Garlic is a top ingredient for chefs and home cooks as well. It has a distinctive savory flavor that makes it the best in preparing yummy dishes and seasonings. With this simple ingredient, you can transform simple meals into feasts.
However, garlic is used in many forms, making it difficult to know which one to choose. In its processed form, the spice is available in terms of granulated garlic, garlic powder, garlic salt, and garlic juice, which are extremely easy to use. While garlic powder features finely ground particles, granulated garlic has a coarse texture. This article discusses granulated garlic in greater detail to give you a good understanding of what it is, its benefits, and how to use it. Read on for more information:
What Is Granulated Garlic?
Granulated garlic is a form of fried, ground garlic with a sand-like consistent. It is prepared by peeling, dehydrating, and grinding garlic until you see granules. Granulated garlic has a distinctive texture comparable to that of cornflakes.
Since it doesn’t have any moisture, granulated garlic can last for several months when stored in a cool, dry place. Even better, the garlic granules can’t turn rancid, even after lengthy storage. It’s for that reason that granulated garlic tends to be pricier than other forms of garlic.
Advantages of Granulated Garlic
There are several reasons why you should choose granulated garlic instead of garlic powder. Granulated garlic has the following advantages:
- It rarely absorbs moisture or gets compared to garlic powder
- Great for savory recipes for salad dressings, soups, and sources due to how swiftly it combines with liquids
- Great for spice rubs since it mixes more evenly with different types of spices compared to garlic powder
- It can replace fresh garlic better than garlic powder,
What Does Granulated Garlic Test Like?
Granulated garlic isn’t any different from dried powder garlic when it comes to its taste. The main difference is in the texture of the garlic and the intensity of flavor. Besides the granulated garlic sourced from dehydrated fresh garlic, one is made from roasted garlic for a mellow nutty flavor. Regular granulated garlic is different from its intense garlic flavor compared to the roasted version. Therefore, the latter has a flour-like consistency when it comes to granulated garlic vs. garlic powder.
Granulated Garlic vs. Garlic Powder
Granulated garlic is much like garlic powder, albeit with larger granules. Both of these are forms of processed garlic made by grinding dehydrated garlic cloves. Granulated garlic is made by grinding dehydrated garlic to make granules.
On the other hand, garlic powder is made by pulverizing dry garlic to a powder. Therefore, granulated garlic has a coarser texture than garlic powder, which has a very fine texture. You can choose garlic powder to replace granulated garlic for budgetary reasons.
The Best Granulated Garlic Substitutes
Granulated garlic often acts as a replacement for fresh garlic. With a 1/3 teaspoon of granulated garlic, you can easily replace a whole clove of fresh garlic. However, when you need granulated garlic but have none, you could try different forms of garlic. They include the following:
1. Garlic Powder
Garlic powder is the most obvious replacement for granulated garlic. However, since it has fine granules, a small amount of garlic powder is enough for your dish. For example, you can substitute one teaspoon of granulated with half a teaspoon of garlic powder. However, if you fail to reduce the quantity by half, you could end up with too much garlic flavor in your meals.
2. Garlic Flakes
Garlic flakes can also act as an excellent granulated garlic alternative, albeit with a toned-down garlic flavor. Because of that, it’s always wise to double the volume of garlic flakes when using it as a substitute for granulated garlic. For example, if your recipe requires one teaspoon of granulated powder, use two teaspoons of garlic powder.
3. Garlic Salt
When salt is mixed with garlic granules, the product is garlic salt. It has one-part granulated garlic to three parts salt. If this is the only option you have, then you can increase the quantity by four times. The only disadvantage of this garlic product is that it has a high salt content.
4. Garlic Juice
Apart from garlic powder and garlic salt, the other big alternative to granulated garlic is garlic juice. Since it comes straight from fresh garlic, it has several health benefits, including acting as an antioxidant and immune booster. Unlike garlic powder, whose micronutrients have been removed, fresh garlic juice is good for your health.
How to Make Granulated Garlic
While garlic products may come ready-made, you may also want to prepare them at home. That’s if you have excess garlic at home and you’re worried it can rot. Instead of freezing the garlic, you can turn it into dehydrated granules and use it in your favorite recipes. If you want to use granulated garlic at home, here is a simple process to make it:
Step 1: Prepare the Garlic
Take each fresh garlic bulb and pull individual cloves out by hand. Break the outer peel and leave the cloves naked. Once you have isolated the fresh garlic cloves, roast them to a light brown color in a dry skillet or microwave them high for 15 seconds. With that, the skin becomes easy enough to remove and discard. Next, cut the peeled cloves into thin slices removing and green sprouts to prevent a bitter flavor.
