Garlic makes almost everything taste better. There are many dishes that can benefit from garlic being added to them, and this is an ingredient that is always best when it is added fresh.
This means that many people buy garlic bulbs in the hopes that they will use all the cloves before they go bad.
Minced garlic will last for about two days when placed in the fridge. When it is placed somewhere at room temperature, minced garlic will only last for about a day before it starts to go bad.
There are some ways to make sure that your minced garlic will last longer, and jarring it can be the best way to make sure that it will hold up for a few months at a time.
If you are ready to learn more about how long garlic lasts, you need to read on!
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Can You Buy Garlic Pre-Minced?
You can buy garlic pre-minced in jars from the store. These jars of pre-cut garlic will do the trick in most instances, but they are not as flavorful as fresh garlic.
The benefit to this kind of garlic is that you do not have to cut it up before you use it, and it is easy to store for a few months after the jar is opened.
This kind of product is often stored in oil as well, which can lead to the garlic going bad if the jar is not sealed correctly after each use.
There are also some brands that offer freeze-dried garlic for sale, but this is often flavorless and dry even when you follow the rehydrating suggestions.
This is the worst option to try to use to replace cutting up fresh garlic so that you do not lose any of your garlic bulbs to waste.
The other thing that you need to consider is that pre-cut garlic is often much more expensive than buying garlic bulbs. You will probably still lose a portion of the product to waste because the jars are often quite large.
You will still usually save money on garlic bulbs when compared to using the pre-cut version, even if you don’t get through all the cloves in your fresh garlic.
How Long Can You Keep Minced Garlic Fresh?
Unpeeled garlic bulbs will last for about four to six months. You can try to save your garlic bulbs for longer by taking a few cloves out at a time for each recipe.
You can also store the bulbs in a garlic keeper to prevent them from getting too much moisture and too much light.
Garlic that is stored in the fridge will probably mold or sprout after about two months.
Minced garlic has a much shorter shelf life overall. You can sometimes keep your minced garlic good in the fridge in a little olive oil for about three days.
This is not a very long storage period, and you will find that this kind of garlic that has been stored for too long will still not have much flavor or might have a weird texture.
Fresh garlic just does not have a long shelf life, and you need to plan around this need to make sure that you don’t have tasteless or squishy garlic cloves to work with for your cooking.
Can I Freeze Minced Garlic?
There is the option to freeze your minced garlic if you want it to last longer. You can keep your minced garlic for about 10-12 months in the freezer.
You will need to be sure that you store it correctly before you put it into the freezer, and you will want to be careful about how you warm it up so it doesn’t end up squishy.
Make sure that you use snack-size bags that will limit the amount of air that is included with the garlic. You will want to be sure that the garlic will be pressed flat so that there is not a big lump of garlic in the corner of the bag.
Make sure that the garlic is not moist at all before you freeze it, or it might go bad while it is stored.
When you thaw out your garlic, you will want to open the bag and let the garlic come up to room temperature on its own.
If you try to rush the process, you might end up with soggy garlic that doesn’t taste good. Freezing minced garlic can be your best bet if you really want to store your garlic once it has been cut up.
The trouble with freezing your garlic is that it will be likely that you will lose some of it to moisture damage, and it might end up getting freezer burned fairly readily.
You will want to think about this before you decide between storing your garlic in the freezer or you choose to break the bulb apart a few cloves at a time.
Usually, it will be just as easy to peel a few cloves off the bulb as needed, but you might want to think about using the freezer for your needs.
Minced Garlic Can be Hard to Preserve
Minced garlic is really tough to keep fresh. Garlic cloves can last for quite a long time if the bulb has not been peeled.
Chopped garlic is harder to keep good for a long period of time, and this is one of the most difficult forms of garlic to keep tasty and useful for longer than a few days at a time.
If you want to have chopped garlic on hand for your cooking needs, you will need to choose between a variety of options.
You will want to pick between using a few cloves of garlic off the bulb at a time and buying pre-cut garlic for your cooking needs. You can also store your own chopped garlic in the freezer if you wish.
There are a few good options for this need, but often it is much easier to just take a few cloves from the bulb as you need them for your cooking.
I am Brianna, a self-published author with a passion for sharing my knowledge and expertise on various topics with people looking to find the perfect items for their needs. I love ensuring that the right informative content is available to people looking for the right information. I am an avid horseback rider and reader when I am not writing.
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