Black garlic has a milder flavour and a more delicate, sticky consistency than raw garlic. It has a soft, slightly chewy texture and a sweet, unique flavour. So, it sounds like black garlic is a fantastic food to have in your cupboard, but how do you store it properly?
Can You Freeze Black Garlic?
Yes, you can freeze black garlic for up to 1 year! Peel the black garlic and break it into individual cloves before bagging up and placing it into the freezer. The good news is you can use black garlic from frozen.
Do Does Black Garlic freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Black Garlic? No
How to Freeze Black Garlic
Given that black garlic has so many health benefits and can be used in a variety of different dishes, it is a fantastic ingredient to have stored.
On the shelf, it will only last a couple of months, but in the freezer, this can be increased to upwards of a year. So, how do you freeze it?
- Peel Each Clove
As with most products, it’s best to freeze on an individual portion size to prevent waste. Peel each clove and separate out into portions. This also means you can use it from frozen. - Place In an Airtight Container
Airtight plastic, freezer-safe boxes or ziplock bags work perfectly well here. Pop your cloves into the container before sealing tightly. - Label and Place in the Freezer
Write a clear label including the contents and the date then place the container into the freezer. - Shake Gently
Once they have been in the freezer for around 30 minutes, give the container a gentle shake to seperate the cloves from one another. This can help prevent them from freezing into one large clump. - Return to the Freezer
Finally, place the now-shaken container back to the freezer until you need black garlic.
3 Tips for Freezing Black Garlic
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing black garlic to have the best results:
Just Keep it in the Fridge
Black garlic is a fermented food and so is actually quite hard to spoil so many people decide to keep it in the fridge versus freezing it as it can still last up to 4 months.
Label Clearly
As with any frozen food, it is key to label what is inside the bag or container and also to note down the date you froze it. This will help when assessing whether the food items are still good and still within their frozen use by date.
Use from Frozen
Adding the subtle sweetness of black garlic to your cooking is easy when frozen as you don’t need to thaw it. Just drop it into your cooking and it will impart its subtle garlicky flavour into your dish as it thaws out.
How Long Can You Freeze Black Garlic?
You can freeze black garlic cloves for up to a year, making it a great food to stock up on and keep.
It already has quite a long shelf life outside of the freezer, but if it is not something you are going to be using regularly over the course of a few months, then storing it in the freezer is a good solution.
Freezing in individual cloves also prevents the need to defrost whole bulbs at once.
You Can Freeze Black Garlic for up to 1 Year
How Do You Defrost Black Garlic?
Black garlic does not need to be thawed before using. Whole cloves can be cut with a sharp knife or grated over the top of a dish whilst still frozen.
If needed, leave the garlic just a few minutes at room temperature. Due to its small size, it should thaw fairly quickly. Once it has returned to its soft state, it can then be pureed into sauces, mixed into butters or pulsed with oil to make a dressing.
Can You Refreeze Black Garlic?
It is never recommended to freeze, thaw and then refreeze any ingredient but it can be done as long as you are careful and do not do this too often.
With an ingredient like garlic, you may run the risk of it losing flavour or texture if it is being frozen, thawed and then refrozen many times.
This highlights the importance of freezing individual bulbs to prevent food waste.
Does Black Garlic Freeze Well?
Yes, black garlic will freeze well and is a really handy item to have in the freezer! Garlic is pretty versatile when it comes to freezing.
You can freeze raw whole unpeeled bulbs, individual cloves (peeled or unpeeled), or chopped garlic.
Frozen garlic can lack the crunchy texture of fresh, but the flavor remains strong—and definitely lacks the chemical taste that sometimes accompanies jarred garlic which makes freezing a great method of preservation.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing black garlic or garlic in general, then these may help:
If you have a tub of unopened black garlic then it can be kept in the cupboard for weeks on end. Once opened, however, it can be stored in the fridge for up 1 month or in the freezer for up to 1 year.
It is hard to tell when black garlic goes bad as it is already quite squishy to touch. However, if it becomes easy to squash and has an unpleasant odour then it’s worth throwing it out.
Thank you so much for this! I never thought of freezing them xx
Hooray, we’re happy to have helped.