Calling All Cooks...Question About Garlic...

Any time I see mold, I throw it out. I don't trust mold and I'd rather be safe than sorry. That's just my opinion. I'm sure someone will come along who has actually done it and be able to tell you.

Originally Posted by PaulaS

hmm, I'll ask the BF when he wakes up. He's a chef and knows all the mold things, like cheese you can cut off the mold and its ok, but bread you can't and have to throw the whole loaf out. I'll ask him about garlic!

Thanks! I did know about cheese molds being harmless and I cut mine off and use the rest! I look forward to hearing from your BF about my garlic problem!

Thanks everyone...I'll keep checking back for more posts...
Hilda>^..^<

Im not sure about garlic, i know there's a rule for bread. even if theres only a tiny bit of mold, you have to chop off at least an inch of the loaf.

i never refrigerate my garlic, i stick it in the pantry where it is dry. plastic bags encourage the mildew and mould. same with potatos.

and if you want to replant them the pantry is a good place if you keep them in the dark for long enough they sprout new shoots

I use the minced garlic too.

Are you storing garlic in the fridge? Garlic heads should not be kept in the fridge. I keep mine on the counter and have never seen mold growing on them. If I don't use them in a timely fashion they just get withered up and dry.

As for seeing mold on any foods other than cheese, throw it out!!!! On cheese if you see mold you can cut off the mold and 1/2 inch of the cheese and the cheese is still fine. But do not eat rotting food.

I also buy jars of minced garlic because it's time effective. The only time I buy heads of garlic is when I'm roasting a chicken and I want to put some added flavour, then I will stuff it with whole garlic cloves, thyme and lemon. But all other cooking is done with jars of minced garlic.

Just a caution -- those little jars of prepared garlic are great, but there have been cases of botulism in them. The last time I heard about one was years ago, but I'm still wary. It's not too hard to prepare your own fresh garlic if you have a wide-bladed knife -- you just cut the root end off the clove, lay the blade flat over it, and whack it with the side of your hand like a Swedish masseuse!

Then it's easy to mince as fine as you like.

We buy cloves at a time because I use it for almost every meal except for breakfast.

We keep it in a ziploc bag in a cabinet, and we've never had a problem with mold.

This year, I'm thinking about planting a few cloves to watch them bloom. Garlic is a member of the Lilly family, and has a nice white flower.

I wouldn't use moldy garlic. Remember the saying "when in doubt, throw it out."

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Are you storing garlic in the fridge? Garlic heads should not be kept in the fridge. I keep mine on the counter and have never seen mold growing on them. If I don't use them in a timely fashion they just get withered up and dry.

Me too, but I rarely don't use it all. Garlic is one of my favorite food groups.

Originally Posted by jennyranson

When you buy your garlic take five minutes to peel all the cloves and put them in a screw top jar in olive oil. The will stop them going bad and gives you wonderful flavoured oil too!

Mmmmm... great idea! When I peel, I use the smash with the flat edge of the knife method and the peels virtually fall off.

Now I'm getting hungry.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

I gave up whole clove garlic (except when I feel like roasting elephant garlic).
I found it more cost effective to buy the jars of fresh minced garlic.
They can be refridgerated and last a long time in the fridge.
I don't cook a meal without it though so we go through quite a bit.

My DH loves garlic. Those jars are the way to go!!

Originally Posted by lookingglass

This year, I'm thinking about planting a few cloves to watch them bloom. Garlic is a member of the Lilly family, and has a nice white flower.

Not only is it great to grow but it should help to keep insects away from your garden...its a natural insect repellant!

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

I buy several heads of cloves packed in a mesh bag and keep it in the fridge. It never gets moldy, the worst that happens is a loose clove dries us and gets shrively. I would cut the mold off to where the garlic looks ok.

Since the mold was on the underside of the head...like where roots would grow if you planted it...I just took a sharp knife and cut off the entire end of the bulb.

I believe I will just peal them all and put them into some olive oil as suggested by many. I used some of them yesterday in a big pot of mexican beans I cooked up...oh man...they were soooooooooo delicious!!!!...served them up with a big pan of fidello!!! YUMMMMMMMY!

Hilda>^..^<