Minced Garlic

Garlic, also known as stinking rose, is an edible bulb, which is made up of small sections called cloves. These cloves are encased in parchment-like membrane cover. There are different types of garlic available in different parts of the world. Some of the varieties of garlic have strong flavor, whereas there are others, which have milder flavor. Garlic is a common ingredient used in cooking in most cuisines around the world, because even a small amount of garlic goes a long way in enhancing the taste of the recipe. Along with enhancing flavors, there are also medicinal attributes of garlic, which is why it has become a regular ingredient in a variety of dishes. However, often you will notice, that recipes demand minced garlic. The following section will tell you how to mince garlic so that you can use this strong-smelling spice to season various spicy dishes that make your mouth water just by their tempting aroma.

How to Mince Garlic?
Making minced garlic from cloves can be time-consuming. Using a garlic peeler can be a great idea to save some time. We will now see, how to mince garlic.

• Take a whole bulb of fresh garlic. The cloves of garlic should be tightly held together and not discolored.
• Now first separate the cloves by placing the garlic bulb root-side on a hard surface and pressing down on it firmly with the heel of your hand, till the cloves separate.
• Take a clove and lay it flat on a hard surface.
• Now press down on the clove with your thumb on the side of the clove, until the over cover begins to crack.
• Now peel off the cover. Sometimes, there can be more than one layer of cover, hence make sure all the layers of covers have come out.
• Now chop the garlic roughly. You can use the same method, as you would to chop onions. Make few horizontal cuts on the clove and then a series of vertical cuts. After which you can dice the sticks.
• Now to mince the garlic, chop it in a constant up-down motion, for which you will have to keep the tip of the knife on the cutting board and move the handle up and down.
• While you are mincing garlic, if you notice that garlic pieces are moving away from the knife, stop the rocking motion, draw garlic close to one another and continue to mince it further.

Some Facts About Minced Garlic

Using 1 clove of garlic, you can get about 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic, which is equivalent to ½ teaspoon of minced garlic, that in turn is equal to 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder or ¼ teaspoon of granulated garlic. Granulated garlic substitute can be garlic juice. You can substitute ½ teaspoon of garlic juice for ½ teaspoon of minced garlic.

If you do not have garlic at home, you can also make use of a substitute. You can make use of granulated garlic, which will provide flavor, but not texture to your dish. Garlic powder can also be used if you don't want to mince fresh cloves. So, can garlic salt and garlic juice be used. The other substitutes for garlic include asafoetida powder, shallots, onions or garlic chives.

When you store minced garlic, it is recommended, you do so in refrigerator. Zip lock freezer bags is the best option, you can use and store it in the freezer. Apart from the method mentioned above to mince garlic, you can also use the garlic-mincer or garlic press. This will save you a lot of time, especially when you are in a rush.