Blanched garlic is a great way to remove the harsh, bitter bite of raw garlic while still keeping the floral, garlic aroma and flavor. In Thomas Keller's The French Laundry Cookbook, his technique calls for the use of milk instead of water. I've found that for most purposes, water can achieve fairly comparable results and it's more cost effective.
How To Blanch Garlic
- Put desired amount of garlic in a pot and cover with cold water.
- Bring water to a boil.
- Once water boils, strain garlic and add it back to the pot.
- Cover with cold water, and repeat previous steps for a total of three times.
- Blanching your garlic in this manner will get rid of the bitter taste and allow you to use as much garlic as desired without having to actually roast it. This technique also works great for any white garlic sauce, such as a garlic béchamel.
OK, Now What?
Now that you've made blanched garlic, you can use it for any number of recipes where a strong garlic flavor is desirable minus its assertive bite. Here are some recipes to give you a little inspiration:
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It will last in your fridge
It will last in your fridge for about a week. Other than that, place it on a tray and freeze. Once frozen, you can put into a plastic, zip top bag and store in your freezer for a few months. Freezing on a tray first will allow you to pull one or two cloves out at a time, instead of struggling with a frozen garlic block.
No, not really. The water is
No, not really. The water is pretty strong and bitter. I just toss it.