This is a simple solution for those of you who love to cook with fresh garlic but are either too busy or too impatient to peel and mince just one clove for your recipe.
I’d be lying if I told you I thought of this myself – it’s a trick I learned in school. Use this method to quickly turn an entire head of garlic into paste. I keep a small glass jar in my freezer so it’s ready to use when I need it. It doesn’t freeze solid so you can easily scoop out what you need and pop it back in the freezer.
I’ve stopped asking how much garlic paste equals one clove – Chef gave the same disapproving response every time. “You have enough garlic when it tastes the way you want it to taste. We don’t cook with recipes, we cook with our senses.”
For my own purposes, I’ve decided one clove of garlic is about one teaspoon of garlic paste and adjust from there.
You’re going to love how much time this saves you.
Here we go…
Start by separating the head of garlic into cloves. You can make a fist and put your knife on top of the head of garlic and give it a good whack to speed this step up.
Place your chef’s knife on top of a clove of garlic and whack the flat part of your blade with the palm of your hand.
Here’s what the clove of garlic will look like. Do this for each clove, even two or three at a time. Then, peel the cloves.
Rough chop the garlic.
Salt your cutting board with coarse, or kosher, salt. This will act as sand paper and help break the garlic down into a paste. Salt also serves as a preservative while your garlic is awaiting your next creation the freezer.
Drag your chef’s knife across the salt and chopped garlic putting even, stiff pressure on the blade. Keep pushing and dragging. At first, it seems like you’re not getting anywhere. It doesn’t take long, though.
Beautiful garlic paste! Place in a jar and freeze until you need it. It will keep for a long time.
A note – I didn’t remove all of the green sprouts from the inside of my cloves before I started. They make the garlic very hot and take away from that flavor we all love so much. Take them out.
What are your favorite ways to use garlic?
Reminders…
- Thursday I’m starting a short series to share some my favorite gluten-free bloggers that you may not have stumbled across yet. I know you’ll enjoy their work as much as I do.
- Tomorrow is installment 3 of Spring Cleaning, master-minded by Katie of Kitchen Stewardship. Get the Sugar Out will hosted by Donielle from Naturally Knocked Up.
Nicole D
posted on April 12, 2010 at 8:17 am
I didn’t even know you could do this with a knife. Kinda looks like a lot of work. I use a wooden mortar and pestle that I bought at an Arabic grocer for $10. Add peeled garlic and salt and pound for a few seconds until you have paste.
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Amy Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
@Nicole D, I want a mortar and pestle – don’t have one yet. Does the garlic smell penetrate the stone at all?
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Nicole D Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
@Amy, I’m not sure how the stone ones would be for this. Mine is a wooden one that I oiled well with olive oil and never wash with soap… so yes, it can only be used with garlic and the occasional hot pepper. Mine is from Lebanon, but I’ve seen them in Mideastern grocers. It’s another thing to clutter the kitchen, but I use it almost every day. I also almost always mash garlic instead of mincing it… because my goal is to spend as little time as possible in my kitchen.
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Nicole D Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
@Amy, reading that again, it’s probably the same amount of work if you’re good with a knife…
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Aubree Cherie
posted on April 12, 2010 at 8:57 am
I didn’t know you could do this! I always thought it would be a lot more complicated. Very cool!
I’ll definitely need to try this soon, I use garlic a lot!
~Aubree Cherie
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Tracee
posted on April 12, 2010 at 9:48 am
Great Idea! I never thought to freeze galic.
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Jennypenny
posted on April 12, 2010 at 11:33 am
I made garlic paste laste night. I use it in my homemade ranch dressing. I never thought about making a big batch and freezing it. Awesome tip!
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Alta
posted on April 12, 2010 at 11:41 am
I love the idea of freezing this paste. Does it lose any of its flavor over time? And let’s see, what ISN’T my favorite way to use garlic? It’s a necessity at our house. I find it strange when I’m cooking recipes that don’t use it. I particularly love it roasted – it adds such depth to sauces, salsas, guacamole, or even mashed potatoes.
