How to Preserve Garlic, Ginger and Basil - up to a Year!

I ADORE Garlic. My husband swears that when we were dating - that's all he could smell - but he wasn't offended. He loved me that much.




In the  "busy years", I would buy my favorites - basil, garlic and ginger, and then I would sigh piteously as they individually withered and dried to a unrecognizable lump in the refrigerator.


Thanks to the internet, I am able to now preserve them, so that I can have my three lovlies whenever I want but not waste money.

I know. It's only a little bit of money - but it's money, all the same!

Garlic/Ginger*

1. Peel and store in the freezer. Remove and smash/grate as you need it.
2. Peel and store in enough olive oil so that none of the garlic is exposed to air. Keep this in your refrigerator.

Some advice says to add a dash of salt to help preserve it. I don't. I know that garlic is highly anti-bacterial (like ginger) and I've been doing this particular "in oil" method for years.

Bonus: You get a nice flavored oil

I believe can you simply keep adding to the same jar, with new cloves and more, new oil, but I prefer to simply start a second jar when my first gets low.

3. Blend the cloves/peeled ginger root to a pulp, with a little oil and salt, and you have garlic/ginger paste.

Ginger in the freezer

Garlic: NEW (left) and OLD (right)

4. Sliced ginger covered by honey will preserve it as well as make a nice prep for a tea or cough treatment, as well as a prep for any sweet, ginger-y dish.

That's ginger in the forefront, in honey.

Basil

Oh, my favorite!

Clean, rinse, allow to dry completely, and then, with a sprinkle of salt,  cover with enough olive oil to submerge the entire bunch of herb and store in the refrigerator.Reportedly, you can preserve basil this way for up to a year but I use that lovely oil and herb well up before then.

It makes a lovely prep for pesto, or caprese salad, or simply just poured over your seasoned chicken.

Enjoy!

*I am hopeful, my dear readers, you understood that this "Garlic/Ginger" section meant do one OR the other with these methods... do not combine garlic and ginger in the same oil or jar, unless you are a teriyaki sauce FIEND.