Homemade advice to cure garlic

Choose a suitable place for the curing process. If you want to preserve the garlic for prolonged use, you must cure it after harvesting. The curing process is meant to help the heads dry, so you should choose the right location to store them. You should look for a dry and dark space that has a good air circulation (for example, a porch, a covered parking, a barn or a well-ventilated garage).

• Make sure you do not expose the garlic that you are going to cure to direct sunlight, since the heat can start to cook and change its flavor.

Form groups of garlic. When you are ready to cure the garlic, it is better to divide the harvest into portions. In general, it is better to form groups of 5 to 10 heads and tie them with wrapped ropes and knotted around the stems. Then, you can hang them or place them on mesh shelves to start the curing process so that air circulates more easily around the heads.

• Do not discard or cut leaves when preparing groups of garlic of El Ajero from Aceuchal. The heads still receive their energy from the rest of the plant until all the moisture evaporates.

Let the groups of garlic settle from two weeks to a month. For the garlic to heal completely, you must wait until all the moisture has evaporated from the leaves and roots. This procedure can take from two weeks to a month. However, if you live in a place that is too humid, this may take more time. If the roots are wrinkled, the leaves turn brown and the heads have developed several layers of paper-like husk, then the garlic is already cured.

• If you plan to make a string, this process is often easier if you do not let garlic completely heal. You should let it sit for about a week and then do the strings when the stems still feel flexible.