Garlic is a staple in most kitchens that bestows flavor through its pungency. But too much of it can basically ruin the taste of food. So, let’s see how to fix too much garlic with a few methods.
You can use the following methods to counteract the excessive flavor of garlic in a dish:
- Dilution
- Balancing flavor with onions
- Adding creamy ingredients
- Using aromatic herbs
- Adding an acidic ingredient
- Adding a sweetener
So, read along to learn more about fixing your dish wherever you go overboard with garlic.
How To Fix Too Much Garlic?
We tend to use garlic in our recipes in various forms- it can be as a powder, in its fresh form, or granulated. Whatever the way it is, it is not a secret that garlic gives our foods an ultimate pungency and distinctive flavor.
However, maintaining the balance of the flavors while cooking is an essential skill we should master. Thus, going overboard with garlic can make an unappetizing sensation in our dish. But worry not- toning down the intensity of garlic is not much of a problem if you follow our foolproof tips!
01- Dilution
Concentrating the garlic flavor can be one of the easiest ways to fix a garlic attack in any of your dishes, regardless of their textures. In fact, there are two main ways that you can perform dilution.
One method is by making one whole batch of the same dish without garlic and mixing it with the batch you went overboard. But this can be a little time-consuming, and most of you might find it overwhelming.
Therefore, your next best option would be to add more ingredients to the same recipe batch without garlic. If you make a liquid-based dish, you can increase the amount of the primary liquid rather than adding all the other ingredients.
And if it is a wet dish, yet not so liquidy, like a dip, you can add more from the key ingredient used in that specific dip. For example, if it is something like a cream cheese dip or hummus, you can add more cream cheese or chickpeas and tahini, accordingly.
Likewise, do your taste check with each addition and adjust the taste until you build up the desired taste, balancing out the overall flavor of the dish.
02-Balancing Flavor With Onions
Onions and garlic go hand in hand in many recipes. So, whenever you unexpectedly get away too far with garlic, you can use onion to balance out the taste.
The best thing about onion is that you can use it with any dish with different textures. You can use onion powder or granulated onions if it is a dry blend. And if it is a wet dish, you can go easily with fresh onions. In fact, onions can also be an excellent flavor enhancement to your recipes.
But sometimes, adding onions could be sweeping if your dish is loaded with other flavors. In such instances, this will not be a favorable fix, so you can count on other methods we have discussed through the rest of the points.
03-Adding Creamy Ingredients
This method will work best with liquid-based or wet dishes. Mixing a creamy ingredient would be a perfect way to balance the strong garlic taste of your dish.
When we say a creamy ingredient, it could be a dairy product or even coconut milk. In fact, the delicate flavors and creaminess of yogurt, curd, cream, coconut milk, or coconut cream have the ability to stabilize the intense undertones of food.
In addition, as we mentioned before, you can also increase the amount of the main ingredient in many cream-based dips and sauces. For example, depending on the sauce or dip, you can double the amount of tahini paste, pureed chickpeas, sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, etc.
04- Using Aromatic Herbs
Aromatic herbs that lie in your spice cabinet or backyard can definitely come to your rescue whenever you need to fix too much garlic in a dish. They can work just as well as onions would do.
However, herbs like cilantro, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, and parsley are perfect choices that will give their best contribution when used fresh. But, since you cannot go with fresh herbs in dry recipes like spice/seasoning blends or rubs, you can use dried herbs instead.
But, make sure not to overload your dish with too many herbs, and do not use all of them mentioned on top since that could ruin your recipe in a different way. Remember, balance is important!
05- Adding An Acidic Ingredient
Cutting down a flavor with another is an effective trick that would work most of the time when you go overboard with a particular taste. Likewise, you can use an acidic ingredient to tone down the garlic pungency of your dishes.
The best acid-based ingredients you can use would be lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, and other citrus juices like orange. You can use this tip in most salads, dips, vinaigrettes, and salad dressings. Lemon and lime zest could also work better with marinades and dry blends.
Nevertheless, do your taste check just to ensure that your dish won’t get too acidic or sour.
Piety is like garlic: a little goes a long way.
Rita Mae Brown
06- Adding A Sweetener
The theory behind this method is the same as we mentioned: toning down a flavor with an opposite taste. Adding a sweetener can seem a bit intimidating, especially when it comes to savory dishes. But you can have amazing results once tried.
Honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, and agave are some of the best sweeteners you can use. In fact, sweeteners focus more on counteracting the bitter taste that you get from too much garlic. So, be on the safe side and use your sweetener moderately until you get the desired flavor in your dish.
Wrapping Up With The Best Ways To Tone Down Garlic In Your Dishes…
Garlic is one of the most powerfully-flavored spices you can find in your pantry. So, as we all know, a little garlic can go a long way in our recipes. Therefore, it is important to balance out the taste with the right amount.
But, if we happen to go overboard with this pungent spice, you can dilute the dish with another batch, use a sweetener, a creamy ingredient, an acidic ingredient, or even add more onions or aromatic herbs to tone down the excessive garlicky flavor. So, let us know which methods worked the best for you.
