I lived in Italy for a few years and I *love* garlic, especially when it's fresh--including the scapes. I also love working with it: peeling, chopping, etc. I've never tried prepeeled garlic and my impulse is to shun it. But for what it's worth, there's a small piece in the current "Cook's Illustrated" magazine about prepeeled garlic in which they tested both fresh and prepeeled garlic in a variety of recipes: "In all cases the results were mixed, with neither freshly peeled nor prepeeled garlic claiming victory." They do say that prepeeled has a much shorter shelf life and can already be heading south before purchase. But they conclude that "if you go through a lot of garlic, prepeeled cloves can be an acceptable alternative." Still, for all the reasons everyone has stated, I would always stick with fresh.
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Pre-peeled Garlic ?
- Thread starter Tom Chips
- Start date
In the grocery store near the veggies are bottles of freeze-dried minced garlic. You just hydrate a little with some water. This stuff is fantastic, often it is Better than fresh, especially when what is available fresh is often not that great. I really love this stuff and it is soo fresh that you might even use less than you would normally.
Pete Hannan
New member
I`m old school on this !
You only have to peel and chop a fresh clove of garlic to tell the difference between it and the pre-peeled version.
Think of it like this, assuming that you start with fresh young garlic, (and not stuff that is at the end of it`s 6 week shelf life after sitting on a surpermarket shelf) how on earth could it be the same after having it`s protective layer removed ?
Would you want pre-peeled bananas ?
Or tomatoes ?
I don`t think so !
It loses some of it`s character !
What`s the problem with peeling your own garlic anyway ? It`s part of the fun of sourcing fresh ingredients and cooking them !
I say keep the skin on !
Pete.
You only have to peel and chop a fresh clove of garlic to tell the difference between it and the pre-peeled version.
Think of it like this, assuming that you start with fresh young garlic, (and not stuff that is at the end of it`s 6 week shelf life after sitting on a surpermarket shelf) how on earth could it be the same after having it`s protective layer removed ?
Would you want pre-peeled bananas ?
Or tomatoes ?
I don`t think so !
It loses some of it`s character !
What`s the problem with peeling your own garlic anyway ? It`s part of the fun of sourcing fresh ingredients and cooking them !
I say keep the skin on !
Pete.
When I'm flavor-brining or marinating, I'll definitely go with the bagged peeled garlic from the asian market.
The stuff tastes as good or better than most whole-bulb garlic I've bought at the supermarket and it's cheaper and way more convenient.
Now if I was making a garlic soup, then I'd search out the best whole garlic, but as long as I'm just wanting the general garlic effect (which is 99% of the time), pre-peeled works great for me.
The stuff tastes as good or better than most whole-bulb garlic I've bought at the supermarket and it's cheaper and way more convenient.
Now if I was making a garlic soup, then I'd search out the best whole garlic, but as long as I'm just wanting the general garlic effect (which is 99% of the time), pre-peeled works great for me.