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So I’m in the grocery store the other day by the veggies and as I’m buying string beans I see this lady out of the corner of my eye buying an $8 teeny jar of roasted garlic. I guess my inner face of “OMG please tell me you’re not going to buy that because if you are paying for that, then please adopt me lady cause you can most certainly afford me” wasn’t as inner as I thought as it caught her attention. She looked up and said “I can’t believe how much this stuff costs! But it’s so difficult to make from scratch.”
Apparently my mouth filter was off as well as I said “No it’s not, it’s one of the easiest things to make. If you have olive oil, tin foil and an oven you can make it. I mean you’re crazy to spend that much for something that takes 5 minutes to put together and 1/10th of the cost!” Yeah, sometimes my filter doesn’t work…
So I spent about 20 minutes with the lady giving her step by step instructions as she took notes into her iPhone (seriously aren’t smart phones the greatest invention EVER?). She also took down my website and info for ‘future’ tips. So if I get one new reader then I’m happy!
Anyway, for those of you that buy roasted garlic.. STOP!!! If you can waste money on stuff you can easily make yourself then you can surely build me a bistro 🙂
How to roast garlic
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Ingredients
- 3 heads of garlic – sliced In half laid out on heavy duty foil.
Instructions
Method 1:
- Drizzle with olive oil
- At this point you can season with salt and pepper if you want
- Wrap up like a purse tightly with the foil.
- Bake at 350 for an hour.
- Remove from oven and squeeze out.
Method 2:
- Remove all the garlic cloves individually from their papery wraps and place on heavy duty foil
- Drizzle with olive oil.
- At this point you can season with salt and pepper if you want.
- Wrap up tightly
- Bake at 375.
- Start checking the garlic after 10 minutes, and remove from the oven when the cloves are golden brown and soft enough to be pierced with a fork. You may have to roast the larger cloves longer. Just remove the smaller ones and set aside.
- Remove from oven
Thank you and have a Memorable Day!
what does the ORANGE clay garlic roaster do? I was given one for my wedding almost 40 years ago and have never used it. lol
It does the same thing but once you roast it in garlic is the only thing you can roast it in as the smell will be infused in the baker.
Preheat oven to 350F.
While oven is preheating, soak both lid and base of clay baker in water for 15 minutes.
Cut tops of garlic, and peel off 2-3 layers of the outside papery skin.
Drain clay baker and place garlic into baker.
If desired, drizzle garlic with a little olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Place lid on clay baker and roast for about 30-45 minutes.
Garlic is done when you smell the delicious aromas and when the garlic has softened to a buttery consistency.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
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What is the shelf life of roasted garlic?
Hi Melissa,
If you freeze it, about 3 months. In the fridge about a week.
Best Kitchen Wishes
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Hi Elizabeth! First, thanks for posting and welcome to the TKW family!
Honestly the garlic press is for those that don’t want to touch garlic or mess with trying to peel it. You put the clove in, peel in all, and close the press. What the press does is 2 fold – it’ll “peel” the garlic by leaving the paper in the press then it’ll also somewhat mince the garlic. It’s an alternate way for those to mince garlic without having to worry about using a knife.
You can most certainly use the garlic press when a recipe calls for minced garlic.
The only time you can’t use a garlic press is when you have fresh roasted garlic. The reason being is that when you take it out of the oven it’s so soft it’s almost butter-like. It’s super sweet.
Well, as long as we’re on the subject of garlic I have a question. I personally do not like garlic (nor does it like me) but I love to cook, so of course I come across it. What purpose does a garlic press serve. When I do use fresh garlic I smash it and then chop/dice/smash it more…whatever I need to do. I actually have a garlic press but have never come across a recipe that says, “Now dearie, press your garlic and put it in the frying pan”. What’s up?