How to Store and Prepare Fresh Cloves
Garlic:
Most experts store their fresh clove
garlic in a dry, dark, well-ventilated container rather than in the
refrigerator. The temperature of the refrigerator doesn’t seem to
injure the garlic, but the moisture will speed up the tendency to mold,
so it will spoil faster than in a dry container at room temperature. If
you are not in the habit of using a great deal of garlic, it is
probably wisest to buy it in small quantities more frequently, rather
than to stock up at a time. True garlic lovers can buy several heads at
a time and keep it for several weeks, or longer, in a basket or in one
of the commercial clay garlic jars with holes in the sides. I keep mine
in a small basket away from drafts and light, and it always seems to be
gone before it suffers any adverse effects.
Garlic needs little preparation. The fresh cloves can be separated from
the head in any quantity needed. If you must peel a lot of garlic at
one time for a recipe, the cloves can be parboiled for 3 to 4 minutes,
drained and cooled slightly. The skins should slip off without much
trouble. If a little green
sprout has begun to develop in the middle of the clove, halve the clove
lengthwise and pop the sprout out with the point of a knife. The sprout
can be a little bitter, but some people don’t mind the taste and there
is no reason not to include it in the dish if you like. In fact, in
China, these sprouts are pried out whole to add to salads or cooked
dishes or are allowed to develop into full-fledged shoots. These shoots
are often sold in bunches much as we sell green onions, to be cut up
and used in stir-fries and other dishes.
Tip:
If the garlic is to be chopped for a given recipe, there is an easy way
to peel it. Place the unpeeled cloves on a chopping board and smack
them with the flat side of a large chef’s knife or a Japanese or
Chinese cleaver. The peel will separate from the flesh and can be
easily slipped off and discarded.
Once the cloves are peeled, sprinkle a little salt on them and chop as
finely as you like. The salt helps to hold the chopped garlic together
and keeps it from sticking to the knife. Be sure to subtract the amount
of salt you used during chopping fro the salt called for in the recipe.
Note: some cooks feel that putting garlic through a press results in a
strong, somewhat bitter paste and they advocate mincing garlic as
finely as possible, mashing it a little with the flat side of the
knife. I agree that pressed garlic can be strong if it is incorporated
into uncooked dishes, but if the dish or sauce is going to be cooked
for any length of time, pressing is an easy way to process garlic
leaving no discernible pieces. The new self-cleaning garlic presses are
strong enough to press garlic cloves with the skin still on, although
this method sometimes results in garlic spurting all over the presser
rather than down into the cup or bowl. You can easily remove the odor
of garlic from utensils and hands by rubbing them with the cut side of
a lemon.
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