How to store garlic at home

Garlic is an integral part of the basic grocery set, which is in every home. Garlic can be found in the kitchen of any hostess. This is not only a pleasant and fragrant spice that makes any dish more appetizing and tasty. Garlic is used as a medicinal and prophylactic agent in the midst of colds. Not a single season of preservation can do without garlic - this vegetable gives the marinades and pickles a special spice and delicate taste.

If you grow garlic in your garden, you probably think about how to store this vegetable. After all, with the wrong collection or storage of garlic begins to crumble, rot, grow, mold. One slightest mistake can damage the entire crop. That is why it is very important to know how to collect garlic and how to store it, so that all winter on the table was fresh slices of tasty garlic.

If you do not have your own farm, the question of the storage of garlic can also be quite acute. The fact is that practical hostesses buy garlic in the fall, during the harvest period. Vegetable at this time is worth a penny, they can stock up on all winter. But how to save it, so as not to be at a loss?

When to collect garlic for storage

The suitability of the harvest for long-term storage is directly dependent on the time and accuracy of its collection. Garlic can be summer (spring) or winter (winter). Each of these varieties must be picked at a specific time. Spring garlic is harvested at the end of August, when the leaves of the plant begin to turn yellow, and the tops begin to lean over the ground.

Winter garlic is harvested in July. Among the signs that indicate the ripening of the crop, it is possible to note the yellowing of the extreme leaves of the foliage. When this wrap inflorescences begins to crack. This suggests that garlic is time to collect. Before harvesting, pay attention to the condition of the covering scales. If they are thin, but fairly durable, the vegetable is ready for harvest.

It is very important to collect garlic in due time. If you do not do it in time, it will begin to disintegrate, the upper shell cracks, new roots appear on the bottom, the bulb becomes longer. All this leads to a significant reduction in the shelf life of garlic.In this form, the vegetable will not survive the winter, will quickly rot and spoil. Garlic should be collected in the following way.

How to harvest garlic

To collect you need to choose warm and sunny days. View the weather forecast and select a weekly period in which precipitation is not expected.

1. Garlic is harvested with a shovel. Carefully undermine the root crop so as not to damage the onions. Some prefer to dig in the ground with pitchforks - to whom it is convenient
2. Take the garlic for the tops and gently shake the vegetables. Hands remove excess soil that has accumulated on the rhizomes. Be careful - damaged onions will not be suitable for long-term storage. It is not necessary to knock the bulbs on a shovel or other hard objects with all your might.
3. Now the garlic needs to be dried. In good sunny days it is dried right on the garden. It may take more than one day. Keep the garlic under the sun for about a week so that it is well dried. If the weather does not please sunny days, you can dry the bulbs in a well-ventilated place - in the attic, under a canopy, under the roof of the terrace.
4. In wet weather, dry the garlic during the day under the sun, and bring it home at night.
5. It is very important during the drying not to cut the green leaves of the plant.The fact is that during drying the leaves give the bulb additional nutritional strength. Observant gardeners may notice that, after drying, the volume and weight of garlic are much larger than before.
6. After drying, the garlic must be prepared for storage. The top coat is not removed from it, we need it in order to preserve the vegetable longer. The roots must be cut, but not completely. Leave 2-3 cm of roots, so that the garlic does not dry. The leaves of the plant also need to be trimmed slightly. Leave a neck length of 10-12 cm so that the garlic stays fresh and tasty longer.

Everything. Garlic for long-term storage is ready. Now it needs to be removed so that throughout the winter a fresh and high-quality product is at hand.

How to store garlic at home

Garlic can be stored in two ways. The first is in conditions of relative cold, not more than 20 degrees Celsius. So stored spring garlic. Winter does not tolerate heat and the maximum temperature at which it can be stored is 2-5 degrees. In general, winter garlic is rarely used for long-term storage. It does not tolerate temperature changes, it dries quickly due to the fact that it has a very thin outer shell.Such garlic is convenient to plant in the fall - it grows quickly and is not afraid of the first frost. And for long storage, take summer garlic. Here are some effective ways to store garlic at home.

