My aunt from Pakistan shook her head when she saw jars of minced garlic and minced onion in our pantry. She said making those ingredients from scratch dramatically improves the flavor of Indian food.
Obviously you don't have to use bowls, an old pickle/sauce jar works too. You don't really have to wash it either, just put a drop of soap in it, bit of water, shake for 2 seconds, and rinse.
Not only is garlic not always cooked, but even when cooking, it makes a difference if you slice it vs mincing it. The more you damage it before cooking, the sharper the flavor.
Trader Joes has frozen garlic cubes that are actually pretty good. I don't personally use them, but my wife does and I can't tell the difference.
I do use TJ's frozen basil cubes, which are terrific. Way better than dried, though obviously not as good as fresh. Unlike some competitors, TJ's cubes do not have added salt.
Frozen cubes? Never heard of them, but I can imagine how freshly frozen might be useful. Thanks for the good ideas! I’m going to make some myself and see how long they stay fresh... months I’d guess.
We (well my wife) grow basil in our garden. She puts gallons of pesto in the freezer all summer. Without the cheese - its so much better to grate fresh once you thaw out the basil and oil!
