Garlic Powder

Homemade garlic powder?  Why haven't we tried this before?   My husband and I decided to try making our own garlic powder after seeing some for sale at our local Farmer's Market.  Seemed almost too obvious....peel and slice some garlic cloves....let them dry out.....grind them in our rarely used coffee grinder and store the powder in an airtight container.  That is exactly what we did, but we allowed the sliced garlic to dry naturally outside in the sun.  Of course, you could use a dehydrator or oven as well.  Here is a site I found for those who like a bit more structure than what I just wrote:

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/makeyourowningredients/r/Garlic_Powder.htm

We amazed ourselves!   The garlic powder turned out awesome.  It is way more potent than store bought, so we have to use less.  Two cloves made enough to fill an average spice container that you find in all stores.  It does pack itself down, so store it loosely.  It would be a good idea to let the powder dry for a day or so before putting it into a container.  I am excited to try different varieties of garlic...maybe I will have to go to a garlic festival this summer!

How is it that in almost 40 years on earth that we never even thought to make this?  What else can we make....onion powder, ground cayenne?   We are pretty good at making our own seasoning mixtures, such as taco seasoning, jerk seasoning, etc.  We actually have some ideas in the works for gifts for Christmas as we like to do homemade treats as gifts.  Very economical if we make some of our spices, too!

After trying out homemade garlic powder, I am going to have a hard time using store bought garlic powder.  Isn't that the truth with most foods?!?

Before:  2 cloves garlic, sliced

 

 

After:  Homemade Garlic Powder!