Dateline: 22 November 2007
Updated: 1 September 2012
Those of you who have read this blog for long know that I
grow garlic and I process it into garlic powder, which I sell to garlic
lovin’ folks all over the country. I’ve been doing this for several
years and it’s a nice little home business. You can make garlic powder
on a small scale for yourself, as gifts for friends and family, or as a
small home business like I do.
In this blog essay I’m going to tell and show you how I convert my homegrown garlic bulbs into flavorful garlic powder....
UPDATE
After nearly 5 years, and thousands of views, I have decided to repackage this photo tutorial into an inexpensive ($1.50) pdf download. Please read the comments from people below, and then you can promptly get a copy of the download by clicking here: How To Make Your Own Garlic Powder Photo Tutorial.
===============
For a broader discussion about making great garlic powder, I recommend my book, The Complete Guide To Making Great Garlic Powder: Homegrown and Homemade Secrets From a Garlic Powder Guru. The book has been out of print for a few years but is now available as an inexpensive pdf download. Click the link to learn more.
================
If you think you might like to grow garlic and make your own garlic powder as a small business, I invite you to read my essay titled: Home Based Agrarian Enterprises & Garlic Powder Profits
I enjoyed your thorough explanation all the way. i love how complex it is: from start to the end, with reference to packing material as well.
ReplyDeleteThe end product looks also nice.
Congratulations on the idea and the achievement.
I have only one single question to ask - why.
I use garlic quite frequently. i put it into soups, sitr fries, meat stews, I eat it simply with cheese or sourcream. I eat it as it comes: in cloves.
What is the reason for making it into a powder, when cloves usually are available throughout the year?
I hope you understand I'm just curious here.
Hi Szelsofa-
ReplyDeleteWe use fresh garlic cloves right from the bulb all year round too. From a health standpoint, fresh garlic is best. And, of course, fresh garlic has a great flavor. But there are a couple of reasons why garlic powder is used as an alternative:
First, there is convenience. Open the jar, shake the powder on, and you have fast, easy garlic to enjoy. Did you know that, next to salt and pepper, garlic powder is the most popular seasoning in the world?
The other reason is the flavor. Homemade garlic powder has a flavor of its own. It is garlic but it is a different garlic.
Also, properly dried garlic (dried at low temperatures) maintains the healthy allicin component. Allacin is a big part of why garlic is so healthful. A lot of people take garlic capsules for health reasons. The capsules contain garlic powder. Some have a garlic oil but I believe the powder is equally good. Again, it's a convenience thing. Fresh is always best. Properly dried is the next best.
What a wonderful post! Thanks! When you said that you have a Vitamix, I said, "Well, that thing can powder anything!" LOL! Then you said that about the 2x4. I laughed so hard! Well, I appreciate the tutorial and so many good pictures. I will be referring to it when I get my first garlic crop ready. :-D
ReplyDeleteWow, I did not know that garlic was the third most frequent seasoning in the world!
ReplyDeleteBut I did know about garlic having wonderful medical properties. We don't go to see the doctor, unless something's REALLY REALLY serious is on the way. We turn to Doctors Garlic and Echinacea instead. Those natural doctors never let us down :)
Garlic capsules and garlic oil is also available over here, too. A lot of people take garlic capsules to avoid the odor.
And well, convenience. I see the point now.
Thanks again, for this useful post. I think you migth think of turning it into a leaflet to accompany your nice, health product.
Are you organic, btw?
Hi ron & ginny--
ReplyDeleteYes, that Vita-Mix is an amazing tool.
Szelsofa--
My garlic is not certified organic. But I do not use any pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, petrochemical fertilizers or anything else of the sort. So, even though it isn't officially certified as organic, it was grown using organic practices. I've been an avid organic gardener since I was a kid in the 1970s. I was organic before organic was the popular thing. :-)
i enjoyed this very very much. thank you! i totally want to grow garlic now, and i promise your book will be the first thing i will invest in when i do!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this! We grow a fair amount of garlic (not on a commercial scale - we only have an allotment) and have wanted to to try making the powder for some time, but were not sure how to go about it. We had no idea that drying the bulbs somewhat would make the skins easier to remove from the cloves. We will definitely try our hand at it next harvest. This year our crop failed almost completely. The odd weather we have had in the UK this year just didn't suit it.
