How to Dehydrate Garlic ~ Elephant- or Regular-Size!

Garlic bulb with loose peeled cloves

Thanks for stopping by to learn how to dehydrate garlic.

It's easy when you use Elephant, often called Mammoth Garlic!

As the name implies, it's much bigger than regular bulbs, like four times bigger!

Oddly enough, elephant garlic is milder in taste than its smaller counterpart.

Kinda like peppers, right? The smaller they are, the hotter they are.




What are the Different Types of Garlic?

There are several different types of garlic that you can grow. Some of the most popular varieties include:

Softneck Garlic: Softneck garlic is a type of garlic that is easy to grow and store. Softneck garlic has a mild flavor and is often used in cooking.

Hardneck Garlic: Hardneck garlic is a type of garlic that has a strong flavor. Hardneck garlic is typically used in pickling or roasting.

Elephant Garlic: Elephant garlic is a type of garlic that is actually a member of the leek family. Elephant garlic has a milder flavor than traditional garlic as mentioned above.

Garlic Nutrition Info.

Garlic is a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B6, followed by Choline. There are trace amounts of Vitamin K, Folate, Niacin, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Pantothenic Acid.

It is a good source of Potassium, Phosphorus, and Calcium, followed by Iron and Manganese. There are trace amounts of Zinc, Copper, and Selenium, and contains Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.

Garlic is great for tons of savory recipes: Soups and stews, and Italian dishes of all types!

Elephant Garlic cloves before slicing on mandoline

Grind Dehydrated Garlic to use as Garlic Salt

Grind up dehydrated garlic to make garlic powder! Add equal amounts of salt to the ground powder and you now have Garlic Salt.

NOTE: While dehydrating your garlic, consider dehydrating some onions at the same time if you've got a spare dehydrator tray or two available! In other words, don't mix garlic and onions with, say, apples, when dehydrating—unless you WANT your APPLES to taste like GARLIC or ONIONS!!

ALSO: Run your stove hood vent (if you have one). This will quickly take the odor out of your house.

If you're out on a date, then make sure both partners eat this pungent veggie. You'll thank each other later for that tip!

Air Ventilation Warning

You may also wish to have your windows OPEN or put the A/C on
while you're dehydrating onions or garlic... as the powerful odor
can certainly circulate throughout the entire house!

If you ABSOLUTELY LOVE onions and garlic, it's not such a bad thing,
but if you don't... just sayin'!

Air Ventilation Warning

You may also wish to have your
windows OPEN or put the A/C on
while you're dehydrating onions
or garlic...
as the powerful odor can
certainly circulate throughout
the entire house!

If you ABSOLUTELY LOVE onions
and garlic, it's not such a bad thing,
but if you don't... just sayin'!

When Dehydrating Garlic—
Heed the Air Ventilation Warning Above!

When dehydrating garlic, watch out for strong odors as mentioned earlier. Either you LOVE garlic, or you DON'T!

When
Dehydrating Garlic—
Heed the
Air Ventilation
Warning Above!

When dehydrating garlic, watch out for strong odors as mentioned earlier. Either you LOVE garlic, or you DON'T!

How to Dehydrate Garlic

  1. Separate and peel the cloves and cut them into 1/8" slices—a mandoline slicer does a fine job of this for the elephant/mammoth bulbs—just watch your fingers, please! With regular (small) cloves, carefully use a knife!
  2. Arrange on your food dehydrator trays, making sure the slices don't touch or overlap.
  3. Turn on your food dehydrator and set the temperature between 125°F and 135°F (or per your food dehydrator's instructions).
  • It will be brittle when fully dried and stores well in a small mason jar, I just crumble it up when adding it to my soups, etc.
  • Drying time: between 6-12 hours.
  • Please remember to rotate your trays for even drying.

How to Make Toasted Garlic Bread

Slices of garlic bread on a plateUsed by Permission / Canva registered user

Garlic bread is often served as a side dish or an appetizer.

Here's a quick and easy recipe for garlic bread:

Ingredients:

  • 1 loaf French bread
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a small bowl, mix together butter, garlic, parsley, basil, and garlic salt.
  3. Cut the bread loaf in half horizontally. Spread the butter mixture over the cut sides of the bread.
  4. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and place it on a baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and unwrap. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until bread is lightly toasted.



Check Out Julie's SMOKED Garlic Salt... YUMMY!!

Julie's Smoked Garlic Sea Salt

Check out Julie's great post on how she dehydrates her garlic with added sea salt!

Not only does it look amazing, but she assures us it tastes amazing too!

A Nod to Crocodile Dundee:

Regular and elephant garlic on the left. Dehydrated garlic on the right.

If you've ever seen the movie Crocodile Dundee
you'll appreciate this comment about 'regular' versus 'Elephant':

"You call that garlic?
Now this...
(pointing to the elephant bulb)
... is Garlic!" :-)

If you've ever seen the movie
Crocodile Dundee
you'll appreciate this comment
about 'regular' versus 'Elephant':

"You call that garlic?
Now this...
(pointing to the elephant bulb)
... is Garlic!" :-)

Best Areas for Growing Garlic

Garlic grows best in full sun and well-drained soil. Garlic prefers soil that is high in organic matter. Garlic plants should be spaced 4 to 6 inches apart. Garlic is typically harvested in the summer or early fall.

When is Garlic Ready to Harvest?

Garlic is ready to harvest when the leaves start to yellow and the bulbs begin to form. To harvest, lift the garlic plants out of the ground with a garden fork.

Thanks for taking the time to read all about how to dehydrate garlic. Remember to run the exhaust fan on your range, or at the very least, open the windows!


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Susan Gast, owner of Easy Food Dehydrating plus ePubTechReviews.com, and SusanGast.com

Susan Gast began Easy Food Dehydrating in December 2010.

Read Susan's story of what sparked her interest in all things related to "food dehydrating."

She is featured on the Mother Earth News blog, and on Solo Build It! (SBI!) who hosts this site. Read her first SBI! interview and her second SBI! interview.

Since 1980, Susan's involvement in publishing - in one form or another - led her to create ePubTechReviews which reviews a variety of products related to the publishing industry - if you're at all interested in AI and self-publishing. The website is also hosted by Solo Build It!

Susan also runs her namesake site SusanGast.com on Solo Build It! that showcases the books she has written since 2012.

Do you want to send Susan a quick message? Visit her contact page here. She'd love to hear from you!