Frozen Garlic

Freeze Whole Garlic Bulbs. This simple method involves placing whole heads of garlic into a freezer bag, sealing it tightly, and placing it in the freezer. Only select garlic bulbs that are firm, dry, and free from any signs of rot or wasting.

Freeze Peeled Cloves. To cut down on future prep time, you can peel garlic cloves before you freeze them. Peel room-temperature cloves individually and then pile them onto a sheet of plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Wrap the whole cloves tightly to prevent freezer burn, and then place the plastic-wrapped or aluminum-wrapped cloves into a freezer bag for extra protection. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and place it in the freezer.

Freeze Chopped Garlic Or Minced Garlic. You can freeze minced garlic or chopped garlic using the same materials you would use for peeled cloves. The only difference is to finely chop the garlic, or crush it in a garlic press, before freezing.

Freeze Garlic Cubes Made From Garlic Paste. You can make garlic paste in a food processor by blending one tablespoon of olive oil for every whole head of garlic. Once you have your garlic paste, dollop it into ice cube trays (silicone trays work best), and then tuck the ice cube trays into the freezer for two to three hours. Pull out the flash-frozen garlic cubes, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag, and seal them in for safekeeping. You can also create garlic paste balls by placing dollops of garlic paste on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer for two to three hours before transferring the dollops to a freezer bag for long-term storage.

Freeze Roasted Garlic. You can roast garlic and then freeze it to preserve its savory flavor. Roast garlic in the oven, then mash it to help the roasted garlic flesh escape the papery skin. Transfer this mashed roasted garlic to a parchment-lined baking sheet, which you should submerge in the freezer for two to three hours. Pull it out and transfer the frozen roasted garlic to freezer-safe bags for long-term storage.

A short-term blanching treatment (100℃ for 45 s, 90℃ for 45 s, and 80℃ for 60 s) before freezing did not affect the total organosulfur compound content. In a preliminary research, blanching conditions were determined to be 100℃for 45 to 80 s. Under these conditions, peroxidase was inactivated, but organosulfur compounds were retained. Mechanical and color tests showed a damaging effect of blanching and freezing on frozen garlic blanched for 60 and 80 s at 100℃. Compared to frozen fresh garlic, frozen garlic treated by blanching for 45 s at 100℃retained 2871.49 ± 200.24 µg/g of allicin, although 81.83% of peroxidase was inactivated; browning and hardness improved by 49.97 and 48.01%, respectively. According to scanning electron microscopy, significant damage to the microstructure was observed in both frozen fresh garlic and frozen garlic after 60 s and 80 s of blanching at 100℃. Moreover, 1H low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) indicated that blanching for 60 s and 80 s induced an increase in free water in garlic tissues, resulting in further damage after freezing. As peroxidase was efficiently inactivated, the microstructure and organosulfur compounds were better preserved, and blanching treatment at 100℃ for 45 s before freezing is a potential method for obtaining frozen garlic with high sensory and nutritional qualities.

Practical Application
Freezing helps to overcome challenges associated with growing seasons and the deterioration of garlic during storage. After frozen garlic is thawed, it is prone to some undesirable changes, such as enzymatic browning and softening. Minimal blanching (45 s at 100℃) pretreatment can help to maintain the bioactive compounds of garlic and prevent texture and color deterioration caused by freezing directly.