Cheating Confession
OK guys, there’s something secretive that I have to share with the ES community, and the greater world of food blogs. I don’t know how you all are going to react, so I’m a little nervous. Please try to be supportive.
I use garlic powder.
There, I said it. And it’s not just that I use it, I abuse it. A lot. And sometimes I’m not completely honest with you about it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve posted a recipe here that included the instructions “…add salt, pepper, garlic…” Being familiar with my snobbiness, I’m sure you assumed I meant real garlic, but more often than not, I’m too lazy to chop it up and I just use the stuff out of the jar. Of course, I never actually said I was using fresh garlic, so while my statements are technically true, at least in the Clintonian definition, I did purposefully mislead you.
It’s not that I defend this practice. Freshly chopped garlic is a million times more flavorful than the dry stuff, and anyone too lazy to chop garlic makes Rachael Ray look like Jacques Pepin. But sometimes (OK, often) I am in fact, just that lazy. I know it’s wrong, but I just can’t help myself.
So I’m wondering….how many of you out there share this nasty habit? Do all you garlic lovers really chop it fresh every night, or do you reach for the spice rack from time to time? And what other dirty cheating secrets have you been hiding? Be honest, this is a safe space.
Photo: raulseiitiegami
on June 19th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
no! you should be ashamed!
as for me, i only use garlic powder when i’m making a dry rub, which is perfectly acceptable. and i use garlic salt on pizza and sometimes when re-heating leftovers.
on June 19th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Shame on you…. nah just kidding. I use it about half the time. Sometimes I use both in the same recipe. We go through granulated garlic like crazy.
on June 19th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
i use garlique:
http://www.garlique.com/
on June 19th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I’ve never really thought of it as cheating. Garlic powder is different to me than garlic. There are some recipes I use one for, and some another, but I don’t really consider them interchangeable. I almost always use powder for things I’m grilling, or in dressing or dips that I don’t cook and don’t want to make too zingy. I use fresh for stir fry, beans and rice, soups, etc. I say no shame. Should we vote on this?
HOWEVER; that diced up stuff in the jar, or the paste, or the already peeled cloves? Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!
on June 19th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Cheat away! I’m the same way garlic powder is great for that little something extra you want to add to a dish. I must confess that I’ll even use the pre-chopped or minced garlic from the jar too. Whew…it felt good to let that out! Please don’t let my Chef instructors know, they’ll probably kick me out of culinary school. (j/k) :o)
on June 19th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
No, I never use the jarred stuff except when I’m at the BF’s and that’s all he has (as a person of Italian descent, I think he should be ashamed of himself, but since he doesn’t cook, it’s kind of forgiven, as actual garlic cloves would just grow and then die in his fridge). Garlic powder.. not sure I have any at the current mo’, but I agree, I don’t see them as interchangeable. I’d use it for garlic bread, or some stuff, but … for the most part, it’s not either/or for me, it’s “this needs garlic powder” and “this needs garlic”. *shrug*
on June 20th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I’m shocked, shocked. I’m with Gansie - only for a dry rub. BS didn’t get this from his mother. Then again, he has a father who has been known to use the jarred garlic which is absolutely horrible.
on June 20th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
ya know bs, the most upsetting thing is the lying/willful disregard for the truth. if you say you use powder you can’t say you used garlic. i use fresh almost always. My favorite use for g-powder or g-salt is on a fried egg (if it’s an omelet, though, it’s gotta be fresh).
also, i have a nice garlic press that’s good for the lazy garlic lover…
on June 20th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I’m with the folks above. Powdered garlic is for spice rubs, apocalypse kits and deep-woods hiking trips.
I feel like it’s even easier than a garlic press to just smash cloves with the side of a knife and chop up the bits. You don’t even have to skin them. Smashing pops the skins right off…
on June 20th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I tried cheating before buy buying the ‘processed’ garlic in a jar. they are horrible so i trashed it. im still lazy so i bought the next best thing, peeled and freezer packed so i always have a fresh garlic when i need them. having mortar and pestle helped too.
on June 22nd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
humm…after reading the comments and pondering my cooking…i guess powder has its place; rubs,bread…sometimes both when i’m doctoring ragu tom gravy.
i always use to use fresh cloves but they never lasted long enough..so at my produce store they sell them vacuum paced tiny bags…there are really equal…putting a little evvo in foil on the grill..their great,ask sag….and they last …hopefully you @ es won’t think the worst of me
also, the last time i used real pumpkin gansie was knee high to a grasshopper about 3-4 yrs old…she was a fun cook back then too.
on June 23rd, 2008 at 3:07 pm
If this was a ploy to get me to write my first comment, it has worked. Shame on you BS, garlic powder is only good on buttered toast. Even with rubs I recommend mincing garlic in a mini cuisinart, it adds so much more flavor…
on July 11th, 2008 at 3:45 am
Garlic burns and becomes bitter in rubs my friend the only other recipe in which I use pwder is my homemade bbq sauce although I think Im going to be switching to the fresh also.
on August 4th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
[…] time I shared a secret with you guys, you totally ripped me a new one, yet for some reason I still feel compelled to keep on sharing every weird thing I […]