Cut it up and freeze.

Yep, just dice and freeze it in a ziplock freezer bag. Lay the bag flat to freeze and then when you need some you can just snap off a piece to use.

You can also freeze it sliced or diced in ice cube trays with just a bit of water. pop out the cubes and dump them in a ziplock bag for storage in the freezer.

OR you can just dry it in a dehydrator.

Dave

Someone recommended freezing garlic and peanut/olive oil in small ice cube trays recently. Which I did, cuz my garlic was always drying before it was used up, and before being able to replant outside. Worked great!

I put the frozen cubes in a freezer container in the top of my fridge, so they are handy whenever I want a quick garlic/oil picker-upper to flavor spaghetti, use in frying/browning meats/shrimp/chicken, etc. It is one of the best ideas. I just grind up the garlic in the oil in my blender, then freeze and store in freezer containers.

They can also be used as a spread on garlic bread too. Also in stir fries.

Bejay

I do almost the same as Bejay.
Except I don't bother with the ice cube tray...

Whiz up garlic and olive oil in the FP
Put blobs (~1 Tablespoon) on parchment on a cookie sheet. When frozen, toss into a ziploc bag or other container and freeze.
Easy and thaws quickly for a spread or added to soups, sauces, etc.

I have frozen peeled, whole cloves as well. Easy on the front end, but you still have to chop later. Nice for dishes that need the whole clove look or to get a "roasted clove".

Benefits to both!

Deanna

One other way to use up all of that excess garlic before it spoils -

Blend some garlic with a salt of choice - we use a lot of iodized - grind both in the blender until there is a nice paste. Spread the paste onto a glass baking dish and dry in the oven. (Yes, it will perfume the kitchen - living room, dining room and half way down the block -- but we love garlic and turning on the exhaust fans helps --- somewhat.

I guess you could also dry in the dehydrator --- and that might work better, it could be moved outside until the garlic salt is done.

When the salt/garlic paste is hard - run it through the blender again. If it still needs some drying, return to the oven/dehydrator and finish - grind again until dry.

Really beats that wimpy stuff in the store!

Bejay

I store my garlic in my kitchen, in two small terra cotta pots with covers. The pots have vent holes on the sides and lids. The cloves usually last over 6 months for me. I grow the Music variety which are hard neck and harvested in mid July, but planted the previous fall. Mine are all in now, and I expect at least 80 bulbs of garlic with nice big cloves next year. I kind of wonder why you find pickled not to your liking. I have given these to friends as pickled and they beg for more. I make plain vinegar and salt brine, a dill flavored, and one with a few sprinkles of red hot pepper flakes. They do need to pickle at least a month or two, and once opened, they are usually eaten like peanuts.

bj9 10
How long do you dry it in the oven and at what temp-approximately? Thank you . That sounds like a good way to preserve it.

I put my oven on the lowest setting around 170 degrees and prop the door open with a hot pad to let the steam out. Some stoves don't go that low, I'm told, but mine does. In the past, I also dried cherry tomatoes that way. You do need to watch it, stir occasionally, not let it burn.

I can't tell the exact time, depends on how wet it is. If it begins to take too long - just remove and return it the next day. Its not fussy - just be sure to get it good and dry, otherwise it will mold, just like any other food not dried sufficiently.

It becomes quite hard - so scrape it into a blender and whiz around till it becomes salt. If it clumps, it probably needs more drying.

Sorry I cant be more specific. Once you dry a batch, you will see how easy it is. It needs to go through a regular salt shaker.

We live near the ocean, so I try to check all my salt shakers from time to time, for clumping. If they do - I just spread it in a pyrex dish and pop it into the oven, then grind in the blender. Adding rice to the shaker can keep it from clumping too.

Bejay

Oven drying is NOT recommended. Most ovens lack air flow and can't be set below 200 degrees. At that temp even with an open door the oven will not produce a good dehydration climate. A better choice would be to use a dehydrator, and cut the garlic into slices or minced. It can also be sliced and partially roasted then dried.

When we lived overseas, we'd often be in remote locations and come into the city every 4 or 5 months. Stock up on lots of garlic and ginger, and then food-process those together into a paste, and freeze flat in ziplock bags. When you want that flavor combo in a dish, just break off a chunk.

Its not as good as fresh, but a whole lot better than nothing at all.

And ditto on the home made garlic salt. Its fantastic.

I sautee it, and freeze the resulting garlic oil blend. Then I dump it out (running hot water over the bottom helps) and cut it into chunks. Into a ziploc, and I can grab a chunk to throw in soup or sauce or just about anything. Quality is really good this way!

I never have garlic salt in the house. If I want garlic flavor and not added salt, I use dried granulated garlic. Same with onion salt, granulated onion alone is much better and will not add salt to something.

With store-bought garlic salt, its heavy on the salt and low on the garlic. With homemade garlic salt, the salt serves to draw the moisture from the cells in the garlic, and so a little bit goes a long, long way - getting more concentrated as the mix dries. I think of it as a way to help the garlic dry out.

I'd always thought it easier just to grate a fresh clove, myself. My brother, a serious garlic hound, once shared some of his homemade garlic salt, and it's surprisingly good stuff for sprinkling on sandwiches, some salads, and so on.