How to store garlic for a year

The production period of garlic is mostly in summer. The garlic that has just come off the market is called fresh garlic. It does not taste very spicy and some even have a little sweetness. It is very good for making various garlic products. For example, many people make candied garlic when fresh garlic is off the market, which is very delicious. Since garlic is very cheap right off the market, many people will buy it in large quantities, but storage becomes a problem. So how can garlic be stored for a year without going bad? This requires skill.

1. Hanging storage method: When harvesting garlic, the garlic to be hung for storage must be carefully selected, and those that are too small, have rotten stems and leaves, are damaged, and are damp must be removed. Then the garlic must be spread on the ground to dry until the stems and leaves become soft and yellow and the garlic skin is dry. Finally, select 50 to 100 garlic heads of the same size, braid them, and hang them under the eaves in a cool, ventilated and rainproof place to dry and store them.

2. Stacking method: After the garlic is harvested, remove the loose petals, insect-eaten, moldy and damaged garlic to prevent them from rotting in the rain. After about a week, let the baby out for the second time. Repeat this process twice to dry all the garlic, then move it to a well-ventilated place indoors, stack it in a storage room or a large bamboo basket, maintain low humidity and cool conditions, and check it frequently.

3. Burial method: The width of the burial trench is 1 to 1.5 meters. After the garlic is buried, it cannot be checked at any time. To avoid rotting and loss during storage, only disease-free and undamaged garlic should be strictly selected for storage before burying. When burying garlic, rice husks are usually used as covering material. First, spread a 2-cm thick layer of rice husks at the bottom of the ditch, and then add a layer of garlic on top of a layer of rice husks. When the layers are piled to about 5 cm from the ground, cover them with rice husks to prevent the garlic from being exposed to the air. This creates a certain sealing condition, inhibits the respiration of garlic, reduces the oxygen content, and is beneficial to the deposition of carbon dioxide in the storage environment, providing good conditions for garlic storage.

Garlic Nutrition

1. Fermented black garlic tastes good. After fermentation to make black garlic, the moisture content of garlic will be reduced by about 50%, the sugar and amino acids will increase significantly, and the content of B vitamins will also increase. The color of garlic changes from white to black because of the "Maillard reaction" that occurs after long-term fermentation and heat preservation. At this time, allicin has been degraded, and ingredients such as polyfructose have been broken down to produce fructose, which enhances the sweetness. Therefore, black garlic tastes sweet and mellow, and is no longer spicy. People who are afraid of gastrointestinal irritation can also eat it, and there is no need to worry about bad breath. It is very popular among young people. However, you don’t need to take the popular claims such as “black garlic reduces three highs” and “black garlic improves immunity” too seriously. If you don’t eat a large amount of black garlic on a daily basis, it is difficult to achieve these effects.

2. Pickled food promotes digestion. There is a tradition of pickling garlic in the north. Laba garlic, sweet and sour garlic, etc. are people's favorite methods. They can retain all the mineral components of garlic and can eliminate the spicy taste of garlic to a large extent. However, their bactericidal effect is lower than that of raw garlic. Professor Zhao Guanghua from the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University found that the extract of sweet and sour garlic contains antioxidant activity and has a certain inhibitory effect on cancer cells. When making sweet and sour garlic at home, you should use brewed vinegar to soak it. If you add a little sugar, the taste will be more delicious. Laba garlic will turn green after soaking, which is harmless to the human body and has a certain antioxidant effect. Both preparation methods have the effect of relieving greasiness and promoting digestion, and are very suitable for eating with meat.