Is it possible to freeze garlic for the winter and how to do it. How to freeze garlic arrows for the winter Frozen garlic through a meat grinder

Frequent phenomena during long-term storage of garlic are drying out, unpleasant odor, and rotting. Many fruits fail to survive until spring, which is why housewives and owners of summer cottages are forced to buy spices in the store. If there is a lot of garlic harvest, then some of the heads can be frozen in the freezer. This does not affect the vitamin composition and antibacterial properties of the spicy fruit in any way; only partial loss of shape and aroma is possible.

What happens to garlic in the freezer?

There will be nothing left in the freezer with chopped garlic if you prepare it correctly. It will not become damp, will not become soft, and will not lose its astringent taste.


The freezer is one of the the best ways preserve not only garlic, but also other vegetables, both whole and sliced. The shelf life is extended to 12 months - exactly until the next harvest.

Advice
You can immediately place some of the heads in the freezer, or you can save drying fruits in this way closer to winter. But you should not freeze those cloves that cannot be stored fresh.

Another way to provide your family with the benefits of garlic for the winter is to add cloves to home canning. But still in the freezer raw garlic will remain as vitamin-rich and tasty as possible.


How to freeze: ideas

The easiest way to keep garlic healthy is to freeze the heads whole. But the taste and shape of thawed cloves will be significantly inferior to fresh ones. Heads of unpeeled garlic are placed in a chamber, wrapped in cling film.


You can also store peeled cloves. Once removed, they will be immediately ready for use. There's no need to defrost them; just place them straight into salads, soups, and other dishes. Use freezer bags or containers for storage. And in order not to mess around, chop or grate the cloves in advance and send the ready-made aromatic additive to the food into the chamber.

Advice from Miss Clean magazine
There is no need to freeze vegetables; there is a place in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator for them.

Another idea for storing garlic in the freezer allows you to maximize the taste, aroma and crunchy texture - chop the garlic cloves and add to the sauce.


Here is one of the most popular recipes:

  1. Take vegetable oil (refined or aromatic sunflower, olive, sesame oil - whatever you like) will do.
  2. Add fresh chopped parsley, dill, cilantro or any other.
  3. Peel the garlic, cut the cloves, finely grate or press using a garlic press.
  4. Mix the sauce thoroughly, add other seasonings if necessary.
  5. Use small serving containers or clip-on bags for storage.
  6. Add this mixture to side dishes, soups, and salads as needed.

You can come up with your own recipe for garlic sauce based on butter, sour cream and other products. Approach the issue of storing garlic creatively, and your winter menu will always delight your family.

It's no secret that it is not always possible to keep garlic fresh until the next harvest: the cloves dry out, sprout and lose their unique properties. In this case, garlic can be frozen whole heads. How to freeze whole garlic?

For this type of freezing, only fresh, young, undamaged root vegetables are suitable. It is noteworthy that it is better not to wash the heads of garlic before freezing, so that they do not become saturated with additional moisture. Therefore, carefully remove the outer contaminated films from the garlic and inspect the heads for damage.


If you have selected the best heads of garlic, then you can safely put them in a bag (I often use ziplock bags, they are convenient for freezing), release excess air from the bag, put a sticker inside with the date of freezing and close the bag tightly. Can be put in the freezer.


Another method is to freeze peeled garlic cloves. To do this, select good garlic, divide it into cloves, and peel it.


Garlic prepared for freezing can be placed in a bag, remembering to label the contents, or it can be placed in a food container. For me, in this case, a container is more preferable, because it is convenient to get the required number of cloves from it. The container also needs to be signed, after which you can put it in the freezer to freeze.


Garlic freezes quite quickly - literally in a few hours. And then you can safely store it in the freezer at a temperature of about -18 degrees for six months.

Garlic heads are easy to use: if necessary, you just need to remove the garlic from the bag, slowly defrost and use as intended.

As for frozen garlic cloves, they are most convenient to use when cooking variety of sauces. For me personally, the most common case when you need a couple of cloves of garlic is for sauce.

Is it possible to freeze garlic for the winter in the freezer? Don't even doubt it. At home, you can freeze both young garlic and green garlic arrows (greens) until spring! Wherein frozen garlic doesn't lose his useful qualities and the aroma that is inherent in it.

How to freeze garlic for the winter at home in the refrigerator?

Freezing garlic at home is very easy. The first thing you need to do is prepare the garlic for freezing. The main thing is that it must be clean, free from rot and mold.

