1. Introduction

Firstly, the health benefits of garlic are why this flavor-enhancing bulb is an important addition to any kitchen. According to a source, garlic has been linked to treating flu and colds, reducing blood pressure, boosting our natural defenses, and even reducing the risk of heart disease. This little bulb packs a powerful punch for the human body. And it doesn’t stop there. Garlic is also packed with vitamin C, vitamin B6, manganese, and fiber. This might shed some light on why garlic has been included in our diets for over 7,000 years.

Sure, with its unique ability to flavor plenty of dishes and even serve as a natural form of medicine, garlic truly is the epitome of a superfood. We stock dried bulk garlic at wholesale prices, making it easy to enjoy the benefits of this fantastic bulb. Every chef knows the value of having garlic in the kitchen. With such a unique ability to flavor a dish while being a natural form of medicine, no wonder garlic is so popular. Bulk garlic is the perfect way to ensure that your kitchen is always stocked no matter how busy it gets.

2. Benefits of Buying Garlic in Bulk

Many supermarkets have been known for selling not so fresh garlic. When buying garlic in bulk, whether from the farmer’s market, a fruit and vegetable market, or through the mail, this is not the case. You are not spending 10 minutes, minutes that you could be adding to the delicious dish that you are cooking, peeling the garlic. It is quite easy to peel a bunch of heads, coat them with oil, and roast them until they are nice and soft before adding them to whatever dish you are preparing. With more flavor, the roasted garlic will add a nice flavor to your dish.

The number one reason to buy garlic in bulk is to save money. Purchasing garlic by the head rather than by the jar equals buying way less expensive garlic. When you purchase garlic in bulk, you are helping the environment. When you buy garlic pre-packaged in a jar from the supermarket, it comes with a lot of packaging that might not be recyclable. By buying garlic in bulk, you are helping the environment. The garlic that you are getting is also better for you. Fresh garlic is much better for you than the garlic that you get from the supermarket.

3. Types of Garlic Available in Bulk

For those living in warmer climates, softneck garlic is your likely variety. Softneck garlic is usually what’s available in grocery stores and it has a mild flavor that is delicious and not too overpowering. With its skins removed from the bulb, all that remains is a whole mix of cloves chock full of garlicky flavor. Because it doesn’t have scapes, softneck garlic is a bit easier to peel than hardneck garlic. One more reason to pick softneck? It keeps better than hardneck, so you can enjoy it for an even longer time.

Garlic is typically available in one of two forms: hardneck and softneck. Hardneck garlic, which is cultivated in cooler climates, will be slightly larger in size and boast fewer cloves than its softneck cousins—somewhere in the neighborhood of between four and 12 cloves. The cloves, which are a bit easier to peel, will be larger in size and more distinct in flavor, which makes hardneck garlic perfect for all kinds of cooking. Plus, hardneck garlic’s tall and curved scapes are a delicacy in themselves and are the perfect addition to a variety of dishes including pesto. They’re also amazing when pickled! As noted, hardneck garlic is seasonal and is typically available in the late summer and the fall.

4. Factors to Consider When Buying Bulk Garlic

First, the size. The highest quality of garlic is the one that contains bulbs that are the biggest. It is basic to know the potential size of the garlic bulbs when you plant them in spring. However, in production, the size of the bulb is largely determined by its age. The reason for seasoning garlic is to give the growing bulbs time to get as big as they can. The final size of the cloves the garlic bulb contains is also determined by its life. The train of the garlic bulb’s growth is its leaves. After the bulbs start to form, the leaves start to grow and the size of the bulb will then be determined. If the leaves were to be cut off during the growth, the bulbs would be drastically decreased.

We mainly have two kinds of garlic. We have the hard-necked and the soft-necked kinds. The hard-necked kind roots well and is resistant to cold. Its cloves are few but very big. Harvesting it is very tedious. The soft-necked kind, on the other hand, roots poorly, but its cloves are many and it is very suitable for braiding. If the garlic is for daily use, then the hard-necked garlic is not recommended. However, if it is strictly for table use, then any kind can do. Although buying garlic seems like something that is not complicated, it is essential to know very basic things about it to assist you in making the best purchases.

