A few years ago I met the folks from Stonesoup Farms, a producer of award winning garlic. Ever since then, I have discovered that the freshest garlic makes a huge difference in how food tastes, and especially in the piquancy this garlic delivers.
Unfortunately for me, I lack the precise storage environment to be able to keep garlic for a long time. I was told to keep it in a cool, dark place, at around 65% humidity control. Though I would love to be able to say I can do this, I really can’t… and to be honest, I don’t even want to try! My solution is to process the garlic in different ways so it can last a while.
Since my kids moved out, I am cooking just for myself and I don’t go through ingredients as fast as I used to, so one pound of garlic is plenty for me. I keep a couple of heads to use fresh, I process a couple more and freeze (mixed in with a bit of olive oil), and the third method is to make garlic confit.
The technique of confit is to place the product in a lot of fat and cook long and slow, until the garlic starts to soften and caramelize a little bit. This makes it very sweet and takes all that bite away from it. With confit garlic, you can make the most gorgeous compound butter, mashed potatoes, pastas, soups and vinaigrettes or you can schmear it directly on a piece of crusty bread. On top of that, the garlic oil is delicious and you can use it as flavoured oil wherever you like. You will not have trouble finding uses for these two amazing ingredients.
I like to confit using grapeseed oil because this oil does not solidify when refrigerated, but you can certainly go with olive oil or any other type of vegetable oil. Trim any damaged parts of the cloves, remove the bigger woody ends and place in a small saucepan. Add enough oil to cover the cloves, then place the lid on the pan and bake. It could take anywhere from 1-2 hours to get those cloves nice and soft, so start checking at the 60 minute mark. They will be done when they are soft and golden brown. Let cool in the pan and then store in a glass jar. As long as they’re covered in oil, they will last a while, though you may find yourself using them for all sorts of things!
Garlic Confit
3 heads garlic, peeled and trimmed
1 - 1/12 cups grapeseed oil
Place garlic in small saucepan and pour in the oil. Cover the pan with its lid or tinfoil.
Place in a 250°F oven and bake until cloves are soft and golden brown. Depending on the size of the cloves, this could take anywhere from one to two hours, so start checking them at the 60 minute mark.
Let garlic and the oil cool in the pan, then transfer to a glass jar.
Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Makes about 1 cup garlic, plus the garlic oil.