There’s a snobbery lurking in spice cabinets, especially in those belonging to the type of people who are into Top Chef or food magazines. But break out the onion dip or ribs, and everyone—snobs or not—clamors. There’s a reason why those dishes are so good. It’s not fresh garlic. It’s dried garlic. And, strangely, no one is willing to talk about it.
People may say, “Why are you using garlic powder? You should use fresh garlic.” Accompanied by an eye roll or pitying glance, they imply that only a Neanderthal wouldn’t choose to smash fresh garlic cloves with the side of their knife, celebrity-chef style, that dried garlic is for ignoramuses. Should, shmould. This prejudice is not likely from actual experience, just the regurgitated cooking knowledge we are all indoctrinated with via food TV. It’s the same type of insistence on the necessity of salting eggplant before cooking. Or that you can’t have cheese with seafood. Or that eating steak anything but medium rare is an outrage. I can’t stand having the status quo forced on me. We can disagree and still be nice to each other. We might even learn something!
(These partisan days are full of hurts and sensitivities, aren’t they?? It’s brutal. I feel like I’m either on my high horse or pawing around in the gutter. Ug.)
Anyway, back to garlic. Here’s my take, having experimented. Dried garlic is not a replacement for fresh garlic—and that is likely where its mediocre reputation started.* I don’t want to sauté spinach with garlic powder, or add it to pesto, or use it in most cases I use garlic, which are myriad. But there are times when dried garlic is just the thing. It’s milder than fresh, easier to disperse and dissolve, and gives instant umami without dirtying a knife. It’s why seasoned salt and Adobo seasoning are so popular. (Have you ever eaten your college roommate’s “Montreal steak seasoning” plain, out of your palm, like a horse eats oats? Maybe that’s just me. I couldn’t help it.)
Lost in a garden of conflicting opinions about the validity of garlic powder.
For example, my friend Seth makes ribs using garlic granules, adding them to James Beard’s iconic recipe, which otherwise consists of three ingredients: ribs, salt, and pepper. They are cooked in a regular oven, no smoker or grill needed, and they are truly the best ribs I’ve ever had. My husband and I embarrassed ourselves with how many we ate last time at their apartment. His wife, one of my best friends and a true meat lover (and coincidently the owner of said Montreal steak seasoning—sorry Ang), insists he makes them once a week. Fresh garlic would never work here—it wouldn’t disperse as thoroughly or penetrate as evenly.
Similarly, when developing menus for a meal kit company, my team had to create a last-minute breadstick recipe to bulk up a too-light dinner. My suggesting garlic powder raised little enthusiasm, in lieu of a sprinkle of nutritional yeast or smoked paprika, the more chic, upmarket options…that is, until the test kitchen did side-by-side tests and the garlic powder version was most popular by a landslide. The garlic powder created a warm, earthy depth, and didn’t burn in the oven’s heat like raw garlic would have.
Caught in the act of using garlic powder to make super quick breadsticks. Don't be ashamed!
And dips and dressings are perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of garlic powder. Ranch dressing, “Italian” dressing, yogurt dip, anything with sour cream. It’s especially nice when you don’t want to bowl over your guests, or yourself, with garlic flavor. Fresh garlic in raita and dairy-based dips/dressings can be delicious, but even for a garlic lover like me, the punch of eating it raw can overwhelm my tastebuds, sometimes for hours. It’s hard to get the amount right—one raw clove of garlic for a whole bowl of dip sounds puny, but in reality it’s quite a lot. With dried garlic you really can add just a little.
So yes, dried garlic is not the same as fresh, but that’s the point! Like anything else, having variety is a good thing. No need to disparage it just because you can find it in any grocery store in the entire country. (What a feat!) And further, don’t let anyone boss you in your own kitchen: cooking isn’t about right and wrong, it’s about finding your own way.
Top 3 Times Garlic Powder Works Better Than Fresh
- Homemade dips and dressings: ranch dressing and onion dip especially.
- Spice rubs: Good for ribs, a pork shoulder, a whole chicken, or any slow-cooked meat. Create your own with garlic powder, paprika, chile powder, dried mustard, sugar, pepper, and salt. Or go Seth-style and mix garlic granules with salt and pepper only (look up James Beard’s Salt and Pepper Ribs).
- Quickest garlicky “breadsticks”: Mix garlic powder with salt and oil or melted butter, then brush or dab onto naan bread. Bake in a low oven until hot, about 5 to 10 minutes, then cut into chubby fingers. Irresistible unless your snobbishness knows no bounds.
* If this feud were being moderated by a huge food corporation, we’d likely have to witness a garlic powder and fresh garlic showdown. But I don’t encourage conflict here.