5. Where to Buy Bulk Garlic

Garlic is the number one crop grown in home gardens, a trend that is more noticeable as things progress in the more peculiar times that we are living in today. While the majority are happy to use homegrown garlic themselves, there will typically always be an excess by the end of the year. Locals may purchase a small amount, but the remainder may be sold at the institutions’ pre-existing farmers’ markets. These are seasonal and may run for as few as five to six hours during the morning. The clientele has the opportunity to explore what smallholders in their area invest time and passion in growing. Public relations aside, the returns often don’t represent this effort accurately. Pricing garlic at a point where a small amount sells out is not an indication of an optimal retail price. But for a product that fills people’s kitchens and recipes with an irreplaceable flavor, it represents an incredible opportunity to leverage business connections and put some money they can actually live on into the wallets of those who specialize in this field. By driving extra sales to build up their business, you, in turn, fortify the relationship with a dependable, local supplier of the product!

While not the most common kitchen staple to buy in bulk (yet!), the reasons to do so certainly stack up. Quick and easy to peel (if you know how), garlic adds an unparalleled kick to a wide range of meals. Those who purchase are more likely to cook with it. The increased exposure can certainly have people reaching for new ways to eat it, boosting sales for everyone involved. The difficulty in sourcing locally grown garlic, as well as its perishable nature, make it an undervalued offering in some markets. But provided the garlic is grown locally, there are some good reasons to be offering it as a bulk item. When trading, always direct people towards those who grow garlic in regions where the demand has not yet increased to a point that makes the retail price more appealing. This keeps the heartland of garlic growing traditions strong.

6. What is a bulk of garlic called?

A standard pack size for a bulk of garlic contains a minimum gross weight and number of garlic cloves per pack. Garlic is mostly sold by weight but is shown in counts. After spilling, final inspection, and grading, garlic is packed in sacks that can contain up to 10kg of garlic per sack. When stacked and layered with a perfect fit, there are approximately 100-120 garlic bulbs per sack.

A bulk of garlic is a unit of sold garlic, ideally proportionate to a standard pack size. This default weight or volume, as a matter of trade regulations, decides the minimum size, number, or pieces that must be in each unit. This assures the buyer to be getting their money’s worth.

While a single, unpeeled garlic is called a head, a bulk of garlic goes by other names that best describe its form and volume. Garlic is found at local marketplaces as bulk or in bulk, sold by quantity or weight.

7. Why is garlic so expensive now?

The first thing is to try to understand what this economy is and how it works. First of all, it is necessary to bear in mind that the food production chain works with a characteristic that makes it unique: the chain is constantly making long-term investments. Family farming is no different and we are only able to work with garlic from one year to the next and this gives the economy a number of specific characteristics including the stability between the exchange of goods and the long-term investment, that is, for two years, the planting of the garlic for the production of the bulbs that will be harvested and sold years later.

How can anyone not notice the difference in prices? A pandemic, cold buzz for weeks (or months) in February and March, followed by a deep market shock in the weeks that followed. And then garlic costs more than double last year’s price. Surely a lot of factors are behind this but when I sat down to write this article, there was something that had been wandering in my head for a while, is garlic selling too low all this time? And I realized that I had been selling it well below a fair price.

8. What country sells the most garlic?

India ranks second with a 3.8% share of the world market. The Central Asia (Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan) is the second largest exporter of garlic, which has a trade agreement with Russia. The demand for garlic in Russia is still strong, so there are sellers of Chinese garlic to create more favorable conditions in transportation and marketing strategies in order to gain local demand. At present, China is exporting garlic and onion to the Russian market but mainly comes from Chinese suppliers. At the same time, the buyer believes that there should be some competition in the Russian market.

China is by far the leader in garlic production and exports. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), China produces 78% of the world’s garlic. They are a large exporter, capturing 33.45% in the world’s market. The country has a competitive advantage over other bulk garlic suppliers in the market. Chinese farmers still plant and harvest garlic in the traditional way without high labor costs and are proficient in planting techniques and a good environment for production, especially in the environment, which is relatively dry and not suitable for the growth and reproduction of diseases and insects. With low production costs, farmers are highly interested in planting garlic.

