Use Paper Garlic Peels to Add a Rich Flavor to the Broth.
Peeling garlic has always been my least favorite part of peeling garlic. They either stick to my fingers or float around the kitchen in a breeze before settling on random appliances. But I no longer take offense at them, my dears, because it turns out they are making an awesome broth.
I have kept onion peels in a warehouse for a long time and I don’t know why I didn’t do the same with garlic. The outer, more papery pieces don’t have much flavor, although they might help color your broth, but is the material you peel off the clove directly – sticky paper that sticks to your fingers? – this thing is covered in garlic flavor.
Although I had read about adding garlic skins to the warehouse before, I was initially skeptical that they would do so much, taste wise, so I put together a bunch of them (a couple of bulb’s value) and added them to the pot with a couple of glasses of water.
After just 10 minutes of simmering, my kitchen was filled with a faint, earthy and pungent garlic aroma. After 15 minutes – and after straining the rind – I had a golden aromatic liquid that tasted obviously garlic and quite tasty.
Obviously, this means you should keep the garlic peel in your “storage bag” (along with all the other great vegetable waste you collect for this purpose), but don’t give up the idea of a pure broth without the garlic peel. This ingredient is insanely aromatic, takes a quarter of an hour to cook, and can be used to add the health benefits of garlic to a variety of dishes. Use it instead of water when cooking rice , add it to gravies and sauces, or – heck – sip it if you catch a cold.
This story was originally published in August 2017 and updated on March 2, 2021 for clarity and to reflect the current Lifehacker style guidelines.