Garlic is one of the favorite spices of Russians. But if using fresh spices is more or less clear, many people don’t know how to use dried garlic. In fact, everything is simple. It is added to the same dishes. The small thing is to calculate the proportions.
Features of the use of dried garlic
There are several types of seasoning: granular garlic, dried with plates, garlic powder, garlic salt. But they are all used in about the same way:
- In order not to spoil the taste of the dish, the dosage should be observed. If 1 clove of garlic is specified in the recipe, take a quarter of a teaspoon of garlic powder (granules) or half a teaspoon of garlic salt.
- In soups, borscht, casseroles, stew seasoning is added 3-5 minutes before cooking.
- You can season with dried garlic (salt, granules or powder) a prepared hot dish. It almost instantly gives its taste and aroma.
- Pieces of dried garlic are fried in oil for 2-3 minutes or thrown into boiling water to fully reveal the taste.
- Rub the meat with spices before cooking.
- For minced sausage, granulated garlic is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 2.
Try to prepare the spice yourself - cut the cloves into thin slices and place in the electric dryer for 7-8 hours. The plates should become creamy and brittle. Grind them and pour them into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. From 3 kg of garlic, 500 g of natural aromatic seasoning is obtained.
How is dried garlic different from fresh?
When dried, garlic retains almost all of its beneficial properties, aroma and taste. It is not much different from fresh: the same sharp, piquant, invigorating. But still there are some differences:
- Lack of sharpness. The taste and smell of dried garlic is more noble, dull. It is more spicy than harsh and bitter.
- Variability of application. Fresh garlic changes its properties in dishes depending on how to use it: fry, preserve, boil, cook marinade. Dried, however, retains the same smell and taste, wherever you add it.
- Universality. Seasoning is more universal and in harmony with a large number of products. It can be added to salads, sauces, to dishes from mushrooms and seafood.
- Does not leave a bad breath. Everyone knows that after fresh garlic, breathing becomes completely fresh. Dried seasoning is completely devoid of this side effect. It can be fearlessly eaten before a date, an important meeting.
- Ease of use and storage. Dried garlic takes up much less space and, if properly stored, does not deteriorate for a long time. In a dark sealed container, the shelf life of the product is 12 months.
Garlic is mentioned in ancient Egyptian papyrus, which are more than 4000 years old. Previously, it was used mainly for medicinal purposes. Spice was used to treat plague, typhoid, and other infectious diseases, and was also used for snake bites.
Which dishes are best for?
In Russia, garlic appeared around the 9th century. In the old days it was believed that with it you can eat absolutely everything. The only exceptions were berry pies and sweet dishes.
Dried garlic is even more versatile than fresh. Best of all, he reveals his taste and aromatic properties in the following dishes:
- Meat and poultry. Rub dried meat with dried garlic before cooking, use it for marinades. It is equally well suited to fatty pork, lamb and dietary meat of poultry and rabbit. When stewing game and poultry, garlic sounds especially good in combination with sour apples and plums.
- Seasoning for vegetables. For pungency and bright aroma, you can add garlic powder to stews, casseroles, frying. They are sprinkled with grilled vegetables. The spice is especially well combined with potatoes, white cabbage, bell peppers, tomatoes and zucchini.
- Jelly. Dried garlic is flavored with ready-made hot broth. Without it, it is impossible to imagine jellied meat. Even special seasonings for its preparation with garlic and gelatin are produced.
- Bread and garlic rolls. To give the pastry a pleasant spicy flavor, garlic powder is added to the dough. And garlic slices are fried in oil and sprinkled with buns on top.
- Meat semi-finished products and sausages. Seasoning can be used in the preparation of meatballs, meatballs, all kinds of homemade sausages and sausages.
- Dried garlic, along with other spices, is used in the preservation of vegetables.
- Sauces. Spice is added to the well-known sauces of tkemali, aioli, guacamole, harissa and many others.
- Dishes with seafood. Dried garlic perfectly sets off the taste of shrimp, scallops, crabs, lobsters, mussels.
- Salads. Seasoning can be infused with vegetable oil and used to dressing fresh vegetable salads. It goes well with meat and mixed salads: Caesar, Red Sea, Inspiration, Royal, General.
