Homemade Homegrown Garlic Powder
A Homemade Garlic Powder Story
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Garlic harvest is on the horizon, and that means it’s time to take care of our leftovers from last year. On the agenda last week was making a big batch of garlic powder.
We’ll be honest. When we first started farming, “making your own spices” was a project we firmly placed on the “not worth it” list.
Reader, it is superabundantly, one hundred percent, without a doubt, “worth it.”
What changed our minds?
A bag of year-old garlic cloves that made it through the winter and through to the next season’s garlic harvest in our basement.
With the need to make space for the new harvest, Frances had the bright idea of preserving the older cloves by making garlic powder.
You would not believe the difference in flavor.
We had never noticed how . . . unlike garlic . . . the store-bought stuff tasted until we tried the real thing.
Homemade garlic powder tastes and smells just like fresh garlic. And it improves the taste of . . . just about everything. From fried eggs, to burgers, to vegetables, dips, salads, sauces and more. We found ourselves sprinkling a dash of this magic ingredient into all kinds of places.
Dare we say it? It’s probably even yummier than MSG.
It’s amazing! Whether you buy your garlic or grow your own, it’s definitely worth getting some extra and giving the garlic-powder-process a try.
If you don’t grow your own garlic, it’s a great idea to support a family farm by stocking up on garlic when it’s in season. We used to buy garlic from this farm, which ships all over the country. And look! You can even by their garlic powder if you don’t want to make your own.
Garlic Powder Tips
The most difficult part of garlic-powder production is peeling all the garlic. This week’s batch was a total of 164 cloves. Now, the prospect of peeling 164 garlic cloves may make you want to start running fast away from the kitchen.
But fear not!
We have two tips plus a bonus to make this process less daunting:
1. Older “aged” garlic cloves are a LOT easier to peel. We store our garlic in mesh bags hanging from the ceiling of our basement. After several months of this treatment, the peels come off much more easily than if the garlic is very fresh.
2. Silicone garlic peelers like this one are a great help! You can peel a few cloves at a time by placing them in the tube and rubbing it back and forth a few times.
Bonus: Little hands make light work! Our children seem to find peeling garlic extraordinarily enjoyable. Maybe yours will too! If you leave a pile of garlic bulbs and a peeler lying on the counter, you may be surprised to find some of the work done for you when you come back.
Tools you May Need for making Homemade Garlic Powder
Food processor
How to make Garlic Powder
It’s not too hard to turn a bowl of garlic bulbs into a jar of culinary magic you can sprinkle on anything.
Start by peeling your garlic cloves (see tips below to streamline this process).
Finely chop the peeled cloves (a food processor is idea for this task if you are working with a significant quantity). Process the cloves until they are of about a minced consistency (you don’t want garlic puree!).
Spread the minced garlic on dehydrator trays and dry at 125 for about twelve hours. Drying time will vary depending on the moisture content of the garlic you start with, as well as the size of the pieces.. (Warning: Your entire house will smell like garlic, but the intensity does calm down a bit after the first few hours).
The garlic is dry enough when the pieces snap cleanly when you try to bend them.
Use a blender to grind the dried garlic into a powder.
And voila! Homemade powder of deliciousness.
How much Homemade Garlic Powder will I get?
This year’s batch of 164 cloves ended up turning into 1 lb 3 oz of garlic powder. So based on that, it takes about 8 cloves of garlic to make an ounce of garlic powder. This will obviously vary depending on the size of the cloves. Twenty cloves might be a good number to start with if you want to try a small batch. But be warned! You’ll soon find yourself making more!
Homemade Garlic Powder
Equipment
- Deyhdrator
- Silicone Garlic Peeler optional
- Food Processor optional
- Blender
Ingredients
- Fresh garlic (ideally aged for a few months) We'd suggest at least 20 cloves, but you can really do this with any amount that will fit in your dehydrator.
Instructions
- Peel garlic.
- Finely chop/mince in a food processor (recommended) or with a knife.
- Spread chopped/minced garlic on dehydrator trays.
- Dehydrate for approximately 12 hours at 125℉. Rotate trays occasionally to speed up the drying time.
- When fully dry, the pieces of garlic will snap cleanly when you bend them.
- Place dehydrated garlic in blender and grind to a powder.
I found this fascinating! I never thought of making my own garlic powder! Do you know if there’s a way to dehydrate in the oven or air fryer, low and slow, for those of us who don’t have a dehydrator? I live the image of the kids peeling the garlic. Such good helpers!! 💕
I think you would want to keep the temperature low enough (below 170F I believe) that the garlic doesn’t get cooked if you want the really strong flavor that we love! I’m not sure how low an air fryer can be set? Sun-dried is a classic method. Maybe outdoors on a hot day with some kind of pest protection might work? You’ll have to let us know if you try it!
Oh, on another note, do you know if year-old seed garlic would still be viable? It’s been stored in a paper bag since my friend gifted it to me last year and I am ashamed to admit I never got around to planting it.😞
I’m not sure . . . The good news is you can still eat it! Getting around to planting it in the fall is literally the only hard part about growing garlic!
Garlic is THE BEST!! I love these instructions and process – easy to follow! We’re on it!
Good luck!