Separate the garlic heads into cloves. Peel each clove and rinse under running water. Spread the garlic out on a paper towel to dry.

Cut completely dry garlic cloves into thin slices. The garlic is almost ready to be frozen. But you may want to add aromatic herbs, for example, or basil. Add and stir.

You can freeze prepared garlic and herbs in small containers or in food-grade plastic bags. Place garlic in them. Pack tightly. Place garlic for freezing in the refrigerator freezer.

How else can you freeze garlic for the winter? You can grind the garlic in a blender with or without herbs. Place into containers and place in the freezer for storage. In winter, add frozen garlic to sauce, marinade, minced meat, borscht, etc.

How to freeze garlic for the winter in the refrigerator video

Housewives often use freezing garlic to store it. This method has both pros and cons. Namely:

pros:

  • garlic retains antibacterial properties;
  • retains useful microelements;
  • lasts longer than any other method;
  • ready to use immediately.

Minuses:

  • loses a little aroma;
  • the taste is not as pronounced as fresh;
  • after defrosting, it loses its appearance and “creeps”.

The pros and cons overlap each other, as a result of which each housewife herself will evaluate expediency freezing garlic. An alternative could be a method of preserving garlic for the winter, such as using household appliances or fresh air.

Methods

Garlic is frozen:

Entirely unrefined

Is it possible to freeze whole garlic in the freezer? This method is used quite rarely.

You can freeze garlic entirely, but upon subsequent defrosting it will lose its shape and be very It's not easy to clean it. For this reason, this freezing method is not recommended.

If you still decide to resort to freezing whole heads of garlic, you just need to put them in plastic bags. Place these bags in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

Peeled slices

This method is preferable to the previous one. Garlic is frozen already peeled; after removal from the freezer it is already ready to use in preparing a dish, sauce, etc.

Garlic mass

A good option for freezing garlic. Garlic is twisted in a meat grinder and frozen in containers. If necessary, remove the container from freezer, use a knife to cut off the garlic mass as much as necessary. The container with the remaining mass is placed back in the freezer.

Did you know that there are even methods for freezing garlic? special devices? About one of them in this video:

Preparation

Garlic must first be prepared for storage:

  • after harvest process the heads, cutting off the stems and root system;
  • sort. For freezing, you can use those heads of garlic that are not suitable for fresh storage. If the damage is not critical, you can separate the unusable slices and throw them away. This is possible, since garlic is rarely frozen whole; it is still taken apart;
  • clear slices from the husk;
  • grind, if you plan to store it as a frozen mass.

Where is the best place to freeze garlic? It makes no difference whether the garlic is frozen in the freezer section of the refrigerator or in a separate chest freezer. Garlic is not as fragile as, for example. Nothing will happen to him even if you tightly fold the bags with it into a freezer container.

How to freeze garlic at home? The best way to freeze garlic is:

  • in plastic bags;
  • in plastic containers (especially if it is garlic mass).

Almost any small ones will do plastic containers. You can freeze garlic on trays by wrapping them cling film.

A method for freezing garlic mass in ice trays in this video:

Instructions

How to freeze garlic for the winter? At what temperature should I freeze?

The ideal temperature for freezing any vegetables stored this way is -18 degrees.

It is maintained in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator and in any freezers. At this temperature, garlic will last a long time, will not lose useful properties and will be ready to eat immediately after defrosting.

Before freezing garlic in the freezer, you need to follow a number of steps:

It's better to take small containers for freezing garlic mass and small plastic bags for freezing cloves. It's extremely practical. Freezing garlic in small portions, it is more convenient to use.

Shelf life

Main advantage freezing garlic before other methods - shelf life. It increases significantly and amounts to 12 months.

If, when choosing other storage methods, always there is a risk If garlic does not “live” for the required period, then when frozen it will definitely last the entire recommended storage period.

Thus, garlic is suitable for freezing for the winter. This method makes it possible to preserve garlic longer than any other. Disadvantages This method means that garlic loses its appearance and shape after defrosting.

However, when freezing garlic mass, this drawback is not relevant at all. Freezing garlic will allow you to preserve even those varieties that not suitable for long-term storage fresh.

About the method of freezing ground garlic and unpeeled cloves, and also about in various ways storing garlic at home in this video:

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

A good harvest of garlic is a great joy for a gardener, but not every one of them knows how to freeze garlic for the winter. Winter species can produce a fairly large number of heads, which are used in the process of pickling vegetables and preparing many dishes. Housewives have always faced the problem of storage, because closer to winter the heads begin to dry out, deteriorate, and rot. The fruits of this plant are almost never kept fresh until next summer.

