Preserving Garlic

[Clara]

Not a way to preserve but a good way to eat A LOT of garlic, is a traditional alpujarran recipe SOPA DE AJOS.

Juggling a baby and a laptop at the mo, so can´t type it up. Google it or the moro cookbook.

Clara x.

[Nikki]

Yummy. Roasted is gorgeous isn't it?
I do the same thing with roasted garlic. (except no foil, 175C, for 40mins, only keep for 2months max)

I was thinking of actual preserving though. Wonder if it'll work.

[Nikki]

Sopa de ajos!!?? I haven't made that in years! Why not? No idea..... off to buy the garlic.......

[magnuscanis]

A few years back I tried pickling some garlic by boiling it up in recycled pickling vinegar from a jar of gherkins (or pickled onions, I forget which). As far as I can recall, I peeled the cloves before pickling them.

Not very long after that, I read somewhere that preserved garlic could be susceptible to botulism or some other such nasty bacteria, which put me off the idea. Having read Nikki's earlier post in this thread though, I wonder if perhaps it was just garlic in oil that was being referred to, rather than garlic pickled in vinegar. In any case, I didn't suffer any ill-effects from my (so far) only attempt at pickling garlic.

- Magnus

[Clara]

my understanding is that botulism doesn´t thrive in acid conditions - hence why is it easier to can fruits and tomatoes but meats and veggies need care.

So I would have thought vinegar would be fine. I don´t think there is botulism risk with oil either - though someone please tell me if I´m wrong.

Perhaps it was referring to canning in brine?

Clara x.

[yugogypsy]

www.recipesource.com has a good recipe for garlic jelly, I'm going to try that for serving with meats.

Lois

[Nikki]

I read somewhere that preserved garlic could be susceptible to botulism or some other such nasty bacteria, which put me off the idea. Having read Nikki's earlier post in this thread though, I wonder if perhaps it was just garlic in oil that was being referred to, rather than garlic pickled in vinegar.

Hiya Magnus,

Yep, it's preserving in oil that's a risk. It's like many things, you might do it several times and be fine, but that's not the way to preserve seriously. If you mean to preserve as part of a SSish lifestyle, then I imagine most people would want to do it properly.

The boring bit:
Oil doesn't have oxygen in it, this means that anaerobic (not requiring oxygen) bacteria thrives in such an environment. The stuff that leads to botulism. To prevent this you need to add acid. Unfortunately, doing it at home is totally haphazard. I'm not sure why someone hasn't figured out a way to manage this, but there you go.

Raw garlic in oil is a perfect substance for the bacteria to grow. Putting it into the fridge slows the process, but only for about 3 weeks. Garlic that has sat in oil without oxygen or acid will sooner or later start the bacteria growing process.
Even with that 3 week margin, that's only a maximum. For proper safety, garlic in oil should be just a temporary measure. Like, I tend to keep crushed garlic in oil for about a week. Basically just until the next time I make a meal suited to that.

Remember, you can't taste or smell the initial bacterial growth.

Dried garlic in oil is okay, because it doesn't have the water content that aids the bacterial growth.

I'm not one to be paranoid about food. But I won't take unnecessary risks or cook/preserve improperly. I love food, I try not to waste it or kill anyone with it.

[magnuscanis]

In that case I'll stick to preserving it in vinegar.

Presumably that also means that things like grilled peppers in oil are not likely to have a very long shelf life? Not that it's a great problem since the few times I've prepared them I've managed to eat through them within a couple of days!

- Magnus

[Nikki]

Yep, it's the oil that's not great to keep food in. However, higher acidic foods keep slightly longer, but again, still relatively short periods and risky.

I preserve dried foods like chillis and herbs in oil, which are excellent. Basically, if you want oil, think - dried food, or short term.

If you're not crazy about vinegar, like, when preserving runner and french beans I found them way to vinegary, even after several washings and boilings (not very reource or energy efficient). I find I can go about half/half, water/vinegar. This must cut down the preservation longevity, but should still be quite long. I've kept them for just over a year like this.

Grilled peppers in oil, no matter how much I make, last no more than a few days in our house either.