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Can you imagine Italian pasta, fried rice, or your favorite braised steak without garlic? Probably not. Garlic is such an aromatic and flavor-packed ingredient that you can’t think of replacing it. But it not only adds flavor to your delicious recipes, it also offers numerous medicinal benefits.
You’ll find it being used as a medicine to treat a wide range of illnesses and conditions throughout history. Even Greek physician Hippocrates, known as “the father of Western medicine,” prescribed garlic to treat respiratory problems, fatigue, parasites, and to aid digestion.
Many studies have suggested that garlic has antibiotic properties and is beneficial in various heart and lung conditions. So, eating garlic is not only good for your taste buds but your overall health. But many food-lovers are still confused about using garlic salt vs garlic powder.
You can use garlic in many different ways. Use crushed garlic or garlic paste in your curries or soups or garlic powder to season your chicken roast or steak, depending upon your recipe requirement. The taste and benefits remain the same.
What Can Be A Replacement for Fresh Garlic?
Fresh garlic paste is made from garlic cloves, but it’s equally time-consuming. You have to peel, wash your garlic, and then turn it into a paste. As a replacement, you can surely think of using garlic powder and garlic salt. You don’t have to sweat peeling the garlic; open the container and give a gentle tap over your food to get the garlic flavor.
They are convenient to use in a dry rub for your lamb roast, steak or veggies. As garlic paste is not easy to spread evenly and sticks to the food, garlic powder and garlic salt make more sense. The best part; no clean up needed. Another significant advantage is that they will not burn while you are baking or broiling something.
Garlic Salt Vs. Garlic Powder
Garlic powder has come as an easy replacement for fresh garlic. Garlic powder is nothing but a dried and ground version of your very own garlic. Don’t confuse it with granulated garlic, which is a coarser form of garlic. It’s perfect for your soups, sauces, dips, and stews to get similar flavors and aroma of garlic cloves.
On the other hand, garlic salt also contains ingredients like corn, starch, or calcium silicate. It is saltier than garlic powder, and the usual ratio of salt to garlic in garlic salt is one part garlic and three parts salt.
Garlic powder is a closer version of garlic, offering a similar aroma and flavor to fresh garlic. On the other hand, a garlic salt is a form of food seasoning, similar to salt with garlic flavor. So, the usage differs in terms of flavors you look for.
Garlic powder is more versatile as you can use it in the ratio needed in your dish. But this is not true with garlic salt. As garlic salt has more salt parts, you might end up putting more salt in your dish if you try to increase the garlic component.
How Is Garlic Salt Different From Garlic Paste?
Garlic salt has a muted yet unique flavor than garlic paste. With a blend of other ingredients and salt, it is a great way to give a delicious twist to most of your dishes. Garlic paste can’t be used as a dry rub or seasoning and has its limitations.
You can use garlic salt in almost all your dishes. Sprinkle it on your meat as you prepare it for your stew or season your fish before taking it to the broiler. Or, add it to your boiled vegetables with some pepper, and they are ready to eat.
Just toss your garlic salt with other dry ingredients and herbs, and it’s ready for use as a rub for your meat preparations. Or else, add a pinch of garlic salt on top of your stir-fry to raise its flavor to another level. You can give a delicious tweak to your dips, mashed potatoes by replacing regular salt with garlic salt.
Remember, dried garlic can lose its flavor quickly if not kept in a cool and dry place. If you store it well and not expose it to heat or steam, you can think of replacing your fresh garlic with garlic powder or garlic salt in most of your dishes. If you worry about using garlic salt or garlic powder, hopefully, this post answers all your questions.
Be a little wary of the garlic salt that you’re putting in your dish. As you know that garlic salt has more salt content, you should avoid putting it in preparations that already have salt in them.