Topic: Garlic, Oil & BOTULISM

[Cory Ander]

I've just made a batch of Garlic/Ginger paste and frozen it in an Ice cube tray. If it's the air stopping the spores growing, is frozen any good?.Once thawed would it be alright or do you just put it in  the pan frozen?.
Thanks in advance.

Hi QPRB,

I do this all the time.  I buy 500g bags of garlic, peel and blend the cloves in a little water, freeze it in ice cube trays (1tsp and 1 tbsp lumps) and transfer the frozen lumps into sealable sandwich bands to store in the freezer.  They keep for months with no discernible difference to fresh garlic (in my opinion).

Defrost the lumps before use (either at room temperature or in a microwave, on high, for about 10 - 15 seconds).
 
I also do this with ginger, chillies, peppers and tomato puree.

For coriander and mint (and basil, etc), I coarsely chop it and put it straight into the sealable bags to freeze.  Not quite as good as fresh but convenient nevertheless.  Add this frozen.

[JerryM]

just by coincidence i reverted back to just using fresh garlic last night having used it since following parker21's advice.

i now think it doubtful that i will use a combined paste in the future.

[Derek Dansak]

Yes, this post has frightened me too! i now just wizz up a litle garlic and ginger to last for 4 -5 curries. i miss not making the paste though. it seems that most garlic wont have the botulism on it. however if it has got botulism on it from the soil it has come from, then it will be dangerous if stored for a long time. its a real gamble making your own and storing it for over a week. its very rare to get the botulism, but probably not a risk worth taking. maybe we should have a section of the site devoted to safety issues like this. so newbees dont peg it !!