Garlic is so beautiful in its design that I can't just peel, I have to do pictures.
It's like handling a sculpture that also smells interesting.
Ginger, too, is an adventure in smell, and I wonder who first found out about it. It looks like strange little figures when it's growing, and who thought to break a bit off and sniff? Then even, daringly, taste, and find they'd been transported onto a higher plane?
So garlic
And ginger
Are now in the freezer, ready for whatever might seem to be a good idea. The stainless steel spoon is to remove the smell of garlic from your hands.
You know that old trick, under cool running water, rinse hands and spoon together and some chemistry happens, the smell of garlic is gone. Interestingly, the smell of ginger stays around a bit. But that's not much of a problem.
I never knew that about the spoon.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool, isn't it? I wonder if we have a reader who can explain the chemistry?
DeleteThere's a chemical reaction between the sulfurs in the garlic, same with onions, that reacts with the stainless, some element, it seems, according to what I looked up. However the clever person explaining the chemistry probably qualifies for a Darwin award, because they suggest you rinse your hands along with a KNIFE! Don't try this at home.
DeleteSo you freeze both fresh garlic and ginger? Interesting! I should try that, assuming I can keep track of it and remember it's there, lol. Thank you for making them so photogenic. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, freezing is one thing, finding's another. I keep them in the door of the fridge freezer, right where even I can find then I without having to dive into the chest freezer.
DeleteThank you for the tip
ReplyDeleteThe garlic stems fascinate me, the smooth satin texture and color. I have one in the kitchen. It's nice to just look at and wonder what to do with it.
Yes, I have a few things like that.
DeleteI can 'see' that second photo printed onto fabric and used for an art piece, can't you? I grew up never tasting garlic and ginger beyond a teeny little bit perhaps sprinkled into something from a jar that had been in the cupboard for far too many years because it was never used, so it was a huge revelation when I discovered what the real thing tasted like. Now when Resident Chef brings me a spoonful of something to taste test he can be pretty sure I will tell him to add more garlic.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it's generational, regional, cultural or what? I had a 60s recipe from a Midwestern newspaper for "beef curry". It was beef stew with half a tsp of curry powder added at the end!
DeleteThat's a cool idea about the printing on fabric, thank you.
The one thing I forgot to buy when I last went shopping on March 14 -- my favorite - garlic! I have missed it so. I see you do the same thing as I, put them in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteI freeze practically everything. It avoids a lot of waste in a one person household. Also prepping ensures better cooking for me. Makes it more likely that I'll cook interesting food.
DeleteWe are so fortunate to have volunteer garlic in spades in the garden. It hasn't bulbed up yet, but oh - the fragrance of fresh green garlic! We'll eat the volunteers till the main crop is harvest-ready in June.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the spoon tip either. Nor that garlic can be frozen as cloves. Ginger we always freeze, and grate while still frozen. And keep on the door of the fridge freezer - as we call it, the "upstairs" freezer. A friend from Hong Kong gave me several pounds of ginger several years ago; her mother had bought 30 pounds (!) to make a traditional tea that she was supposed to drink gallons of after giving birth. Ginger tea is wonderful, but after a month or so she couldn't bear to even think about it. I was happy to be one of the lucky beneficiaries. Thank goodness for freezers!
Nice woodpecker to start the day, too!
Cheers,
Chris from Boise
I envy you the garlic you can grow. Not an option for me or I'd do it.
DeleteI never freeze those two but I will from now on. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing it for years. Both do well and it saves waste. I just used the last of the old ginger, a couple of days ago,making carrot and cashew soup. I'd had it frozen for months. Good as ever. Same experience with garlic.
DeleteHow did you prepare your ginger? I just ordered some ginger on my latest grocery pick up and they sent me two HUGE pieces, I have never seen such big fat ginger. So now I need to do something with it.
ReplyDeleteI first break it into manageable pieces, then use a sharp small paring knife to peel it. Then dice the peeled chunks. Good to try to get the dice approximately the same size, makes it easier to judge quantities when you use it. Then bag, squeezing air out, freeze. Good idea after it's frozen, to shake and thump the bag a bit, to separate the dice.
DeleteHappy prepping!
Thanks, I'll get onto it right away!!!!!
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