Today I noticed that some of last year’s garlic that I have in storage had started sprouting.  To rescue it, I turned it into garlic powder: it’s a little painstaking to make, but with only one ingredient it’s very simple.

Keeping garlic bulbs in a cool dark place will hold them in good condition for months.  I have mine hanging up in a cloth bag in the garage, which happens to keep any passing vampires out as well.  But as the weather starts to warm up at this time of year, they can start trying to grow and reproduce by sprouting.  The familiar sight of a green shoot growing out of a bulb is quite a nuisance as the individual clove will soon be pretty inedible.

By slicing and baking the cloves while they’re still good, you can easily process them into a powder which can be added to hundreds of recipes.

Hints and Tips:

• I used my home grown Provence Wight garlic, but shop-bought will work just as well.
• In one way, shop bought garlic may be better as the cloves are usually large and uniform, making the peeling and slicing less arduous than with my smaller cloves.
• If your fingers start to get sticky with the garlic juice while you peel and slice, stop to rinse them thoroughly then continue.  A lot of contact with that juice can make your fingers sting badly afterwards.
• If you line your baking tray with baking paper, try not to have the paper turning up at the edges; that can stop the oven air flowing across the garlic and make the drying process more difficult.
• If you open the oven door early during the drying, turn your face away at first; the air that comes out can be very pungent!

My recipe for garlic powder

Enjoy adding your tasty new condiment to soups, casseroles, stir frys and a hundred other dishes!

P.S.  Check out this post from a blog called ‘Herbs and Wildcrafting’ for great ideas of other vegetables to dry and powder.