There are a number of ways to preserve garlic, some of which include keeping fresh garlic on hand in the refrigerator, dried garlic, garlic in oil, or storing your garlic cloves in the freezer. While you may choose one of the other methods, we would love to tell you more about how freezing garlic is an excellent way to preserve the bulbs.
For the Love of Garlic!
A Few Basic Fun Facts
Although you may think of garlic as a herb because it is more often used as a seasoning, it is, in fact, a member of the lily family and is more similar to onions, chives and shallots than any other food category. Since garlic is quite pungent when consumed raw, it is usually sautéed, roasted, or cooked in some way before eating. Even so, the popularity of garlic is overwhelming as literally every cuisine in the world uses the bulb as well as the green shoots in many dishes. Additionally, there are compounds in garlic that are believed to be beneficial in preventing cancer. These are just a few reasons why we love garlic!
(http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/glossary/g/Garlic.htm)
Choosing to Freeze Garlic
Preserving Time and Flavor
If you love to cook with garlic, you may buy your garlic in bulk or you may grow your own and freezing would be an ideal way to preserve them. You can simply put the unpeeled cloves in a plastic bag in the freezer and remove only as needed, but instead of peeling and mincing each time, try one of these two different methods for freezing garlic and saving preparation time!
Peel the cloves before sealing them in a plastic bag and freezing. The cloves will be a little mushy after thawing, but they will still retain full flavor.
Peel, chop and wrap tightly with cellophane before freezing. Then, grate or break off the amount of chopped garlic as needed.
Also be sure that the garlic is sealed tightly to prevent the odor from infiltrating other food items in the freezer!
(http://www.vegkitchen.com/tips/preserving-garlic/)
Garlic and Oil
Freezing Is a Must!
You can also use oil to store the garlic whole or even to make a garlic paste to prevent it from freezing solid. However, the garlic in oil must not be stored at room temperature or even in the refrigerator for any length of time since this combination can promote the growth of a deadly, botulism-causing toxin. Here are two safe ways to use oil to store garlic in the freezer:
Place peeled cloves, chopped or whole, sealed in a container with oil and store in the freezer immediately.
Puree 1 part garlic and 2 parts oil in a food processor to create a paste that can simply be scooped out from a container in the freezer as needed.
When using oil to store garlic, be sure to cook with the garlic immediately after removing it from the freezer!
We hope you find these tips helpful on why freezing can be a safe, convenient way to preserve garlic.
(http://www.hgtvgardens.com/freezing/can-you-freeze-garlic-cloves)