Homemade Dried Powdered Garlic
It’s not really a recipe, but an idea; such an obvious one, I still wonder why I hadn’t had it many years ago. One day I started to season pork for roasting and realised I had run out of powdered garlic, the obligatory ingredient for this roast in my house. This is when I thought about making it on my own. I started by slicing some garlic very finely and ended up with powdered dried garlic ready in hardly twof hours! This homemade version was so superior by its aroma and flavours, I haven’t even looked at commercial dried garlic since then. I have realised none of my friends prepares this condiment at home and I am convinced everyone should do it, so this is how this simple tip landed on my blog.
If you never use powdered garlic or if you think it’s inferior to its fresh version, think again. First of all, many people digest fresh garlic very badly while the dried version usually doesn’t harm them. Secondly, and this is the way I use it, it’s perfect for all the preparations where raw garlic would burn or wouldn’t cook enough, such as Pork Roast or Chicken Cold Cuts with Turmeric and Chilli. Moreover, dried garlic is one of the most frequent ingredients of seasoning mixes, used as rubs to marinate meat. Last but not least, apart from recreating a homemade version of commercial dried garlic, this is also an excellent way to use up wilted, half-dead garlic cloves.
Drying fruits and vegetables on your own is an excellent way to enrich your pantry and also to save forgotten produce from the bin, often discovering completely new surprising flavours or textures, so if you are not tempted by dried garlic, here are some other ideas you might like:
TIPS: Closed in a jar this dried garlic keeps practically forever, but of course its aroma weakens with time. I haven’t noticed any changes during a month though. The yield depends on the garlic’s water content (the drier and the older it is, the higher the yield of course though moist fresh garlic has a stronger aroma).
Preparation: several hours (depends on the season and on the drying method)
Ingredients: peeled garlic cloves
Slice the garlic finely (I do it with a mandolin) or chop it very finely, but preferably do not mix it into a paste (you can use a small baby food mixer).
Spread on baking paper and choose one of the following methods:
1) the quickest: place the baking sheet in the oven put at its lowest temperature; the garlic should be ready in two-three hours (it has to be completely dry and tough)
2)if you have radiators or a source of heat close to which you can place the baking sheet, place the garlic there and depending on the heating temperature, you will obtain completely dry garlic bits in several hours
3) the slowest: place the baking sheet in a warm place in the kitchen and leave it to dry (it might take 24 hours or more)
4) if you are reading this post during summer: place the baking sheet in direct sunlight, on a windowsill or outside (if you are not afraid of animals eating it).
Once the garlic slices or bits are completely dried (no longer soft), mix them in a coffee or spice grinder. (You can also do it in a mortar).
Store in a closed jar for eternity.
I would have never thought of making my own dried garlic. You’re an amazing foodie.
Thank you, A_Boleyn. Necessity is the only thing that led me to trying this method.
Necessity made me make a batch of caramelized onions on Saturday (there’s no substitute for the real thing) but there are garlic alternatives … like garlic powder from the grocery store. 🙂
Maybe the weather was bad, maybe it was Sunday (everything closes here) or maybe Saturday after 6pm… (the same), but it was actually much easier to make powdered garlic on my own rather than go out to buy it.
Hi Sissi
This is unbelievable. Literally a few minutes ago I used a packet dried garlic to make garlic bread (because I had to try/use dried garlic). Great flavour and aroma but there were bits with no flavour, so I was not impressed. I was thinking how it could be made at home…and then this post appears. Absolutely perfect timing.
The packet garlic I just used is from Russia. Its cheap, but I know your version will be better. Thank you.
BTW, do you remember telling me about matsuya coffee from Japan. After you told me I did some research. And soon we will be using this method in Kyrgyzstan. I just bought some ‘pour over’ coffee stuff. So thank you very much, you opened my eyes to something i did not know, and now we will use it
Hi, Mr. Three-Cookies. What a coincidence! You must dry it on your own. I suspect your house has radiators, so even if you cannot put garlic on them, place it as close as you can (under?) and it’ll be ready at worst overnight. You will be amazed at the strength of the home made product!
Thank you so much for the Matsuya method feedback! It makes me really happy you discover it! I hope you will love it as much as I did in this Tokyo café I went to (in November I took my husband there… he was also impressed with their coffee). I am too lazy to learn doing it at home, so I hope I’ll learn from your experience! When do you invite me for a cup of coffee? 😉
Yes I have radiators. I am going to try making some now.