1. Pigtails. From garlic can weave a pigtail. If you are going to store garlic in this way, do not cut the tops too short - you will need them. Take a long rope and start weaving garlic in it. Weave a braid, gradually adding more and more new onions to it. At the end of weaving, you can make a small loop of rope, for which you can hang the resulting braid. By the way, garlic in this form will not only be preserved from rodents and insects, but will also decorate your home - heads of garlic in the form of a pigtail look so stylized. It is necessary to hang such weaving in a cool place - on the balcony, in the basement, in the closet, in the closet.
2. Boxes and stockings. Garlic can be removed in pans that are not used, as well as in old boxes. Garlic should be stored in cool and dark places. If you are afraid that the garlic may dampen or rot, tack the old stocking with your heads and hang it from the ceiling in a cool room.Even the worst pests won't get such garlic.
3. Baskets. It is very good to store onions and garlic in wicker baskets with large holes. In this state, the onions are well ventilated and the risk of their rotting is reduced.
4. Flour. This is a very good way to store garlic, with it you can save vegetables until the next harvest. The main condition is that the garlic is well dried. The heads are dipped in plastic or ceramic containers and filled with flour. This is how grandma's garlic is stored in villages. Flour protects vegetables from rodents, insects, rotting and mildew. When you need garlic, you just need to get it, clean and rinse. Ready and fresh products on your table.
5. Linen bags. To prevent garlic from gnawing on uninvited guests, it should be stored in canvas bags, previously soaked in salt. Prepare salt water and rinse it in a fabric bag. Hang it to dry without rinsing. Place garlic heads in a dry bag to keep them until spring.
6. Salt. If you often use garlic in culinary masterpieces and like when the product is at hand, you can store it in the kitchen drawer.But for this, sprinkle it with salt so that it does not deteriorate at a sufficiently high temperature. Salt will not let the garlic dry, germinate or rot.

These are the easiest and most popular ways to store garlic in a city apartment. But there are still many ways to help you keep garlic in a different form.

How else to store garlic

To store garlic is not necessary to keep it in its original form. Sometimes in order to preserve it better, as well as to make it convenient to use, it is marinated, salted and stored in oil.

1. Save garlic can be in the bank. To do this, well-dried heads are divided into cloves and left to dry for some time. Sterilize the jar and lower all the cloves there. Be careful - do not allow the inside to get the teeth with a wormhole or without a shirt. Such cloves of garlic can damage the entire jar. Roll the jar lid. Store garlic in this form can be very long - up to several years.
2. Garlic is kept in a jar of salt for a very long time. Put a little salt on the bottom of the jar, then put one layer of teeth on the teeth, then sprinkle with salt again and place the second layer.Thus, garlic is stored for a very long time, can survive more than one winter and will remain fresh.
3. You can put garlic in a vacuum bag and remove excess air. In this form, the vegetable will be stored in the refrigerator for several months.
4. Some housewives prefer to cook garlic almost completely. For this recipe, you can take damaged and slightly wormy heads that are not suitable for long-term storage. Clean the teeth completely by cutting off all unusable areas. After that, chop the garlic as you prefer to use it. Someone likes chopped garlic, and someone prefers to add chopped garlic, passed through a press. Garlic prepared in the desired way is placed in a glass jar and poured with vegetable oil. Garlic is beautifully stored in butter - even in a ground form. When you cook another dish, with a spoon, just add the right amount of garlic and butter to the pan. This method will not only help to preserve "illiquid" garlic, it is also very convenient. You do not have to peel and chop a vegetable every time - everything is ready and on hand for a long time.
5. And if there is so much garlic that you cannot eat it even for the whole winter, it is marinated. Marinated garlic is a delicious and savory dish that will decorate any table. Surprise guests with this unusual canned product!

These are unusual ways to store garlic in a variety of forms.

How to protect garlic from diseases

During storage, garlic can dry out, germinate, bugs can live in it, the vegetable can even become moldy. To avoid this, there are many secrets of storage of this culture.

1. So that garlic does not germinate, its roots are burnt by fire before storage.
2. To the head of garlic is not dried, it is dipped in liquid paraffin. It forms around the vegetable a thin shell through which the liquid does not evaporate. Garlic in this form remains fresh for many years.
3. To prevent mold and rot on garlic, it must be thoroughly dried before storage. Usually this problem occurs with damaged and frozen onions.

No matter how you store garlic, from time to time you need to view and sort it. Defective and suspicious onion need to withdraw their common storage - theycan infect healthy vegetables.

Garlic in Russian cuisine (along with salt and pepper) is considered the main spice. In ancient times, the widespread eating of garlic contributed to stopping the plague epidemic in Europe. Garlic is a unique plant that has bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antiseptic properties. Eat garlic for taste, treatment and prevention - take care of your health!

Video: proper storage of garlic