How to: Garlic

Garlic: my favourite thing to add to pretty much every meal (shhh don't tell my kids). But man is it a pain to peel and chop every single time you need it!

That's why I've compiled my favourite garlic hacks to share with you.

The Easiest Way to Peel your Garlic

Okay, I can confidently say that this method is the easiest way to peel garlic because I have LITERALLY tried them all. From rolling them in a special tool, to trying to stab and twist them out with a knife, and everywhere in between. But this method is hands down the easiest and gets you the biggest yield in the shortest amount of time. All you have to do is cut of the ends and sever the root, and then toss the cloves, skin and all, in a mason jar and shake your little heart out. Watch the video to the left to see it in action.

Isn't that so easy!? And your hands don't even end up smelling a lot like garlic! If they do I have another hack for you - toothpaste. Just rub some around on your hands and rinse them and that garlic smell will be gonezo!

Now that leads us to the best way to store garlic for quick use in any and every recipe. Keep reading below!

The Best Way to Store your Garlic

I literally use above a bulb of garlic a day. From salad dressings, to soups and stews, garlic is a staple in our house. So it's so helpful for me to already have garlic minced and sectioned out for easy use. And no, I can't just use minced garlic from the store because it doesn't taste the same. I gotta have that real garlic taste.

For this hack, take your peeled garlic and throw it in the food processor. Process it until minced, and scoop into a large ziploc bag. For one large ziploc bag I use approximately 20 bulbs of garlic. Then you are going to roll it out with a rolling pin until it's flat, make sure all the air is out, and then close the bag. Take any flat edged object - I like to use my bench scraper that I use for bread making - and score the garlic into little squares. You're doing this so that the little squares can snap off easily and be tossed in your meal. Then you are going to throw that in the freezer overnight, and you'll have pre-portioned squares of garlic ready to go in your freezer! Each little square works out to be approximately 1.5-2 cloves of garlic. So pop 1 or 2 (or 5 or 6) into your next meal, and thank your past self for doing all the hard work!

If you are interested in the hands free bag holder you see in this video, you can find it here (I receive a small commission from all sales on my LTK shop): https://liketk.it/4iqty

Whether you're a seasoned chef, or newbie in the kitchen, these garlic hacks are sure to help you save time and energy in the kitchen. Hope you enjoy!

xoxo Chelsea Dyan