It can be challenging to tell if garlic bread is gone bad. Garlic bread, like any other leftover cooked food, remains for 3-4 days when stored at room temperature. According to the USDA, you should consume butter left to sit on the counter for one or two days before its flavor turns rancid.
When frozen, garlic bread remains fresh for up to six months. However, when stored in the refrigerator, garlic bread might become chewier and taste different. Therefore, bread is best left at room temperature for excellent texture and flavor.
Signs of Spoiled Garlic Bread
To know if garlic bread is spoiled, you must look for subtle signs. The following are the things to consider:
1. Unsafe Garlic Bread
Garlic bread is unsafe if it can cause foodborne illness. Under normal circumstances, marking garlic bread unsafe doesn’t mean it will cause disease. Instead, it means you are likely to get sick after eating it.
Garlic bread becomes unsafe when left at room temperature for more than three to four days. That means you can get food poisoning when you eat leftover bread into the fourth day after storage. So even though it might have no signs of being unsafe, looking at its expiration date makes things more straightforward.
2. Stale Bread
Bread becomes stale when it develops a dry, tough (leathery) texture. It may not be spoiled or unsafe, but it won’t taste great. When stored in the refrigerator, bread is more likely to become stale.
3. Spoiled Garlic Bread
Spoiled bread is inedible. If it is rotten or moldy, it is unsafe to eat. Whether or not garlic bread is spoiled depends on your tastes and standards. But it can be only four days, and garlic bread gets spoiled.
How to Know if Frozen Garlic Bread Is Bad
One of the best ways to keep garlic bread fresh is by freezing it. Frozen garlic bread is unlikely to go bad. However, its texture and flavor may change drastically due to the freezer ban.
You can keep garlic bread in the freezer indefinitely. This is because food poisoning bacteria don’t grow and multiply in the freezer.
While frozen homemade garlic bread can stay safe perpetually, it’s essential to set a use-by date in 12 to 18 days. Store-bought garlic bread comes with an expiration date.
Frozen garlic bread can go wrong when left out for too long after thawing. Also, a power outage causing the bread to thaw in the freezer may cause garlic poisoning.
Should You Eat Out-of-date Garlic Bread?
No. Eating out-of-date garlic bread may cause food poisoning. So, it’s critical to stick to its use-by date. Eating out-of-date food might not develop any signs of sickness, but you’ll risk your life.
Can Garlic Bread Cause Food Poisoning?
Yes. Garlic bread can cause food poisoning due to poor handling of the root plant at home. In addition, cooking bread with garlic oil may lead to foodborne illness. That’s because the root vegetable is prone to botulism, which results in garlic poisoning.
Unrefrigerated garlic oil creates the perfect conditions for the growth and multiplication of the clostridium botulinum bacteria. The bacteria produce toxins without affecting the smell or taste of the food. That can make you sick.
Symptoms of Food Intolerance
Eating garlic bread can make you sick if you have a food intolerance to garlic. Besides food intolerance, you may feel sick after touching or inhaling garlic. The symptoms may occur immediately or several hours later. Symptoms include the following:
- Stomach pain
- Diarrhea
- Heartburn
How Does Garlic Bread Cause Food Poisoning?
Basic garlic bread is prepared using wheat, garlic, and butter. Whether store-bought or homemade, it doesn’t cause food poisoning. However, garlic bread with meats or cheeses may cause food poisoning.
When stored at room temperature for one week, garlic bread may become moldy and develop toxins that cause food poisoning. On the other hand, frozen garlic bread can cause food poisoning when left thawing for long.
How to Avoid Food Poisoning from Garlic Bread?
If you’re making garlic bread at home, you can avoid food poisoning by choosing the right ingredients. It is essential to avoid using bad garlic, which could already contain toxins and cause food poisoning.
Garlic poisoning is usually due to garlic that has stayed on the shelves for too long. So, it would be best if you blamed garlic bread but the lousy garlic.
How to Prevent Sogginess in Garlic Bread?
Eating warm garlic bread straight from the oven is the best way to ensure it is fresh. If you kept the bread for several days, start warming and toasting the top. The process is more straightforward and can help you avoid eating soggy bread.
How to Make Garlic Bread at Home?
Even though you can buy garlic bread at home, making it at home is one of the best things you can do. Luckily, there are several recipes you can use, including the following:
Ingredients
- ½ cup melted butter
- 3 to 4 minced garlic cloves
- 1 loaf of French bread (1 pound), halved lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
Instructions
- Combine garlic and butter in a small bowl
- Brush the garlic and butter mixture over the cut bread sides
- Sprinkle the bread pieces with parsley
- Place on a baking sheet, cut side up
- Bake for 8 minutes at 350°C.
- Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for two minutes or until it turns golden brown.
- Serve warm
Conclusion
Garlic bread is safe to eat for three to four days when stored at room temperature. It may last longer in a freezer but adopt an unpleasant texture and text. Cover with aluminum foil and tight-seal in a container when freezing bread. That should keep it fresh for an extended period.
Sources
https://moths.bellevuealumnae.org/qa/does-garlic-bread-go-bad/
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/garlic-bread/
https://fondofbaking.com/does-frozen-garlic-bread-expire/
https://just-a-cook.com/en/qa/page=879dd45e18c9bf76fb7f32d8ac9a59ed_qa
https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/71390/how-long-is-bread-safe-in-the-fridge
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-tell-if-garlic-is-bad-109952
