20 Awesome Uses for Roasted Garlic
Fans of garlic usually love it for so much more than the enhanced flavoring it gives to prepared foods. There are at least twenty awesome uses for roasted garlic. It is both its own dish and it’s for medicinal reasons. The history of garlic and its historical journey begin in central Asia. This is before it was domesticated as a food flavoring seasoning plant during the Neolithic times.
The Middle East, northern Africa, and Europe reap the benefits of garlic since 3000 B.C. Not only is garlic a favorite ingredient put into meals, but it is highly regarded for medicinal/nutritional benefits.
It became one of the most precious natural products in history that was expanded with selective breeding. There is a variety of garlic types that are now used all over the world. Today, garlic is still regarded for the nutritional value it brings to the table, as well as its proven medical benefits. During the Greco-Roman era, the popularity of garlic as part of their culinary regime was big.
It rose to the point where it became part of religious ceremonies and superstition-related rituals. It was believed garlic could repel scorpions, as well as treat dog bites, and serve as protection against disease. The practice of hanging garlic above the entrance door was this culture’s method to prevent the spread of smallpox. Whether raw or roasted, garlic has become one of the most appreciated plants. It remains an important part of our culinary regime, as well as serving the medical community.
How to Make Roasted Garlic
The most tried and true recipe to make roasted garlic is first to skin the garlic before the top quarter is cut so you can see the individual flesh. It is highly advised to not remove all the outer layers of the garlic’s skin as this will help prevent the individual cloves from getting burnt. Place the garlic on either a baking pan or a sheet of aluminum foil and lightly drizzle with oil, then seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper.
If you want softer cloves with a creamier texture, use the foil. When used to loosely wrap around the garlic, the steam inside works deeper into it than if simply placed on a baking tray.
When this is baked in a preheated oven of four hundred degrees Fahrenheit for about thirty minutes, it should be soft enough for you to press down with a fork. Once pressed, let the garlic cool for fifteen minutes. As soon as they’re cool enough to touch, pick each individual clove out by using either a fork or paring knife.
Alternatively, squeeze the whole head of garlic towards the side that’s opened as this allows all of the clove’s puree to come out. You can store roasted garlic in an airtight container or a mason jar in the fridge for up to two weeks. If you don’t want to run the risk of drying out prematurely, add a bit of olive oil.
1. Aioli
Aioli has become a trending craze in recent years, thanks to what really is a fusion of roasted garlic with a mayonnaise-based product. On Allrecipes, there is an easy and tasty recipe for how to make Roasted Garlic Aioli. If you’ve never tried this, then you’re really missing out. Aioli can act either as a dip or as a spreadable, pending how you wish to use it. If you want your next potato salad to have a roasted garlic flavor to it, use the aioli in place of regular mayonnaise. Garlic fans will likely love you for it.
2. Bread
If you watch programs on the Food Network, odds are you want to copy what you see. On its website, there is a fantastic Roasted Garlic Bread Recipe that’s easy enough to follow and tasty enough to thoroughly enjoy. This one comes from famed executive chef, Michael Chiarello. Fans of the Food Network will recognize him as an Emmy-award-winning television personality.
There are really so many different bread recipes you can use roasted garlic as one of the key ingredients to make it spectacular. If you’re a fan of pizza, put some roasted garlic in the dough and turn it into something truly amazing. The most popular herbed pizza crusts usually have the fusion of roasted garlic in it as culinary experts fully understand how much of a seller it is.
3. Creamy Dip
There are several recipes to make a roasted garlic dip that’s awesome to use. From the Allrecipes website, the Roasted Garlic Dip Recipe that’s a personal favorite can easily go with crackers, potato chips, and veggie sticks. The recipe shared also explains how to roast garlic. There are so many different recipes for how to make a creamy dip using roasted garlic. So, if the one shared here doesn’t suit your fancy, try the search engines to find one that’s more suited to your tastes.
4. Essential Oil
Using roasted garlic essential oil provides a medicinal approach to dealing with a variety of health-related conditions. Ancient cultures, as well as modern, have reached an understanding of how beneficial this bulbed member of the food chain truly is. Roasted garlic essential oils are easy enough to come by in brick-and-mortar stores, as well as online shopping sites like Amazon.
5. Face Mask
Believe it or not, roasted garlic doesn’t have to be simply used for culinary reasons. As far back as an ancient civilization, it’s also been used for medicinal purposes, as well as age-defying attempts to keep wrinkles at bay. If you’re looking for a natural face mask that keeps chemicals out of the equation, try the recipe shared on the Step to Health website.
