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Many vegetable growers are faced with a problem – they have grown the crop, but they don’t know how to save it. Garlic heads are no exception. From a large harvest until winter, sometimes it is possible to save hardly a third. Bulb crops do not have a good ability for long-term storage; they quickly rot and become moldy. Even in winter, they begin to wither and germinate. What can we say about the spring months, when you really want to pamper yourself with vigorous garlic. However, there are ways to keep the crop until spring.
Why choose a bank
To store garlic according to all the rules, it is necessary to understand the main condition. It will lie in excellent condition for a long time if you stop access to microbes and air. When stored in banks, the necessary conditions are just created. To extend the shelf life, the jars must first be sterilized and dried thoroughly.
Before looking at the various ways to store garlic in a jar, a few words about the general storage rules. Not only the jar is subjected to thorough drying. The heads themselves must also be dry.
Therefore, if time permits, it is better to postpone garlic harvesting for a non-rainy day.
Both peeled and unpeeled garlic can be stored in glass containers. Some housewives, in order to save space, disassemble it into cloves.
Ways to store garlic in glass jars
Method number 1 Separate cloves
Storing garlic in glass jars begins with disassembling the head into cloves. Each of them must be carefully inspected, remove all slices with rot, mold or damage.
Before you remove the garlic for the winter, it must be dried for 5-6 days. Do not put it near the battery, in which case it may dry out. The best option is in the room, on the floor.
The cloves are laid out in jars and sent to a dry place. They cannot be covered with lids.
Method number 2 Whole heads
Garlic is not always disassembled into slices, it is also stored in whole heads. As in the previous method, it is necessary to decompose the garlic peeled from dirt and the top layer of the husk into glass jars. And there is no need to fill them with anything else.
The disadvantage of this method, unlike the first one, is the fact that a little garlic will go into jars with large heads. In addition, without disassembling the garlic into small pieces, you can skip the rot inside it. In this case, the garlic in the jar will begin to rot.
Method number 3 With salt
There are a lot of reviews and comments on various forums about how to keep garlic throughout the winter. Many write: “we store garlic in salt.” The effectiveness of this method has been tested by time. Various vegetables are stored with salt, as it is an excellent preservative.
Salty layers between the layers of garlic should not be less than 2-3 cm. The general steps are as follows:
- The heads (or cloves) are dried properly. It is important that they remain fresh and vigorous.
- To prevent mold from forming in jars, they are sterilized.
- Salt is poured into the bottom of the container. It should be ordinary rock, iodized salt is not used in blanks.
- Alternate garlic and salt layer by layer. Finish with a layer of salt.
To decide how to store garlic, you need to carefully read the conditions and choose a method to your liking. The video suggested at the bottom of the article will help you better understand and understand the intricacies of cleaning and storing in glassware.
Many vegetable growers store garlic together with onions. These two cultures feel great with each other. Both of them require the same conditions for conservation.
Method number 4 minced garlic
If, despite all the efforts, the garlic began to deteriorate, it is urgent to take action.
- Good cloves are separated from bad ones, cleaned.
- With the help of a meat grinder, they are ground (you can also use a blender).
- A little salt is added to the resulting slurry.
- In prepared jars, the mass is shifted and closed with lids.
Store such garlic in glass jars only in the refrigerator. Garlic mass is used in cooking. The disadvantage is that such a mass cannot be stored for a long time.
To extend the shelf life, the mass is poured on top with sunflower oil. Forming a layer of liquid that does not allow air to pass through to the product, it allows it to retain its taste qualities longer.
Method number 5 With flour
The method is very similar to the previous ones with the difference that flour is used as an insulator of one layer of garlic from another. It prevents the heads from touching each other and takes away excess moisture. A large layer of flour is placed below and above such a “layer cake” – 3-5 cm. The shelf life of the product by this method is quite long.
Method number 5 In sunflower oil
Only peeled cloves are stored in sunflower oil. They are stacked in fairly dense layers in jars prepared in advance, and then filled with small. The jar is slightly shaken so that the liquid fills all the gaps and is evenly distributed. From above, all the slices should also be covered with oil.
During the time that the garlic is stored, the oil will be saturated with its aromas. Therefore, it can also be used in cooking. To make it even more fragrant, many housewives add peppercorns, various herbs and salt to jars.
Method number 6 In wine
Mediterranean cuisine often uses garlic infused in wine. The cloves, peeled from the husk, are laid in the jar. Unlike the previous method, do not tamp them too tightly. Wine is added to the container. Only dry wine can be used. But red or white – at the discretion of the hostess.
Method number 7 Dry
The garlic cloves are cut into thin circles and dried. Get garlic chips. You can store them in bags or glass jars. Just don’t put lids on jars. Such chips are used in the preparation of meat dishes, soups. They retain all the flavor and beneficial properties of the product.
A few tips for preparing garlic for storage
Before you figure out how to properly store garlic, you need to understand how to harvest it correctly. Heads are dug out in dry weather, when the tops are almost dry.
- Every vegetable grower should know that it is impossible to get rid of garlic stalks. This culture is one of the few that dries along with the stems.
- After drying, the roots are removed. It is more convenient to do this with large scissors. Although some gardeners set fire to the roots. A specimen retains moisture well, in which the roots are not completely cut, but a length of about 3-4 mm is left.
- The next step is the choice of a conserving temperature regime. Garlic lies for a long time in temperature intervals – 2-4 degrees or 16-20.
Bulbs can be disinfected before harvesting. For this, 0,5 liters. sunflower oil is heated on fire. 10 drops of iodine are added to it. The solution is thoroughly mixed and removed from heat. Each head is alternately lowered into the solution, and then sent to dry in the sun. This simple procedure will allow hostesses to forget about rot and mold on garlic. Bulbs harvested in dry weather should not be subjected to this procedure. They will keep just fine.
It is important to properly dig specimens. In order not to cut the heads, many vegetable growers use a pitchfork. Having slightly dug them, then they connect their hands. After pulling the garlic out of the ground, wipe it with a glove to remove its remnants. The roots are lightly shaken to clean them.
Regardless of the chosen method, storage in jars is perfect for those who do not have their own basement or place where they can hang garlic braids.