Step 2: Dry the Cloves
You can dry minced garlic cloves either in a dehydrator or in the oven. In a dehydrator, you can leave the garlic slices inside for up to seven days at 115°F. If you choose the oven, you can set the temperature to 150°F with the garlic slices lying on a baking dish in a single layer. Leave the oven on until the garlic dries and crumbles easily. That should take up to two hours.
Step 3: Process in a Blender
Process the dried garlic in a spice grinder or blender. That doesn’t mean turning on the machine so that it runs continuously. Instead, do it in pulses as you inspect if the dehydrated garlic granules are the size you expect. Alternatively, you can crash the minced garlic using a spoon, fork, or mortar and pestle. Since you aren’t looking for a fine powder, you could leave some course chunks in the mixture.
Step 5: Package and Store Correctly
Once your homemade granulated garlic is ready, you should put it in an airtight container or jar. Tightly secure the container and keep it in a cool, dark place like a cupboard or pantry. Correctly stored granulated garlic should last for two to three years. Periodically, remove a few dehydrated garlic granules from the jar, crush in your hand, and test for potency. Any sign of a weakening flavor means you should replace it.
Health Benefits of Granulated Garlic
People choose granulated dried garlic for various reasons, including its ability to promote healthy living. It is excellent for use in all kinds of recipes, including broths and soups. Even though lacking in the anti-bacterial benefits of fresh garlic, granulated garlic has many benefits. You can make it part of your healthy living for the following reasons:
- Iron: Granulated garlic increases your iron intake, boosting your blood oxygen levels. Besides, you can avoid iron deficiency issues such as anemia. Taking two tablespoons of granulated garlic provides you with 1.1 milligrams of iron, 14 percent of what men and 6 percent of what women should take in a day.
- Copper: Apart from its delicious flavor, granulated garlic also improves your copper intake. There are 190 micrograms of copper in every two tablespoons or 21 percent of the recommended daily intake.
- Manganese: Granulated garlic also supplies 0.2 milligrams of manganese in two tablespoons of the spice. Manganese is essential in supporting skeletal health, metabolism and is also an antioxidant.
- Phosphorus: Did you know that your daily intake of phosphorus can also come from granulated garlic. In every two tablespoons of granulated garlic, there are 80 milligrams of phosphorus, equivalent to 11 percent of your recommended daily intake.
Granulated garlic is one of the best ways to preserve and consume garlic. By dehydrating cloves and turning them into granules, it is possible to prolong the shelf-life of garlic and even give it a great flavor. It is better than garlic powder, which can capture moisture from the atmosphere and go bad quickly. If your commercially acquired granulated garlic isn’t available, take steps and prepare some in the comfort of your home. Furthermore, it comes with various health benefits, including being rich in iron, copper, manganese, and phosphorus. You can, therefore, use granulated garlic to spice up your means and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
People also ask
Is Granulated Garlic and Garlic Powder the Same?
Absolutely not! Granulated garlic is created from dried cloves that have been reduced to a coarse texture, while garlic powder is made of dehydrated and already cooked garlic. Compared with the latter, granulated garlic has an incredibly pungent flavor and intense aroma – making it far superior in terms of taste.
What is a Substitute for Granulated Garlic?
If you’re out of granulated garlic, no worries! Garlic powder can be used as a substitute. Though the flavor and aroma won’t be nearly as intense compared to fresh granules, one teaspoon of garlic powder is equivalent to ¼ teaspoon of it.
How Much Garlic Powder is Equal to Granulated Garlic?
When it comes to replacing granulated garlic with garlic powder, always remember the 4:1 ratio. For example, if you need ¼ teaspoon of granulated garlic in your recipe, substitute one teaspoon of its powdered form.
Is Mccormick Garlic Powder Granulated?
Absolutely not! McCormick garlic powder is distinct from granulated garlic as it consists of dehydrated and cooked cloves milled into an ultra-fine form. Unlike its more robust counterpart, this powder type has a milder taste profile and smoother texture, making it the perfect addition to dishes loaded with flavorful spices.
Sources:
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/3642/garlic-compared.html
https://tastessence.com/granulated-garlic-substitute
https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/prepare-whole-nutmeg-spice-10217.html
https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-kali-mirch-9823.html
https://www.livestrong.com/article/268286-benefits-of-garlic-powder/
https://www.garlicprocess.com/health-benefit-of-dehydrated-garlic-granules/
