Garlic powder is a spice that helps enhance the flavoring of foods. It will also give food a garlic taste. If you bought a container of garlic powder or made them yourself at home, you probably wonder if they can go bad.
Does garlic powder go bad? Garlic powder doesn’t go bad, but it will deteriorate in quality over time. If you’ve bought garlic powder from the store, there is an expiration date on it. It usually indicates that it will expire in 3-4 years. However, if the powder is properly stored, it can last indefinitely.
How Is Garlic Powder Made?
To make garlic into powder form, the process is simple. First, the garlic cloves need to be drawn out of all the moisture. This is done by dehydrating the garlic cloves in a machine or letting them dry at room temperature.
Once it’s completely dried, the garlic is ground down into fine particles. This can either be done by using a machine or grinding it manually. Both methods do the job of grinding the garlic down to powder form.
What Is Garlic Powder Used For?
Garlic powder is a popular ingredient that can be used for many dishes.
Due to their flavor, it is very versatile. Garlic powder blends well with meats, vegetables, and snacks such as popcorn and nuts.
For many spices that are made for barbecues and steaks, you’ll notice that garlic powder is one of the main ingredients used.
For many dishes and sauce, the primary purpose is to brighten the dish’s flavor profile.
How To Store Garlic Powder
When it comes to storage, garlic powder is one of the easiest powders to store. If they came in a plastic or glass container, you can just store them in there. Just make sure it’s sealed tightly.
If you’re one of the people who don’t consume garlic powder too often, you can transfer them to an opaque glass container. The darker color will help prevent sunshine from damaging the powder.
For the most part, most people will consume garlic powder before the expiration date.
For small bags of garlic powder that you can find hanging from the wall of grocery stores, it’s best to use them as quickly as possible. These bags are usually very thin and will have holes at the top of them.
The best place to store garlic powder is in a cool and dry place like the pantry or cupboard.
Another place to store garlic powder is in the refrigerator. It’s fine to store them here, but you really don’t need to. Storing them in the fridge or at room temperature will have the same shelf life.
How Long Does Garlic Powder Last?
Garlic powder will last for a long time if it’s stored properly. As long as it’s sealed tight in a container and kept away from sunlight, it will last for up to 4 years.
After that time, the garlic powder is still safe to use, but the quality of it may start to deteriorate.
The reason why garlic powder lasts for so long is due to all the moisture being taken out of the garlic clove. All there’s left is a dry powder, which is protected from rotting or staleness. It gets protection from rotting because of the garlic’s strong antibacterial properties.
You may wonder why there’s an expiration date on a container of garlic powder then. An expiration date is required due to FDA regulations. The food manufacturers must have the date printed on the container, no matter if it expires or not.
How to Know if Garlic Powder Goes Bad
If the garlic powder is properly stored, there are no chances of them actually going bad. The only way that it will go bad if it is exposed to air, moisture gets into the container or contaminated by bugs.
Below are a few signs to look out for if your garlic powder is bad.
Sign #1: No Flavor or Smell
This is the best sign that your garlic powder is bad. There will be no taste or smell to it. You can tell when opening the container. It will have no smell to it. If you try to taste it too, you’ll notice a bland taste. You should just discard the garlic powder.
Sign #2. Bugs in the Container
Sometimes the container isn’t sealed tight, which makes it easy for bugs and other pests to get in. Some bugs can live off the garlic powder, and they don’t mind staying in there.
If you notice bugs or larvae in the garlic powder, it’s best to throw them out. Not only will it taste bad, but you could also get sick from the bugs.
Sign #3. Garlic Powder Is Clumpy
The last thing to check is if there are any clumps in the garlic powder. If there are, moisture has found its way into the container. More than likely, the powder is spoiled.
However, there’s a difference between hardened clumps and stiff garlic powder. If it’s stiff, it means the powder is still good to use. To test, simply shake the container or smack the clump against a table. The hard garlic powder will start to loosen right up.
Is It OK to Use Expired Garlic Powder?
Yes, expired garlic powder is perfectly safe to consume. Just make sure there are no molds in the container.
While it’s safe to eat garlic powder, you may not enjoy it very much. The manufacturer put the expiry date on the container to let you know when it will be at its best quality. After that, they won’t guarantee if it’s still good or not.
Once it’s past its expiry date, just make sure it doesn’t smell or taste bad.
Related Questions
Does garlic go bad?
Like most other vegetables, garlic lasts quite a long time. A whole fresh garlic bulb will last for up to 6 months. Once you remove the cloves off it, it will shorten the shelf life to about a month.
After that, the garlic will start to go bad. You will start to notice brown spots on the garlic. These dark spots mean the garlic is bad and should be thrown away.
Does garlic powder have any salt in it?
Yes, garlic powder does have salt in them. However, it contains only a trace amount of natural sodium. For about 100 grams of garlic powder, it will have about 60 mg of salt.