Cooking with garlic has existed in various portions of the world for 1000s of years across the Mediterranean and Old world, known for its unique and pungent flavor.
While a few will use this spice in its raw form, most prefer it to be cooked or soft. But how do you soften garlic cloves?
There are various methods to soften garlic cloves, such as roasting a full garlic head in the oven or roasting single cloves in a skillet. You can soften the cloves by cooking them in the microwave, and you can even pickle your raw garlic cloves to make them soft.
This article will discuss how to soften garlic cloves.
So, keep reading! We have everything you need to know about softening your garlic cloves.
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How To Soften Garlic Cloves?
It’s seldom that you find an adult in the Western world who would say no to more garlic in any dish; however, in its raw form, garlic can be an acidic kick to the nose that is both unsettling and too robust for most palettes.
However, once you soften the cloves of garlic either through cooking or pickling, you end up with a softer scent and taste that makes the perfect companion spice for just about any dish, whether it be pizza, pasta, steak, fish, or bread.
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The Best Ways To Soften Your Garlic Cloves
There are numerous ways to soften your garlic cloves and depending on how long you’d like it to take and the amount of work involved, will determine which method you opt for.
Below are a few of the most common ways to soften your garlic cloves.
Roast The Whole Clove
One relatively quick and easy method to soften your garlic cloves is by roasting the whole head in the oven at once.
With this method, you’re left with a soft head that can easily be squeezed out, leaving you with a beautiful garlic paste.
This method is one that is very difficult to get wrong and can be completed by just about anyone if you follow the simple steps below. Begin by preheating your oven to around 350 degrees F.
While the oven is heating up, prep your garlic head by slicing off the end just enough to reveal the ends of all the cloves.
Then place the entire head on a sheet of tin foil and drizzle a small amount of olive oil. Following this, seal the garlic head in the tin foil, and pinch the foil to close it.
You’ll want to roast the entire clove for up to 50 minutes, and when the garlic is ready, you’ll notice that it is already starting to separate from the skin.
It will appear creamy, soft, and golden brown in color when fully roasted.
Roast The Individual Cloves In A Pan
The second method will take a little more time to prepare; however, it is just as rewarding once you begin to smell the soft cooked garlic cloves roasting in your kitchen.
Roasting garlic in the pan requires you to be present for a while to ensure they don’t burn.
Begin by grabbing a full head of garlic and breaking it up into individual cloves. Once you have your individual cloves, you’re ready to preheat your skillet and add a good amount of canola oil or any other oil with a high smoke point.
You’ll want to toast the cloves once the pan has heated, shaking the pan often to ensure they don’t stick or burn on any of the sides.
You’ll know they are ready once they begin to soften and turns golden brown; this usually takes up to five minutes.
Place In The Microwave
If you’re feeling a little lazy or don’t want to fire up the oven or stovetop to soften your garlic, another popular method is simply placing them in the microwave.
To do this, simply prep the garlic head like the oven method minus the tinfoil.
Add several tablespoons of water to a bowl, place your garlic head within, and put it in the microwave at 50 percent of its total power for 3 minutes increments.
This should be repeated until the garlic is creamy and soft.
Alternative Cooking Methods
Various other ways to soften your garlic through cooking include; placing your garlic head or cloves in an air fryer, which will bring about creamy and soft garlic without an excess of oil.
You could also roast your garlic on a grill which is relatively similar to roasting it in a conventional oven.
Basically, any way in which you can add heat to garlic and cook the full head or individual cloves will generally result in a soft and creamy garlic paste.
Pickle Your Garlic
While cooking the garlic through various methods tends to be the easiest and quickest way to ensure you have soft cloves, pickling is another option that does not require any heat.
First, start by combining enough vinegar to fill a jar alongside some canning salt in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer this mixture for about 10 minutes, and while it’s doing this being to peel as much garlic as you’d like to pickle.
Then pack your garlic into your pickling jar alongside a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes and fresh dill in each jar.
Once the liquid has been simmering for 10 minutes, it’s time to add it to your jar of garlic, leaving half an inch at the top for headspace.
It will generally take around three weeks before the garlic is soft and fully pickled.
Why Soften Garlic Cloves?
Garlic is known for its robust scent and strong taste and has been an excellent addition to various dishes for thousands of years across the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
This popular spice can sometimes be too much for some in its raw state, which is why we have come up with various ways of taming its flavor.
Softening the garlic cloves helps to reduce the pungent flavor as by cooking the garlic, we first take away that sharp raw taste that can make one’s eyes water.
Resulting in a beautiful soft paste or selection of cloves that works well with just about any dish.
How to soften garlic cloves in the microwave / How to Microwave Garlic >> Check out the video below:
Conclusion
So, if you want to enjoy garlic without that strong raw eye, watering aroma and taste, then you can soften the garlic by either cooking it in the oven or on the stovetop; and if you don’t want to cook, you can always pickle the garlic to soften the cloves.
References
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-roast-garlic-in-the-oven-5341