Garlic is a familiar and fundamental ingredient in many of our favorite recipes. However, there are numerous forms of garlic available in most grocery stores. In this article, learn how to cook with fresh garlic vs garlic powder and what the best garlic substitutes are if you don’t have what the recipe calls for.
Garlic belongs to the Allium plant family and is closely related to chives, leeks, onions, and shallots. It has a uniquely earthy, warm flavor that becomes sweeter as it cooks.
From making buttery garlic bread to enhancing salad dressings or marinades, the culinary uses for garlic are seemingly endless. If a recipe calls for fresh garlic, several convenient alternatives are available to achieve a similar result. Dried garlic has a bolder taste because it’s more concentrated, and a little bit goes a long way.
Can You Substitute Fresh Garlic for Garlic Powder?
Read on to discover how to substitute fresh garlic for garlic powder and vice versa.
Garlic isn’t just a tasty food additive. It’s also packed full of valuable vitamins and minerals that provide a wide range of health benefits. Although the garlic flavor is more intense in granulated garlic vs garlic powder, fresh garlic cloves offer much more nutrition.
The distinctly pungent odor and taste of raw garlic come from the sulfur-containing compound allicin released when the cloves are crushed or chopped.
How many cloves are in one head of garlic? It depends on the variety. The number of cloves is one difference between softneck and hardneck garlic.
Planting garlic indoors is just as easy as growing it outside. Grow your own to always have a fresh supply.
Allicin breaks down during the cooking process, and large sugars and carbohydrates are transformed into simple sugars like glucose and fructose. This change gives cooked garlic a much milder and sweeter aroma.
Granulated garlic, garlic flakes, garlic powder, and garlic salt all get prepared from dehydrated garlic. The primary difference is how finely ground they are.
Garlic flakes are the largest in size, similar to red pepper flakes. Garlic powder provides the finest texture.
Granulated garlic is coarsely ground and has a sand-like consistency. Are garlic salt and garlic powder the same? Garlic salt typically uses granulated garlic mixed with ground salt and sometimes an Italian herb blend.
Fresh garlic is also available in several different forms. The freshest option is to buy a whole garlic bulb with eight to 20 individual cloves of garlic. If you have extra that you don’t plan to use soon, freeze garlic bulbs for later use.
When considering fresh garlic vs minced garlic, know that minced garlic is finely chopped and preserved in brine, oil, or water.
The Flavor of Fresh Garlic vs Garlic Powder
Fresh garlic has a more subtle and earthy flavor, while garlic powder provides a concentrated, potent result. In addition, garlic powder is stronger than granulated garlic because the finer granules have more surface area that comes in contact with the rest of the dish before dissolving.
It’s easy to preserve and store garlic in a variety of ways. Minced garlic preserved in brine or oil has a slightly different essence than fresh garlic, particularly if it contains additives like salt. A finer mince size produces a more intense smell and taste because more allicin gets released.
Nutritional Value of Granulated Garlic vs Fresh Garlic
There are many health benefits associated with fresh garlic, including boosting the immune system, regulating blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improving bone health, and detoxifying the body.
It’s also an outstanding source of antioxidants, fiber, manganese, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. However, much of garlic’s nutritional value gets lost in the cooking process.
Cooked garlic retains some anti-inflammatory properties, especially if you crush the clove first and let it rest for about ten minutes before cooking. Doing so allows more allicin to form.
One of the only advantages of granulated garlic vs fresh garlic is consuming fewer calories. Nearly all of the nutrients disappear when garlic is dehydrated. Nonetheless, the convenience of cooking with garlic powder sometimes outweighs the loss of nutritional value.
Cooking with Fresh Garlic vs Garlic Powder
Each form of garlic requires a slightly different approach to cooking, particularly when you substitute garlic powder for minced garlic. To retain the best flavor and the most nutrients, add fresh garlic at the very end of your cooking process so it doesn’t get overcooked. Fresh garlic burns quickly, especially at a small mince size.
Roasting whole heads of garlic leaves the cloves soft, sweet, and spreadable. Roasted garlic is ideal for smearing on bread and crackers or adding to marinades and sauces. Garlic slices provide a more delicate aroma than minced garlic.
Garlic powder is an incredibly versatile ingredient in the kitchen. It allows you to add garlic flavor to a dish without changing the overall texture.
Common uses for garlic powder include making a dry rub for meat, salad dressings, Italian herb blends, pasta sauces, and tacos.
Try making these fantastic garlic parmesan roasted veggies if you’re into simple recipes that yield delicious results. Feel free to change it up and incorporate your favorite seasonal veggies.
Start by preheating your conventional oven to 425℉. Prepare a large baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, toss your vegetables with olive oil, parmesan cheese, minced garlic, and seasonings and mix until evenly coated.
Spread them out over the bottom of the baking dish in an even layer. If necessary, use two baking pans to avoid overcrowding the veggies so they roast evenly.
Roast them for 20 minutes, remove the baking dish, and stir. Rotate the dish so it faces the other way in your oven, and roast for another 20 minutes or until the veggies are crispy and golden.
Drizzle them with melted butter as soon as they’re out of the oven, and top the dish with grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Best Fresh Garlic Substitution
It works best to substitute fresh garlic for garlic powder or granulated garlic to achieve similar results.
As a general rule, substitute a quarter-teaspoon of garlic powder or granulated garlic per one garlic clove. If you’re using minced garlic, use a half-teaspoon for each clove the recipe calls for.
Chives and shallots also make a suitable fresh garlic substitution. The taste isn’t an exact match, but they both have a similar light, onion-like essence. Replace one clove of fresh garlic with one tablespoon of chopped chives or shallots.
Alternatives for Garlic Powder
If you run out of garlic powder in your spice cabinet, there are a few options that work in a pinch. Cumin offers a richly complex flavor that creates a comparable palette, even though it’s not the same as garlic powder.
Curry powder is another adequate alternative, as garlic powder is usually one of the ingredients. Use half as much cumin or curry powder as you would garlic powder or granulated garlic.
To substitute fresh garlic for garlic powder, use the same ratio described above. Also, pay attention to whether the wet and dry ingredients get mixed separately, as fresh cloves of garlic contain a considerable amount of moisture.
Garlic is an everyday kitchen staple in many households. If you open your pantry or spice cabinet and discover you’re out of garlic powder or fresh garlic cloves, don’t worry.
There are plenty of options for substitutions. However, it’s vital to understand the differences between granulated garlic vs fresh garlic when using them in recipes.
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