How to Make Homemade Garlic Powder

Garlic can definitely be called an international spice, as countries all over the world use the plant in a wide variety of dishes. The garlic bulb is the most widely used part of the plant, but other parts are used as well. Inside the bulb are garlic cloves, which are known for their strong taste and strong smell. The unique taste of the cloves makes it a popular seasoning for a variety of dishes. Garlic cloves are prepared in many different ways: many people consume it raw, boiled, baked, dried and/or pickled. It isn’t only used for food, it’s also used for home remedies and is a known cure for several ailments. Garlic powder comes from drying out the cloves and then crushing it into a fine powder.

There are two methods that can be used to make garlic powder; either you can bake it in your oven, or you can use a food dehydrator. To start making the garlic powder, take a bulb of garlic and separate the cloves from each other. Remove the skin from each garlic clove. Slice the garlic into thin slices, because this will help with cooking time. Place the sliced garlic onto a glass dish or a cooking sheet making sure to spread it over the sheet evenly, to allow it to bake at the same temperature everywhere.

Bake the garlic at 150 degrees Fahrenheit until you can see that the garlic has started to dry out and it is turning a light brown. This may take several hours. You can tell when the garlic is ready because it will be very dry and brittle to touch. Make sure that you don’t over bake it, because it will burn and that will change the taste. Once you have established that the garlic cloves are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool down. When they are cool, crush the garlic using a mortar and pestle. Always store spices in airtight containers, in a cool place away from the light. When I store my spices I prefer to use mason jars, but any airtight container will do the trick.

If you own a food dehydrator, you can also use this to dehydrate the garlic cloves. Simply place the peeled garlic into the food processor and allow it to become dry.

It’s not only a great spice in food, garlic is very healthy for the body too. Garlic is an antibacterial agent and works very well in helping fight off infections and viruses. Many people often rely on garlic at the first sign of a cold because it helps strengthen the immune system. It is also good for relieving the pain of a toothache and people swear that it is good for curing ear aches as well. If you are unlucky to have fleas in your home, you can use garlic powder to help kill them. Garlic also works as a repellant for bugs. If you have bugs problems in your garden, you can use garlic to prevent insects eating all your plants. If you don’t mind smelling like garlic, you can even make an all natural bug repellant with garlic, to keep bug bites off of your skin.

Make a Spice Rub with:

• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of onion powder
• 1 tablespoon of parsley
• ½ teaspoon of salt

Simply blend the ingredients together. Use this spice rub to season chicken, fish, and meats. Then simply grill them. You can also add some butter and this recipe turns into a simple garlic butter recipe.