press or mince them then. It'll taste better too.
Answer 3
My small Korean family goes through what can only be measured as pounds of garlic in a week. Most Korean foods that require garlic (hah, more like most korean foods require garlic!) want the garlic to be chopped up rather than in cloves. So my mother tends to buy 10-15lb bags of cloves, trims the ends, and blends the cloves in a food processor until they resemble coarsely chopped garlic. She would err on the side of almost pureed garlic, but I personally like my big pieces of garlic :)
If she didn't save a lot of money by buying garlic cloves in bulk, she'd buy the local Korean market's freshly minced garlic in containers like http://www.koreanhomefood.com/?p=573.
If you are planning to go this route, you can easily store minced garlic in an airtight container for a week, no oil required.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Eva Bronzini, Eva Bronzini, MART PRODUCTION, MART PRODUCTION