Dehydrate Garlic & DIY Garlic Powder

Dehydrate garlic for the best garlic powder you've ever had! These easy step-by-step instructions for dehydrating garlic will help you get started! And use some of the grocery store hacks to help you do it faster with less fuss!

How to Dehydrate Garlic

Equipment

• Dehydrator
• Knife
• Food Processor (not necessarily, but really helpful if doing bulk

Instructions:

1. Peel garlic
2. Slice or process into roughly minced pieces
3. Place on lined dehydrator trays
4. Dry at 125F / 52C for 8-18 hours
5. Cool to test
6. Condition
7. Store in airtight container
8. Testing for Dryness
9. Garlic slices should easily snap when fully dried.
10. Minced pieces will be hard and plink when dropped onto a hard surface

Dryness Test:

• Allow garlic pieces to cool for five minutes
• Slices should easily snap apart
• Minced pieces should be hard and plink when dropped onto a hard surface.

Place pieces back into the dehydrator if they need more time.

Conditioning Dried Garlic

Place into an airtight container, with room to spare, and shake once a day for 5-7 days.

If you see signs of:

• Clumping together
• Moisture buildup
• Pieces stuck to the side of the jar that don't easily shake off

Throw it all back into the dehydrator for a few more hours to finish drying

NOTE: If you see mold, do not use it - throw it all out. Mold in one place visible may not show you where it is growing elsewhere in the jar.

Storing Dried Garlic

Garlic is best-stored whole in an airtight container until you need to powder 1-2 months worth of garlic powder

• Garlic pieces store 1-2 years, conservatively
• Garlic powder stores 6-9 months.

Expert Tips

To do a bulk load without all the work of peeling, consider purchasing commercially jarred minced garlic in water. It will save you a ton of time to create your own dried minced garlic and garlic powder.

If you have issues with intense smells, you might consider drying garlic outside. The smell can be overwhelming for some.

How to Make Garlic Powder

DIY garlic powder is easy if you have a coffee grinder or bullet blender. Follow these simple steps and have garlic powder that tastes better than storebought!

Equipment

• Coffee Grinder
• Bullet Blender
• Large Blender (these are generally not as effective unless you are doing large quantities - such as for holiday gift-giving for spice baskets)

Instructions:

1. Place garlic bits or slices into the grinder of your choice
2. Pulse often until pieces look fairly broken up, THEN process for 20 seconds at a time. Overprocessing leads to clumping!

Conditioning Powder

Yes, you should condition your garlic powder, too!

My favorite method is this:

1. Place garlic powder onto fruit leather sheet lining a cookie sheet
2. Place in a warmed (but turned off) oven
3. Let it sit for 15 minutes or so.
4. Cool
5. Store in an airtight container with either ¼ teaspoon or more of arrowoot powder or a moisture absorber. Either helps control moisture from opening a jar over and over as you use to - and helps stop clumping.

LEARN MORE: 5 Ways to Stop Clumping in Powders

Expert Tip

Don't open your powders over your stovetop while cooking. The steam from your pots and pans will get into the powder to create clumping (remember that block of onion powder you struggle with?).

Instead, open near the stovetop, close the container, then pour your powder into your pot.