ReplyDeleteMany blessings to you,
Rob & Michelle
A couple more things:
ReplyDelete1) Homemade garlic powder on hot buttered toast is simple but addictive. Another very good way to utilize your own homemade garlic powder is to put some in a cup of hot water with some miso. This is a hearty, healthful winter broth that you will fall in love with. The best Miso you'll find is from South River. My family especially likes South River's Dandelion Leek Miso. You will like it too!
2) For those who have inquired about purchasing my garlic powder, you can get full details here: Herrick's Homegrown.
Excellent post. My DH and I are avid garlic fans as well as to-it-yourselfers, hoping soon to have a place to grow our own.
ReplyDeleteMy interest in organic has NOTHING to do with its popularity.
ReplyDeleteI am simply convinced that organic is the only way, and anytime I see someone as convinced as I am, I am more than delighted.
Thanks for answering.
Well, I just absolutely love the techniques you showed on making homemade garlic powder. I didn't know that the store bought kind had fillers in it. Since yours doesn't, does that mean you have a stronger flavor and you can use less of it? For instance, if a recipe called for 1 teaspoon, would you recommend using a little less of your garlic? Thanks for the great post.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, thank you. Just one question...How many heads of garlic go into a jar? Trying to get a prospective, maybe it's a girl thing...;-}
ReplyDeleteFascinating.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried making onion powder this same way? Wonder if it would work. I use a ton of onion and garlic powder in every dish I make and I'd be interested to know if one could do onion that same way. Hmmm... :)
ReplyDeleteHi bethany--
ReplyDeleteI have never made onion powder the same way. I see no reason why it can not be made and have been meaning to try it. I believe it would be easier since there is not so much peeling involved.
lacyj--
Sorry but I have no idea how many heads of garlic are in a jar. It would, I suppose, depend on the size of the heads. The German stiffneck garlic I use has very large cloves. I think the drying process removes about 2/3 of the weight (water weight).
aaminah--
Homemade powder from stiffneck garlic is, I believe, stronger flavored than regular storebought. However, the flavor is also different. I have noticed it is, in fact, different from year to year among the same variety of garlic. Different weather conditions render flavor variations from season to season.It's kind of like the differences in wine vintages. Some years the garlic are hotter than others. Also, different varieties of garlic render different flavors. I'v had others tell me that Roja garlic powder is far superior to German White. And another person told me the German Red garlic is better than German White, Of course everyone thinks their powder is best. But it's all good. Anything homemade from organic homegrown is always superior to storebought. I go into more detail about what makes homemade garlic powder superior to storebought in my book, "Making Great Garlic Powder."
Thanks everyone for your positive comments. I'm glad you have enjoyed the "lesson" and hope you are inspired to ake your own garlic powder.
Doing a great job here...
ReplyDeleteThank you!
GOD Bless you:)
Wow, what a great teacher. I grow lots of garlic too, and went looking how to make powder or granulated and here you have it all. Thanks for being there and keep up the awesome work. Thanks for the links to other agrarian sustainable folks, it lets us know we aren't alone in the crazy world. Cheers. Jenny
ReplyDeleteI am from the Philippines and I love your post. Since I was a child I had been a garlic eater. From raw to fried... soups, with mayo, toast, noodles... stew... or just anything.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot from your post... and maybe I will consider growing garlic of my own in the near future once I get a small lot.
God bless you for blessing others.
Cee
Ah mate thanks a lot. I’ve been looking for a lot of jQuery tutorials regarding charts and i stumbled upon this.Just wanted to say thank you for the help.
ReplyDeleteIt is mid June and I just pulled my garlic... More than I thought I had... and will make it into powder.
ReplyDeleteNow I wonder, could I plant garlic now for a 2nd crop or do I need to wait til fall. I live in Zone 7/8 in Texas.
Have you ever tried not peeling the individual cloves? I did it that way last year, after whacking off the hairy root ends, and everyone said it was the best garlic powder they'd ever tasted. And the wrapper adds fiber. By the way, I do mine in small batches,and I have an old coffee grinder I use just for dried garlic and dried savory herbs.
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering what type of garlic you use, there are sooo many variations. I grow a medium intensity garlic (chesnok red), would a strong flavored garlic work best for garlic powder or are the flavors too strong?
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