How to Dry Garlic Bulbs

Garlic, a member of the same family as the onion, adds a delicious flavor to main dishes, side dishes and appetizers. If you grow garlic bulbs in your garden, you will need to cure or dry them before use. Garlic bulbs from the grocery store have already been cured but you can dry them further to make garlic powder. Either way, drying garlic bulbs is simple to do.

Drying Home-Grown Garlic

• 1

  Remove chunks of dirt from the roots. Leave the roots and tops on. Separate the 25 bulbs of garlic into five groups containing five bulbs of garlic each.

• 2
  String secures your garlic bulbs for drying. string image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com

  Wrap string around the first bunch and tie it in a knot. Leave about 10 inches of string hanging at the end for later use. Continue to tie all the groups of garlic bulbs in the same manner leaving six inches of string between each group of garlic bulbs.

• 3

  Hang the string of garlic bulbs in a location that's out of direct sunlight and stays around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow your garlic to air-dry for two weeks until the outer skins are dry and crisp to the touch but the inner garlic is still moist when you cut into it.

• 4

  Cut off the tops and roots within one inch from each bulb.

Oven-Drying for Garlic Powder

• 1

  Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 2
  Cut each garlic clove into slices. clove of garlic image by Barcabloo from Fotolia.com

  Break four bulbs of garlic down into cloves. Use your knife to help separate the cloves, if needed. Slice small cloves of garlic in half and large cloves into 1/4-inch slices.

• 3

  Lay the sliced garlic cloves on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Dry the garlic in your oven for two to three hours until the garlic slices are crisp. Turn the garlic with a spatula every 20 minutes.

• 4

  Place an oven mitt on your hand to protect your skin from the oven's heat. Remove the cookie sheet full of garlic cloves and allow them to cool completely.

• 5

  Store the dried garlic in an open glass jar in a dry location, such as your pantry.