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Amy Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
@Alta, I love roasted garlic, too. Sometimes I make roasted garlic butter to top meats with or spread on bread.
No, it doesn’t loose flavor. Just remember when you use it that you’ve added salt and adjust your dish accordingly.
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Jessica Meyer
posted on April 12, 2010 at 5:41 pm
I’ve never thought about freezing garlic paste. What a great idea. Thanks for the tip!
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lisa
posted on April 12, 2010 at 6:05 pm
This is a fantastic tip. I cook with garlic more often than not, so it’s a great time saver. Loving you blog by the way — you look great! Very inspirational!
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Amy Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
@lisa, Thanks so much!!
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Maggie Savage
posted on April 12, 2010 at 6:50 pm
This is so helpful, thanks Amy! I love your pics too. We use garlic every day in our house and with the babes running around I am always looking for shortcuts! Thanks.
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Ali @ The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
posted on April 12, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Amy, Have you tried using a high quality garlic press where there is no need to peel the cloves before pressing? I use a Rosle stainless steel press and it works like a charm every time. Saves a ton of time.
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Amy Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
@Ali @ The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen, I’ve had garlic presses and am not a fan of them. Too much work to keep clean for me. I can break down an entire head of garlic in about 8 minutes – so it doesn’t take much time at all. It’s ready when I need it and I don’t have to wash the garlic press.
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gfe--gluten free easily
posted on April 13, 2010 at 7:19 am
You always do such terrific tutorials, Amy! And, I’m sure others are like me … we don’t care if the idea is original or not, we’re just glad you are sharing it! I think we’re all benefitting from you being in culinary school.
Shirley
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Veronica
posted on April 16, 2010 at 5:09 pm
I make mine roasted. It’s very easy and flavorful… and doesn’t take a lot of “hand work”.
Here is how!
Take as many garlic heads as you want, trim the “free” side (not the part that holds all the cloves together) just enough so that you can see the individual cloves. Place the heads, cut-side up in a small baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and herbs, if desired. Bake at 350-400 oven until fragrant and soft. When they are cold enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of the skin into a container and mash with a fork.
I love this on everything! I make some whenever I bake chicken or lamb, or any other meat… gives some flavor to the meat and I get my garlic ready at the same time
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Aubree Cherie
posted on April 20, 2010 at 8:54 am
Hey Amy,
I linked this recipe (or awesome tip, if you will) to my weekly top ten recipe review. I love it!
~Aubree Cherie
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Amy Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
@Aubree Cherie, You’re so sweet! I’m just passing along little gems from culinary school. Glad you find it helpful.
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Cathy
posted on June 20, 2011 at 11:29 am
I use my food processor. I grow all my own garlic for the entire year, then process it when I pick it in the summer. Peel the cloves (your way works well), put a bunch of them in the food processor (about half full), and pulse it a few times until they are the diced size you like. There may be a few larger pieces still in there – just put them in with the next batch. Put in a zip-lock bag and press all the air out, and then freeze. I do the same thing with the onions I grow. And for the bell peppers, i dice them and then freeze them in a vacuum bag in one-portion amounts.
Then on a weeknight when I’m tired, I don’t have to chop onions, garlic or peppers – they’re right there, and ready to cook with.
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Amy Reply:
June 21st, 2011 at 8:08 am
@Cathy, I love my food processor, too. I used to freeze onions but they tended to ‘stink’ up my freezer even when I wrapped them really well. What do you do to keep the odor contained?
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Cathy
posted on June 26, 2011 at 5:17 pm
amy – I’ve honestly never had that problem. I use heavy duty ziploc bags. maybe it’s because I grow my own and tend to grow milder types???
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Jill
posted on April 26, 2012 at 6:41 pm
I learned this trick from my Korean mother-in-law. What a time-saver! We put it in freezer ziplock bags and roll the garlic paste flat in the bag so that it’s very thin. Freeze it flat and then you can just break off the amount you need when cooking. I love your website – I just found it today and can’t seem to click away
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Amy Reply:
April 28th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
@Jill, Thanks for the ‘freeze it flat’ trick. What a great idea! Glad you’re enjoying my site -have you found anything to make yet?
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