Detailed Explanation of Garlic Processing Techniques, Introduction to Various Practical Processing Methods
1. Garlic slices and garlic powder
Select fully mature garlic heads with plump cloves, strong spicy aroma, and large size. After harvest, trim off the fibrous roots, cut off the stem plate, soak for 1-2 days, rub and wash to remove the skin, wash clean and dry, then cut into thin slices and blanch with steam for 5 minutes. Use a far-infrared drying device, with a loading capacity of 5-6 kg per sq m, at a temperature of 65°C-75°C for 6-7 hours. When the moisture content of the dried product reaches 5%-8%, package and store immediately. The finished product yield is 15%-20%. Garlic powder production only requires adding a grinding and sieving step on the basis of garlic slice processing to obtain the finished product.
2. Pickles
After harvesting the garlic heads, trim off the fibrous roots, peel off the outer skin and dry. Add 4 kg of salt to 50 kg of water, boil and cool, then additionally add 50 g of Sichuan pepper, 1 kg of red chili peppers, 1.5 kg of ginger, and 1.5 kg of wine to make a brine. Then place the whole garlic heads into a jar or pickling crock, pour in the brine, and cover with a bowl sealed with cold boiled water. Generally, fermentation at room temperature for 10 days is sufficient.
3. Sweet and Sour Garlic Sprouts
Remove the tassel caps from the garlic sprouts, rinse with clean water, and cut into small sections 3 cm long. Put into a jar, add water and salt, and turn the jar twice a day. After four or five days, take them out, place on a mat and knead lightly; put into the jar, add brine and pickle. Brine formula: mix sugar, vinegar, and water, boil, cool, and put into the jar. Turn the jar once every 10 days, and it will be ready in 30 days.
4. Five-Spice Sweet and Sour Garlic
50 kg of garlic heads, 2 kg of salt, 10 kg of red (white) sugar, 0.5 kg of soy sauce. The garlic heads are processed as above. Wash the garlic clean and dry, layer garlic and sprinkle salt layer by layer, pickle for 24 hours, then put into the jar again. Prepare a brine with sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and cool boiled water, and pickle again. Seal tightly with oil paper or plastic film. Turn the jar twice a day, open the jar every other day to release gas for 4-5 hours, and after half a month change to releasing gas once every 3 days. It will be ready in 1 month.