9. What is the most expensive garlic in the world?

Not only are people importing black garlic, they are envious of our Tasmanian white garlic, affectionately known as Snow White garlic and Herman’s Garlic. It’s a variety from Siberia that grows ripe and large even in Tasmania’s warm conditions. Snow White has a really strong flavor and a smooth taste with minimal heat. We all prefer Snow White Dispatches. The white, soft neck garlic has less heat than the Siberian Red variety as well as a strong flavor. No matter how fancy garlic buyers describe the flavor or the look, a healthy offering price is usually expected. In 2020-21, the garlic crop put $3.6 million into the pockets of Tasmanian growers, compared with $2.5 million 10 years ago.

While some folks think of colorful or state-grown garlic when they think of garlic, garlic has been grown for centuries on several continents. Included in the list of garlic grown is the most expensive. Australian-grown Tasmanian produces the most expensive garlic in the world. Almost all of the commercial garlic raised in Australia is grown in Tasmania. There, local demand for “zucchini flowers stuffed with Tasmanian black garlic” reaches into the thousands for a wedding. Tasmanian black garlic exports regularly leave the state for high-end restaurants in countries like Japan and the European Union. Surprisingly, the crop of black garlic makes up a small portion of the garlic harvested in Tasmania.

The ultimate guide to buying bulk garlic (everything you need to know)

10. What garlic is best for long storage?

When do I know that the garlic is ready to be harvested? It is ready when you see 5-6 leaves, mostly dried and dead standing up but still some green. You can carefully dig one up to check for a sizeable clove. We recommend checking your cloves every few days to avoid overgrowth. After all, you don’t want to push this garlic into another growth or worrying about root rot if October heat spells occur.

How do I decide if I want hardneck garlic? Do you love garlic so much that you want to eat the flowering tops? Then give hardneck garlic a try. Those soft shoots only appear on hardneck varieties and can be quite delicious. But remember, it will not store as well (usually 6-9 months as opposed to up to 12 months). If you don’t want shoots, then softneck garlic is the way to go.

What garlic is best for long storage? Softneck garlic is known for the longest storage time. No scapes? No problem, Chef. Plus, no tedious snapping of those tough necks. Artichoke garlic gives you dozens of cloves to harvest from each bulb. And because the shelves are never stacked on top of each other, the cloves are easy to pluck and use.

11. What is large garlic called?

It can reach the size of a softball, indicating it is a form of leek rather than a form of garlic, with a flavor very much like a large shallot, but with a mild aftertaste of garlic. Its flavor is milder than garlic. It is generally baked and used in soups. In some places, it is specifically cultivated for consumption as green garlic.

This type of garlic is called “elephant garlic.” Contrary to its name, this type of garlic isn’t related to either garlic or leeks, but it does have a mild garlic flavor. Elephant garlic – unlike “regular” (softneck or hardneck) garlic, elephant garlic is actually more closely related to leeks than it is to garlic. Rather than forming a bulb made up of individual cloves, elephant garlic makes large, elephant ear-shaped bulbs that must be separated into individual cloves like true bulbs. Elephant garlic is a lot less intense than normal garlic, and it’s a great way to introduce someone to the flavor of garlic.

12. Conclusion

All members of the allium family do well when planted in the fall and given time to grow strong root systems before the winter freeze-up. If you live in a warmer climate, keep in mind that the allium family doesn’t do great in hot temperatures, and your window may be even smaller. Regardless of when you plant, remember that your garlic will be spending a good portion of its growing season under the snowcover, not able to soak in water or energy to support itself. Keep planting it, keep loving it, and by the time October rolls back around, you’ll have big, beautiful bulbs of superior flavor for your dining – and can kick it all back off again!

By the time you’ve sorted and stored your garlic, you can look back on this rank-smelling task as a labor of love. Our Amish-grown heirloom garlic is hand-left and sun-dried, and is sure to infuse everything from marinara sauce to roasted meats with a pungent, distinctive flavor reminiscent of fall. What could you make with that kind of superior flavor? Bulk garlic gives you more room to make fantastic food! If this is the kind of exciting enhancement to your garden you’ve been waiting for, we have great news! You’re now a bulk garlic buying connoisseur – and that’s a pretty special thing to be!