I don’t know about you, but I just LOVE tricks like this!

I tried this method and it peeled about 90% of the cloves in the head of garlic. I shook the bowls for about 7 seconds, checked, then shook again for another 7-10 seconds – by which time some of the cloves were leaking juice from me shaking too much! So I would think 10 seconds of continuous shaking should be good.

You need to use metal bowls (not plastic).

However, most of us don’t need an entire head of garlic at once, so what can you do with the extra peeled garlic cloves?

According to Linda J. Harris (Food Safety/Microbiology Specialist), garlic can be frozen in a number of ways:

1. Chop the garlic, wrap it tightly in a plastic freezer bag or in plastic wrap, and freeze. To use, grate or break off the amount needed.

2. Freeze the garlic unpeeled and remove cloves as needed.

3. Peel the cloves and puree them with oil in a blender or food processor using 2 parts oil to 1 part garlic. The puree will stay soft enough in the freezer to scrape out parts to use in sautéing. Freeze this mixture immediately— do not store it at room temperature. The combination of the low-acid garlic, the exclusion of air (by mixing with oil), and room-temperature storage can support the growth of Clostridium botulinum.

Now you’re all ready to make the most popular recipe on this blog – my Thick ‘n Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing!

Original post  June 20014. Most recently updated December 2019.