Garlic cloves
Garlic cloves are the separate bulblets of Allium sativum, pungent only once cut. They flavour herb salts, ferments such as Thai som-fak, and countless cooked dishes.
Modern method
Fragrant herb salt
herb salt · garlic herb salt
Fresh garlic and pungent herbs are chopped with kosher salt, then dried in the warmth of a switched-off oven. The blend keeps the selected herbs together in one seasoning.
The seasoning and its use
The handout supports this as a culinary herb seasoning, but supplies no specific dish. It lists pungent fresh herbs and identifies sage, rosemary, thyme, savory and basil, with lavender only in small amounts. Keep the selected herbs in any eventual ingredient list; “herbs” alone is not reproducible. **Mechanism and evidence limits:** Chopping distributes fresh plant material through salt; the residual oven warmth dries the mixture. No fermentation occurs. Because fresh garlic and herbs are involved, the handout’s clean, dry jar instruction does not establish a validated shelf life, storage temperature or microbiological safety. Do not use smell, taste or appearance as a safety test. **Sources:** [UC ANR, “Fragrant Herb Salt”](https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2020-09/335100.pdf) (quantities, yield, sequence and jar instruction).
Sources for this section
Equipment and preparation
Knife, cutting board, baking sheet, oven, clean dry jars. **Method:** On the cutting board, halve each garlic clove lengthwise and remove any central sprout. Finely chop the garlic with the salt. Coarsely chop the herbs separately, then chop them into the garlic mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Spread on a baking sheet. Heat the oven to 200°F (93°C), switch it off, place the sheet inside and leave the oven door closed overnight. Transfer to clean, dry jars. The source gives no storage duration or storage temperature; do not add one. **Difficulty (1–5):** temperature 1; monitoring 2; equipment 2; timing 3; scaling 3; **overall 3**. The source provides no measured drying endpoint, and its overnight schedule and small-batch directions limit process certainty at larger scale. **Food and use:** The handout supports this as a culinary herb seasoning, but supplies no specific dish. It lists pungent fresh herbs and identifies sage, rosemary, thyme, savory and basil, with lavender only in small amounts. Keep the selected herbs in any eventual ingredient list; “herbs” alone is not reproducible. **Mechanism and evidence limits:** Chopping distributes fresh plant material through salt; the residual oven warmth dries the mixture. No fermentation occurs. Because fresh garlic and herbs are involved, the handout’s clean, dry jar instruction does not establish a validated shelf life, storage temperature or microbiological safety. Do not use smell, taste or appearance as a safety test. **Sources:** [UC ANR, “Fragrant Herb Salt”](https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2020-09/335100.pdf) (quantities, yield, sequence and jar instruction).
Sources for this section
What the process changes
Chopping distributes fresh plant material through salt; the residual oven warmth dries the mixture. No fermentation occurs. Because fresh garlic and herbs are involved, the handout’s clean, dry jar instruction does not establish a validated shelf life, storage temperature or microbiological safety. Do not use smell, taste or appearance as a safety test. **Sources:** [UC ANR, “Fragrant Herb Salt”](https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2020-09/335100.pdf) (quantities, yield, sequence and jar instruction).
Sources for this section
History
The institutional handout documents this garlic-and-herb formula without assigning an origin, historical period or customary serving dish.
Ingredients
Yield 0.75 cup · Scaling: source batch only
clove
4–5 cloves118 mL½ cup as recorded
scant473 mL2 cup as recorded
about; sage, rosemary, thyme, savory or basil; lavender only in small amountsMethod
- Use a knife, not a food processor. Halve garlic cloves lengthwise and remove any central sprout. Finely chop garlic with salt.
- Coarsely chop the herbs separately, then chop them into the garlic mixture until it resembles coarse sand.
- Spread on baking sheet. Heat oven to 200°F (93°C), switch it off, place sheet inside, close door and leave overnight.
- Transfer to clean, dry jars; source gives no storage duration or temperature.
Conditions
Yield0.75 cup
Temperature controlMulti-stage
Places
Unknown
Documented preparation · Place not establishedThe inspected method does not establish a traditional place of origin; a publisher address is not an origin.
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Sources
UC Master Food Preserver Program, UC Agriculture and Natural ResourcesInspiration · Method
Fragrant Herb Salt4–5 garlic cloves, scant 1/2 cup kosher salt, about 2 cups fresh herbs, 3/4-cup yield, chopping and 200°F then off overnight drying method, clean dry jars.
Cited in: The seasoning and its use; Equipment and preparation; What the process changes