Let’s admit it. We don’t always use fresh garlic. But, powdered garlic is much stronger than fresh garlic and it’s difficult to know how much to use when substituting powdered for fresh. Here is a handy conversion on fresh garlic to garlic powder, garlic flakes, and granulated garlic which should serve you well in most cooked recipes.
If you’re like me, when it comes to garlic, you just play it by ear, or taste, as it were. We often say you can’t have too much garlic! But, that can get you into trouble. It’s a strange dichotomy. We love garlic but we don’t want a dish to be too garlicky. This makes sense as garlic, like its aromatic counterpart onion, gets most of its flavor and smell from sulfurous compounds, mostly cysteine sulfoxides. Too much can overwhelm a dish, especially if the garlic is not to be cooked, or only cooked for a short time. Being too heavy-handed with powdered garlic is even worse than over-using fresh garlic. It can cause not only an overwhelming pungent garlic flavor, but also an intense bitterness. If a recipe calls for fresh garlic, its useful to know how much powdered garlic to use to replace it.
| Amts. Fresh Garlic | Amts. Garlic Powder |
| 1 clove garlic; 1 tsp. chopped; 1/2 tsp. minced; |
1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic, 1/2 tsp. garlic flakes |