6. Flakes
Either as a recipe or as a premade product, roasted garlic flakes serve as a great opportunity to add seasoning to food. Mix it up with your mashed potatoes if that is your wish, or as something that’s sprinkled on the steak you’re about to grill up on the BBQ. Rocker Box Garlic offers a roasted garlic flake product that is a personal favorite.
7. Go Nutty
There is a delicious Roasted Garlic Peanuts recipe that is definitely worth the effort if garlic lovers want to take the nutty approach. This is shared on the Rae Public website and is so easy to follow. If you don’t care for coconut oil, use olive oil instead.
8. Herb Butter
Roasted garlic, mixed with herbs, has the makings of great butter that can either be used as a bread spread or as an alternative to regular butter when it comes to cooking. The Food website features an easy enough recipe to follow so you can reap the benefits of this tasty use for garlic.
9. Ice Cream
Roasted garlic ice cream, really? Yes, this does exist. Before saying “ick” give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised, especially if you love garlic that much to see how it would taste as a frozen dessert. CD Kitchen has a recipe easy enough to follow should you wish to go there.
10. Insect Repellant
One of the main reasons why ancient civilizations regarded garlic as a source of protection against insects, as well as scorpions, was the sulfur compounds that kept them at bay. Roasted garlic makes a great pesticide to keep the bugs at bay. According to vampire lore, this was the key ingredient to keep the evil at bay too. On WikiHow, there’s a recipe for how to make a basic garlic spray you can use as a pesticide to protect yourself, as well as your cherished plants, from aphids, slugs, and other insects. There is also a recipe shared there that includes other ingredients that can even keep the deer away. Most organic gardeners and farmers use roasted garlic-related sprays as the secret ingredient to keep the unwanted company away from their crops.
11. Jam
As a jam, roasted garlic serves up a great way to enjoy bread and toast like you never have before. The New York Times has a great recipe to pull this off. Bear in mind, that it has to be roasted garlic. Uncooked garlic runs the risk of botulism when they’re canned and stored without refrigeration.
12. Marinade
Marinades are a cook’s best friend. This is especially true when using it on meats and vegetables as a season. On the Food website, the Roasted Garlic Marinade recipe shared there can easily be tweaked to either replace it with something else or have it removed entirely. As long as the roasted garlic remains as the key ingredient, you have yourself a good marinade to work with. If you’d rather kick out the chipotle peppers because it’s not your thing, replace them with finely diced onion instead. It’ll work.
13. Mince it Up
One of the best methods to mince the roasted garlic comes from the Leaf website. When mincing down the garlic, please do so with care so that it doesn’t burn. One of the benefits of roasted minced garlic is the enhanced flavoring that comes from the released allicin. This is one of the reasons why, as a seasoning, it’s so popular.
14. Pasta
If you happen to make your own pasta, infuse it with the flavor of roasted garlic. It turns this into an epic experience. You can also purchase roasted garlic-flavored pasta in stores that sell it. Intermountain Specialty Food Group sells roasted garlic and parsley linguini that’s nothing short of amazing.
15. Pesto
Pesto is technically a sauce, usually green in color, and can be prepared in a number of different ways. The roasted garlic option shared by Williamette Transplant offers a marvelous approach to how to make a good pesto.
16. Pickled
If you happen to love garlic and pickles, then why not combine the best of both worlds as one? When pickled, this can be kept in the refrigerator for a few months. The Pickled Garlic recipe shared on The Yummly Life is fabulous and easy enough to do.
17. Salad Dressing
Next time you enjoy a salad, why not go with Roasted Garlic Dressing? On the Eating Well website, the recipe shared there makes this simple enough to make and even better to try.
18. Sauce
When roasted garlic is used as a sauce, it’s like a sprinkle of flavoring heaven on food. A really nice creamy roasted garlic recipe featured on the Lakeside Table website may give you cause to use lather it on a piece of bread instead of just a drizzle on a saute.
19. Sausage
Fans of sausage who also happen to enjoy roasted garlic will either just buy the product. It’s easy to make their own, too. If you happen to make your own sausage but have yet to find one that makes good use of roasted garlic, try the one featured on the Taste of Artisan’s website.
20. Soup it Up
The Roasted Garlic Soup shared on the Allrecipes website is amazing. For garlic lovers who also love their soups, why use this amazing ingredient as a side? Use it as the main feature instead.
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