The only thing garlic does not harmonize well with is fish. Seasoning is acceptable if spicy fish is cooked in a marinade. In all other cases, it is better to replace it with lemon pepper, rosemary, cumin or something else.
Popular recipes
There are dishes with garlic in all cuisines of the world: in Spanish, Italian, Greek, Hungarian, Arabic, Chinese. But most of all he is respected in the Caucasus, in Central Asia and, of course, in Russia. It can be used as an independent seasoning and combined with other spices: thyme, rosemary, star anise, marjoram, zira, cloves, black pepper.
Popular recipes:
- Creamy garlic sauce. Fry in butter (1 tbsp. Spoon) 2 tbsp. tablespoons of flour. Add 100 ml of cream, a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper, as well as 0.5–1 teaspoon of dried garlic. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Creamy garlic sauce is served with spaghetti, seafood, and is also used as dressing for salads.
- Pork ribs in honey-garlic sauce. For 800 g ribs, prepare a marinade from 50 ml of soy sauce, 1 tbsp. tablespoons of honey, 0.5 teaspoons of dried garlic, 30 ml of brandy and a pinch of salt. Marinate the ribs for 10-15 minutes. Lubricate with mustard (1 tbsp.spoon) and set to bake in a hot oven at 190 degrees 40-50 minutes. Turn on the grill mode (if any) 10 minutes before cooking.
- Baked vegetables salad. Cut 1 large carrot, 1 tomato, 4 radish, 1 eggplant, 1 bell pepper, 1 leek into large slices. Salt to taste. Place on a wire rack and bake at 170 degrees in the oven or on the grill. Sprinkle hot vegetables with lemon juice, add 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic, chili pepper to taste and 3 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil. Shuffle. Serve warm.
Scientifically proven that garlic inhibits the growth of bacteria. The substance allicin has an antimicrobial effect, which is found in both fresh and dried cloves.
Other uses of garlic
The use of aromatic seasoning is quite common not only in cooking, but also in traditional medicine, cosmetology, as well as in everyday life.
Here's another way to use dried garlic:
- To enhance immunity. Seasoning is recommended to be added to hot first courses 2-3 times a week.
- Against colds and asphyxiating coughs. Fry lard in a pan and pour fat into a jar. To 3 tbsp. tablespoons of still hot fat, add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Spread a throat and wrap a scarf on top. Apply 2-3 times daily until symptoms disappear.
- From acne. Mix 1 chicken yolk, 1 teaspoon of dried garlic, 1 teaspoon of almond oil, 2 teaspoons of fresh cabbage and carrot juice, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of cream. Apply the mask directly to the rash daily for a week. Before using the product, you should conduct a test for sensitivity to garlic, dripping a little mixture on the wrist.
- For hair growth. Heat in a water bath 5 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil (or any other vegetable oil), add 1 hour. Continue to warm the oil for 5 minutes. Then mix it in half with kefir and apply to the hair roots. Hold the mask for an hour, then wash your hair with shampoo. Repeat the procedure 2 times a week for a month - and the hair will grow by 3 cm.
- From ants and aphids. Pests cannot tolerate the smell of garlic. To get rid of them once and for all, dilute 30 g of garlic powder in 3 l of warm water and leave for 3 hours. After the solution is infused, wash it with the floor, skirting board. Do not flush. And to get rid of aphids, treat the plants with liquid.
Garlic is used to prevent colds, worms, cancer of the intestines, stomach, prostate. It is believed that it prevents vascular and heart diseases, helps reduce bad cholesterol in the blood, and also improves metabolism.
During pregnancy, hypertension, diseases of the kidneys, liver, epilepsy, gastric ulcer, garlic is eaten with great care.
Dried garlic has certain advantages over fresh: it is easy to store, does not need to be peeled, and can be used in more dishes. But still you need to consider that the taste and aroma of seasoning are less pronounced. Dried garlic is best suited in sauces and first courses. It can be added to potatoes, salads, replace fresh clove in the recipe. Try garlic powder in different dishes. It is not in vain that this is one of the most versatile and popular seasonings in the world.