On 2006-10-20, Goomba38 > wrote:

> I recently joined Sam's Club and saw restaurant sized jugs of peeled
> whole garlic cloves for sale. How do they peel them on that scale?? I
> wondered how fresh or flavorful they remain and for how long?

Oh yeah! ...I've been buying the little hand bagged peeled garlic from
the Mex veg stand for so long, I forgot stores do offer this same
option sold in square plastic jugs. I'd buy the smaller ones so as
not to have the really big ones go bad before I could use them. In
either case, these are whole garlic cloves with no more processing
than removal of the dry skin. This product is nothing like the
horrible pre-chopped or minced garlic that's further processed and has
crap added for preservation.

As for longevity, I'd say it's pretty good if you can get it fresh
enough. I keep the peeled bulbs in the fridge and have had bulbs in a
sealed bag keep for up to a month with no problems. The trick is
making sure it's fresh when you buy it. You can tell old peeled
garlic cloves by the yellowish brown spots that begin to appear.
These spots are actually the garlic turning translucent and beginning
to sour. If you dare open the container, you can smell the sourness.

I still keep a dry bulb of garlic around in case of emergencies.

nb




> What can I say... I like to bang the flat blade of my knife on a clove
> and peel each one as I use it. It only takes a second and I feel
> virtuous, lol.
> Goomba