Of course you are most welcome to Kyrgyzstan anytime.
Matsuya style coffee is gaining in popularity and the ‘device’ for making it is cheap and readily available. Its called pour over coffee maker. There are many different versions, ranging from cheap to not so cheap. For example Bodum has a glass version, looks nice but costs about 10-20 times more than the cheapest one. Once you have the ‘device’ coffee is really easy to make.
Dried garlic turned out great. I left it on the radiator overnight, really easy. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much for the feedback. I had no idea this simple trick would prove useful to someone so quickly! I’m really happy. I’m sure it’ll taste better than factory-made powder.
Thank you, Mr. Three-Cookies! I’ll try to visit you one day 😉
Do you buy Hario equipment ? I’ve seen it on Amazon I think.
I bought Melitta, its much cheaper and more easily available. Hario is nice though.
Thank you! I hope it’ll be a beginning of a new adventure for you.
I have been looking for a new electric kettle (not as easy as one might think… especially when one has some precise criteria) and Hario products pop up very often (and other coffee making equipment).
Ah, what a great idea Sissi! I wonder why I haven’t made it either. It’s funny, I just had the experience last night of burning my esophagus on fresh garlic. My fault — I got greedy with my cloves and decided to munch a raw one that was not yet integrated into my stir-fry. BAD idea. Ouch. (and I should know better because I’ve done it plenty times before). And while I won’t be giving up raw garlic any time soon, like you, I can see many instances where the powder would make more sense and come in handy. Great idea, thank you!
Thank you so much, Kelly. I usually don’t have problems with raw garlic (apart from the Korean restaurant where I had at least dozen of raw garlic cloves with chilli sauce, grilled meat, etc.; I thought I’d die…), but dried powdered one is really something I cannot imagine making pork roast without…
What an incredibly clever idea, Sissi, I just love it! I have bought granulated garlic which is dehydrated and then ground up. I don’t like garlic powder because they add a lot of salt to it so the granulated does the trick for me. As soon as I’m finished the bottles of commercial granulated I’m definitely making this! I love that you use the radiators, such a clever use for something that’s already on instead of using energy in the oven.
Thank you so much, Eva. I’m glad you like this idea. I’m using my radiators all winter long not only for heating 🙂 Dried apples give a nice aroma too (garlic not really, but it’s quite quick…).
Our little radiator in the living room works perfectly for this purpose (all the others are covered in beautiful wood boxes). I dried orange zest and rubbed it into a powder yesterday, because of you! I shall use this as flavouring and colouring for my Macarons! Thank you for the great idea.
Thank you so much for this kind message, Eva. It probably means I have passed the “drying” virus to you 😉 I cannot even imagine how good your orange macarons will be…
I use garlic powder more often than the actual garlic. Sissi this is a brilliant idea I just printed the recipe to try it. I am going to tell you the results!
Dear Katerina, thank you so much for the compliments. I’m thrilled this idea might prove useful to you too! You will see it’s so easy and quick… you’ll never buy dried garlic again! Please let me know if you have any questions or problems.
I absolutely love the idea of having garlic powder that can be store like “forever”…thanks for the recipe Sissi.
Hope you are enjoying your week 🙂
Thanks a lot, Juliana.
I doubt very seriously if this would last for eternity before I need to make another batch 🙂 What a fabulous idea! You’re right – why didn’t someone think of this sooner? So glad you thought of it. It’s certainly not surprising that it is better than what you can buy at the store. When it comes to herbs and spices, most are better homemade. This looks so easy to do and because I do use quite a bit of powder, I’m going to be giving this a go. It’s so dry here, that setting it on the ledge over the heater vent should work great. Thanks Sissi!!
Thank you so much, MJ! I’m sure that in your region, in the middle of the summer, you don’t even need to find a special spot for the garlic slices to be dried in no time at all 😉 You just have to remember to slice them very finely or chop in a food processor (without mixing though because you might lose some of the aroma together with the juice running out). I’m glad you like this simple idea! (So obvious, isn’t it? I was worried my visitors would scold me for posting something so simple… but I’m happy to discover I’m not the only one to discover this only now).