It’s for garlic growers to enjoy their harvest

Between late summer and early fall, Northwest gardeners cast an expectant eye toward their garlic patches in anticipation of the upcoming harvest.

When the garlic leaves turn brown, watering the plot becomes counterproductive, so they stop. Several days later, once the tops have died back, it’s time to ready up the breath mints – fresh, home-grown garlic will be on the menu again.

Actually, variety differences aside, how potent your garlic turns out after cooking depends on how it’s treated before and during cooking. Whole unpeeled garlic is the mildest, as you might expect. Mashed garlic, on the other hand, releases the greatest amount of garlic juice, while minced or sliced falls somewhere in the middle.

Potency is reduced considerably with long, slow cooking. Braise a handful of whole, peeled cloves with your next pot roast and notice how the process refines the garlic’s raw harshness into a delicate aroma; the whole cloves cook down to the consistency of butter, and taste mellow and soft.

Or follow the recipe below for baked garlic Szechwan, and experience a delicious, conversation-provoking offering that your dinner guests won’t believe began with an ingredient capable of fending off the Undead.

If you have access to a bountiful supply of this versatile member of the onion family, then there are a few preservation options to consider for year-around enjoyment.

General storage for fresh bulbs

After the bulbs have been harvested by gently lifting from the ground with a pitchfork, they need to dry outside (in the shade) for a day or two.

Garlic is dry when the skin has turned papery. At this point, you can either clip off the top about 1 inch from the bulb or leave the entire plant intact so that several bulbs can be braided together.

Whichever method used, remember to handle your garlic carefully; it bruises easily and deteriorates rapidly from that point.

Garlic may be stored in mesh bags or slatted crates, or hung in braided ropes or bunches. Ideal storage temperature is 32 to 38 degrees, with a humidity of less than 70 percent.

Keep an eye on it during the coldest periods of winter to guard against freezing. At the other end of the scale, it will sprout most readily when temperatures are above 40 degrees.

Garlic stored in oil

Storing peeled cloves of garlic in oil is no longer considered a safe method for preserving. The USDA and Oregon State University Extension Service concur that current evidence reveals that there is a risk of clostridium botulinum growth, even under refrigeration.

It’s a low risk, researchers say, but a risk, nonetheless.

Freezing garlic

Garlic can be frozen in three ways:

1. Grind or chop the garlic, wrap it tightly, and freeze. To use, just grate or break off amount needed.

2. Freeze the garlic unpeeled and just remove cloves as you need them. The texture will be altered, but for cooking purposes, this doesn’t matter most of the time.

3. Peel the cloves and puree them with oil in a blender or food processor, using two parts oil to one part garlic. The puree will stay soft enough in the freezer to scrape out portions to use in sauteeing.

Note: All garlic placed in the freezer should be tightly wrapped or the strong garlic flavor will penetrate other foods in the freezer.

Garlic in wine

Although storing garlic in oil is taboo, the peeled cloves can be submerged in wine (white or red) and then refrigerated. As long as there is no sign of mold or yeast formation on the surface, both the garlic-flavored wine and the garlic may be used for cooking.

If the mixture is not refrigerated, mold growth will occur fairly rapidly – even within a couple of weeks.

Preparing garlic powder and garlic salt

Although fresh garlic cloves are still the most ideal type for cooking, from a quality standpoint, some people prefer the convenience of garlic powders and salts.

To prepare from your backyard harvest, select fresh, firm, unbruised cloves. Peel the cloves; small cloves halved and large cloves sliced into 1/4-inch slices. Place garlic on drying trays and dry at 140 degrees for 2 to 3 hours, or until the garlic is crisp.

To make garlic powder, place the dried garlic into a blender and blend until fine.

To make garlic salt, combine 1 part garlic powder with 4 parts salt and blend an additional second or two. If you blend too long, the salt will be too fine and will cake.

Store the garlic powder and salt in tightly closed containers in a dark, dry place.

Baked garlic Szechwan

This recipe makes a dramatic appetizer. The combination of garlic, teriyaki sauce, ginger and Szechwan peppers is not for the faint of heart, but it makes a delicious, conversation-provoking offering.

Serve with freshly baked French bread, a fine-quality meunster or gouda (at room temperature), and a hearty red wine – merlot, pinot noir, beaujolais – or a fruity/oaky chardonnay. Diners spread the garlic Szechwan mixture onto chunks of the bread and eat with the cheese. Heavenly.

2heads garlic (yes, heads, not cloves)

1cup dry vermouth

3tablespoons olive oil

2tablespoons sesame oil

1tablespoon butter

2teaspoons freshly grated (or finely minced) ginger root

szechwan pepper (if unavailable, use cayenne)

1/4cup sake or very dry sherry

1/2cup homemade or bottled teriyaki sauce (recipe follows)

Peel excess papery skin from the heads of garlic, leaving the cloves intact. Place them in a baking dish with the vermouth and olive oil and bake, uncovered for 30 minutes in a 225-degree oven, basting occasionally. Cover tightly and continue baking for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and let cloves cool until they’re easy to handle. Remove cloves from skin (if you snip the pointed end with kitchen shears you can get the cloves to pop from the skins when gently squeezed); set aside. (Note: Cloves can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead to this point; cover tightly and refrigerate.)

In saute pan, heat the sesame oil and butter, then add the peeled garlic cloves, ginger, and pepper and saute over medium-high heat until cloves are heated through and golden brown. Add the sake and deglaze the pan by stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to remove the caramelized pieces of food. Stir in the teriyaki sauce and continue to cook until the sauce is reduced and thick.

Homemade teriyaki sauce

4teaspoons minced fresh garlic

2teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1cup soy sauce

2/3cup sherry

Juice of 2 lemons

1/2cup brown sugar

2-3tablespoons honey.

Blend together. Before using, stir up from bottom.

This sauce will keep refrigerated up to 1 month.

Yields 2 cups.

Adapted from “Bay and Ocean, Ark Restaurant Cuisine,” by Nanci Main and Jimella Lucas