Garlic

Garlic needs to be stored in a cool dry place where they’ll keep for quite some time. The garlic will keep at least a month. The bulbs don’t rot the way onions do, but you do have to check them because they will eventually shrivel and turn into something good only for compost.

More garlic arriving than you can use fresh? (Is that possible?) You can dehydrate them – just peel the cloves and slice. Or chop up the garlic and store it covered with olive oil or any other oil you like. Just be sure you store that chopped garlic and oil in the refrigerator, and use it within a month or so.

I’ve frozen whole garlic cloves, and they work ok for cooked dishes. Just peel them, pop in a freezer bag, and you’re done.

What I like best to do is to roast garlic and store it, covered in oil, in a jar in the refrigerator. Just wrap the cloves of garlic with foil, bake at 350 for about a half hour (depending on the size of the bulbs) or until they’re soft to the touch. Cool, squeeze the garlic out of the skins into a jar, and cover with olive oil. They’ll keep for about 2 months, if you make sure you keep the oil topped up. Just spoon out a teaspoon or two when you want roasted garlic spread on a pizza or bruschetta, or to flavor a soup, sauce or stew.