How To Store Your Garlic

You've stocked up on all kinds of bodaciousness but how do you store all your garlic goodies and how long will they last? We've got you covered. Here's a few easy ways to make your garlic last as long as possible.

1. No plastic! Plastic bags hold in moisture and that's the enemy when it comes to long term storage.

2. Keep bulbs and cloves out of direct sunlight, so no windowsill sittin'. 

3. Keep it simple. Your garlic most likely came in a "farm chic" brown paper bag, or purple netting. Both are great places to keep your stash, whether it be out on the kitchen counter or in the pantry. Just be sure to keep the top of the paper bag open for good air circulation. 

4. Don't put it in the fridge! Cloves start to sprout around 40 degrees F. Sprouted garlic is still totally safe to eat, and doesn't really taste any different, but it does go bad MUCH quicker. Like within a week. 

5. DO freeze it. This is the one time you can use a plastic bag and it won't make the vein in my neck start to bulge. You can freeze whole bulbs, individual cloves with wrappers, or you can peel your cloves off and freeze them naked. *Special note on freezing: The texture of the cloves will be softer, but the flavor will still bodacious. 

Storage Life Expectancy - Room Temperature: 4-6 months. (We've had Montana Giant and Romanian Red last 9+ just sitting out on the counter. We like to think it puts the vampires on notice.)

Storage Life Expectancy - Freezer: 1 year. (We actually kept a pound in the freezer for 2 years just to see what would happen and it held up great. The flavor power went down about 20% but it was stored redneck style in Walmart grocery bag so all in all, still pretty impressive.)