At home, you can save garlic heads for the winter. Simple ways will help to preserve their juiciness, freshness and aroma.
In banks
The heads of garlic are well preserved in glass jars. To do this, they must first be thoroughly dried, but not peeled from the top layer of the husk. Procedure:
- Take a sterilized jar.
- Lay the first row of heads and sprinkle with flour so that it completely covers them.
- Then the second row and a layer of flour.
- Alternate packing until the container is full.
Flour preserves the vegetable well from premature drying and the appearance of mold.
Replace flour with salt. Pour 2-3 cm of coarse salt onto the bottom of the can. Then lay the heads, and again pour them with salt. So you need to fill the whole jar. Salt absorbs excess moisture, which does not allow garlic to heat, deteriorate.
In glass jars, you can store peeled slices:
- Take a sterilized, dry container and a plastic lid.
- Place pre-peeled garlic cloves all the way to the top.
- Pour them with any vegetable oil (olive, sunflower, corn).
Place a full can in the refrigerator on the lower shelf. Shelf life is more than 3 months. So garlic will retain its juiciness and freshness, fill the aroma with oil, which can then be used for frying.
In cling film
Cling film will help keep garlic fresh for a long time. Wrap dried heads in 2-3 layers. Store in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment.
If there is no refrigerator or space in it, then put the garlic wrapped in a film in a cardboard box. Sprinkle each layer with small wood chips. Put the container in a cool place, for example, a cellar, a balcony, a corridor.
In paraffin
An unusual and slightly time-consuming method. It allows you to extend the shelf life by several months without loss of freshness and juiciness:
- Melt the paraffin with a water bath.
- Unpeeled garlic heads, in turn, lower them into a hot substance, holding them by the tails.
- Put on a plastic film and let cool for 2-3 hours.
Fold the frozen paraffin heads into pre-prepared cardboard boxes. Keep in a cool place. A thin protective layer will not allow the vegetable to dry, so freshness and aroma will be preserved.
In cloth bags or nylon tights
Dry the heads, cut the tops and put them in the prepared bag. Store in a cool place, for example, in a cellar, on a loggia.
Note:
- If the storage room has low humidity, sprinkle the heads with onion husks.
- If the humidity is high, then first dip a bag of cloth into a strong saline solution, dry in the sun. After that, it can be used for storage.
In pigtails or bunches
They learned to store garlic in braided pigtails or bunches a long time ago. This does not require any financial costs. Dry the grown vegetable along with the stem. Braid the braid or gather in a bundle. Hang in a cool, dry place on a nail or hook. In this state, the heads are stored for up to 5-6 months.
If you hang garlic braids in the kitchen, they will become an additional detail of your interior.
In drawers and cardboard boxes
For storing garlic in cardboard boxes, wooden boxes or wicker baskets, the optimal regimen must be observed:
- room humidity - not more than 50-80%;
- air temperature - from +3 ° С to −5 ° С.
At the dried garlic, trim the roots and lightly burn them on the fire. This can be done using a lighter, a candle or a gas stove. Then put the heads in a container and place in a dark, cool place.
In vacuum packaging
Storage of garlic heads in vacuum packaging allows for a long time to maintain freshness and aroma. Oxygen does not enter, so mold or rot does not occur. Pack the heads in the bag. Using a special device, pump out the air. You can store in a refrigerator or drawer in a cool place. Thus, garlic will preserve its taste for a long time.
And you can also use cans with special lids for vacuum storage of products. Place whole heads or cloves of garlic in a tight row in a container, cover it with a lid and pump out the air.
