If you have an unpeeled head of garlic that is still completely intact, don't put it in the fridge—it'll start to sprout within days. Just store in a cool (60 to 65 degrees), dimly lit place with air circulation. You don't want to put your garlic in an airtight container or it will begin to rot.
Whether you've separated and peeled the whole thing or you just a few exposed cloves, refrigeration is going to be your best bet. Seal it up in an airtight container or zip-top bag, then toss it in the fridge. Though it may start losing pungency after only a few days, it'll be fine to use for about a week.
It's safe for garlic to hang out in temps as low as 40 to 45 degrees, as long as you use it as soon as possible once you bring it to room temperature. Once you refrigerate garlic, it'll start sprouting and spoiling within just a few days – so you'll want to take it out only when you're ready to cook with it.
You may have guessed it but, when in doubt, we repeat it; garlic and onion should not be stored in the refrigerator. The reason? Too low and moist temperatures can transform the starches of the onion into sugars, making it terribly soft, and accelerate the germination of the garlic, which could mold in a short time.
The fridge is a cold and humid environment, which can cause onions to soften and spoil. The best place to keep whole onions is somewhere dark, cool, dry, and well-ventilated.
If you've peeled more cloves than you need, the fridge is the best place to store them—wrap them in plastic or put them in a sealed bag or container for up to a week. Chopped generally doesn't last more than a day in the fridge, but you can eke out another two or so days if you cover it in olive oil.
If you buy and use onions and garlic frequently, you can store them on your countertop, but again, don't store them near or with fresh fruit for the same reason you don't want to store potatoes near fresh fruit. The ethylene can cause the onions and garlic to sprout.
Should you refrigerate raw garlic? Whole, raw garlic should ideally not be refrigerated; doing so can cause it to sprout quickly. Once the whole garlic bulb is broken, individual cloves will last unpeeled for about 7-10 days at room temperature.
Don't worry. Garlic that turns green is completely safe. The colour is probably the result of a reaction between sulphur compounds and amino acids (building blocks of protein) that are naturally present in garlic.
If garlic loses its signature spicy, pungent smell or begins to smell sour, that's another sure sign it's gone bad. As for the feel, make sure it feels similar to what you're looking for at the store—firm, with no overly dry or soft cloves.
The answer is a resounding yes. Garlic is pretty versatile when it comes to freezing. You can freeze raw whole unpeeled bulbs, individual cloves (peeled or unpeeled), or chopped garlic. You can also cook or process garlic into various forms that make meal prep a breeze.
Preservatives aside, both FoodsGuy and Street Smart Kitchen agree that you're typically safe to consume opened jarred garlic for up to 3 months when it's stored in your fridge after opening. (While expiration dates are important, they're usually indicators of garlic quality, not safety.)
And even though those sprouts resemble chives, they doesn't have the herb's mild flavor—the sprout itself is actually quite bitter. It's sharp in flavor, without any of the natural sweetness that garlic should have. But even though the flavor is a little less than ideal, sprouted garlic is fine to eat.
Garlic has long been associated with health benefits – from curing a cold to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Garlic contains vitamins C and B6, manganese and selenium, but it's a chemical called allicin, a type of antioxidant, which is thought to be responsible for its positive effects.
Tomatoes contain an enzyme that reacts to cold temperatures and causes its cell membrane to break down, leaving you with a piece of fruit that's mushy and mealy. "You're essentially zapping flavor and texture from a tomato when you refrigerate it," says Gregory Lofts, deputy food editor at Martha Stewart Living.
And here's the other thing to know: The refrigerator is not great for tomatoes—it can degrade their texture and dampen their flavor—but it's far more harmful to lower-quality and underripe tomatoes than it is to truly ripe, delicious ones.
Don't store potatoes in the fridge.
Raw potatoes have lots of starches, and the cold temperatures can turn the starches into sugars. This can make your potatoes turn sweeter and darker during cooking.
Whole bulbs of garlic will keep for 3-6 months when stored in a cool, dark place while whole, unpeeled cloves will keep for up to 10 days. Peeled garlic cloves should be stored in a plastic bag in the fridge and used within 5-7 days.
Store whole heads of garlic in a cool, dry place in a bag or bowl with good airflow (such as a mesh bag or loosely woven basket). Keep it in your pantry or in a basket on your counter out of the sun.
Store peeled garlic cloves in an airtight food storage container (jar, plastic bag, etc.), and keep them in the refrigerator. Similarly, if you chop some extra garlic, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge too. In either form, use the garlic within two to three days.
Consuming bad garlic can cause botulism. Foodborne botulism is extremely rare but can be serious and potentially fatal. Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that causes botulism, forms normally inactive spores that can be found in low-acid vegetables like garlic. In certain conditions, these spores may become active.
"If you do, it shouldn't be out of the refrigerator for more than two hours and after two days it should be thrown out." Danto says you won't be able to tell whether the garlic has turned toxic: "It will not taste or look differently. It will not smell; it does not produce gas."