Did you know that garlic freezes rather well? I have to thank Kathryn Elliott for bringing this to my attention.

Garlic is a seasonal crop, and local garlic is cheap over summer. It begins to peak in price during late Summer and early Autumn, continuing to rise until late Autumn or Early Winter until it is no longer available. The only option then is to buy overseas garlic of dubious quality.

Ginger, too, can be frozen, for ease of use.

In past years I have bought a lot of garlic when it is at its cheapest, and used these over winter. It works well, but by the end of winter the bulbs are looking rather sad.

Another method is to make Garlic Paste – we have done this for several years now and it is a good solution to the winter garlic drought.

But the best solution is Kathryn’s frozen garlic. Kathryn freezes 3Kg for her winter feasts. I freeze around 1.5Kg and also make garlic oil and garlic paste.

How to Freeze Garlic

Simply separate the bulbs from the head of garlic. You can peel them or not, according to your preference. Pop the garlic cloves into ziplock bags. Place these in the freezer, and you are ensured of garlic for winter.

There is no need to peel your garlic unless you prefer to. The frozen clove easily pops out of its skin.

Frozen garlic is perfect for use in almost all recipes. However as they have been frozen they are not a good substitute for raw garlic, roasted garlic or deep fried garlic.

This is an excellent cost saving measure too. Last year, the price of garlic ranged from $10/kg through $20 for quite some time, and then rose steadily to $50/kg before becoming unavailable.

How to Freeze Ginger

Optionally peel your ginger root. Chop the ginger into 2 – 2.5 cm pieces Pop the pieced into ziplock bags. Place these in the freezer, and you are ensured of ginger for winter.

To use the frozen ginger, take a piece out of the freezer 5 mins before use and allow to thaw a little. Then chop finely, or shave it with your knife. Retain the juices as you chop it.

Another method that I often use, is to place the ginger piece in a garlic press and use it to squeeze the ginger juice right into the dish. This puts the flavour in the dish without any flesh or fibres.

Wishing you a garlicky, gingery winter.

This post will be cross posted with our sister site, Heat in The Kitchen, where it forms part of the How To series.