To preserve the harvest experienced housewives using the freezing method. I don't necessarily freeze the entire crop at once. For some time it can be stored in the traditional way - in the cellar or in the refrigerator, and closer to winter, when the heads begin to dry out, they will need to be frozen.

It is important that it is better to freeze the spice not in cloves and heads, since after defrosting the garlic turns into mush and loses all its taste qualities. The best option is to mix the spice with aromatic herbs vegetable oil and herbs.

Using frozen garlic

All cuisines in the world use garlic as a spice. Garlic is especially relevant in Chinese and Mediterranean cuisines. Both the arrows and the bulbs of the plant are used for food. They are used for preparing a wide variety of dishes: soups, marinades, vegetable stew and desserts (in some cases).

The main properties of garlic are as follows:

  • enhancing the taste and aroma of the prepared dish;
  • benefits for the body thanks to a set of vitamins;
  • prebiotic - has the ability to increase the amount of prebiotics in the body, preventing the possibility of their destruction by harmful microorganisms.

Garlic arrows are popular among gourmets: they complement the taste of various salads, vinaigrettes, sauces, light snacks and sandwiches.

Frozen garlic is used to create first courses, sauces, and as a spice. During the roasting process, the clove gives the same aroma as fresh.

Vegetable oil perfectly absorbs the aroma of previously frozen cloves. When baking donuts, the spice from the freezer demonstrates its best qualities.

Advantages and disadvantages of freezing

Storage problems are easily solved by freezing. This method has both advantages and obvious disadvantages. You need to be familiar with the peculiarities of such preparation of vegetables for the winter before freezing the entire harvest or part of it at home.

Advantages of the method:

  • preservation of antibacterial properties;
  • preservation of vitamin composition;
  • increasing shelf life;
  • instant readiness for use.

Disadvantages of this method:

  • slight loss of aroma;
  • less pronounced taste compared to fresh cloves;
  • a loss appearance after defrosting.

These advantages and disadvantages easily compensate for each other. Each housewife must independently determine the advisability of freezing garlic cloves. As an alternative, a preparation method such as drying or pickling can be chosen.

Freezing methods

Prepare garlic as follows:

  1. Entirely. For this type of freezing, it is customary to use unpeeled heads. This option is used quite rarely, because when defrosting, the shape of the clove will be lost and cleansing will become impossible. If you still decide on this method of freezing, the heads must be put in bags and put in the freezer.
  2. Slices, previously peeled. Once removed from the freezer, this garlic does not need to be peeled and is ready to be used as a seasoning.
  3. Ground mass. This option is considered the most optimal. To preserve the spice, you need to grind the garlic and put it in containers. Small bags with clips are also suitable, where you can put one portion of the workpiece. If you use a container, you will have to remove the required portion of the garlic mass using a sharp knife.

It is important that when freezing garlic in a container, you cannot completely defrost the product. The mushy mass formed during the thawing process cannot be re-frozen.

How to freeze garlic

To freeze aromatic heads for the winter, you should prepare:

  • garlic;
  • greenery;
  • plastic bags;
  • freezer;
  • plastic containers;
  • paper napkins or towels.

The procedure should be as follows:

  1. Select cloves suitable for freezing. There should be no traces of rot or dark spots on them.
  2. Peel the cloves, rinse and dry well with paper towels.
  3. Cut into small slices. It is possible to add dill, basil or parsley.
  4. Place the chopped slices into pre-prepared plastic bags or plastic containers. When packing, you should leave a little space because the garlic will expand slightly as it freezes.
  5. Take into account the fact that re-freezing garlic is impossible, so it is better to use a small package.
  6. Place tags on bags or containers indicating the freezing date.
  7. Line the bags with the material prepared for freezing. After this, it will be more convenient to use the spice frozen. It is necessary to give the frozen bag the desired shape.
  8. Place in the freezer on a tray or baking sheet. The smoother the bags are, the better.
  9. Transfer to any other container after freezing if this makes the process of using garlic more convenient.
  10. Start using spices for their intended purpose: as an ingredient in soups, marinades, sauces, meat dishes. Garlic can be grated or finely chopped with a knife.

You can store garlic in the freezer for six months: after this period, the taste will only become worse, and the aroma may disappear altogether.