What is a Clove of Garlic?

Plus, how many teaspoons of minced garlic is equal to one clove, and how much garlic powder should be substituted per clove.

If a recipe calls for fresh garlic, the amount needed is usually listed according to how many cloves you should use. But what exactly is a clove of garlic?

What is a Clove of Garlic?

For starters, a single garlic clove is not the same as a head of garlic. When shopping for fresh garlic, you’ll find that fresh garlic is sold in whole heads – bulb-like-looking things covered in thin papery skin. Remove the outer skin and what you’ll find underneath are individual lobes, or cloves, also covered in papery skin. Break the whole cloves from the stem and remove this skin and the reward is single cloves of garlic.

You’ll see that some cloves are bigger than the others. This can make it a little tricky when a recipe calls for a specific number of cloves or teaspoons of minced garlic. In these cases, I like to consider how much I love garlic – a little or a lot? In my case, I love garlic, so I make sure to add the largest cloves I can get my hands on. In the end, how much (or how little) garlic you use is entirely up to you.

How Many Cloves in a Head of Garlic?

Most heads of garlic found at the grocery store contain on average 10-12 cloves, sometimes more and sometimes less.

How Many Teaspoons In a Clove of Garlic?

You have a recipe that calls for garlic cloves but all you have is a jar of pre-chopped garlic. This happens often, especially when cooking recipes from all kinds of sources (i.e. websites, cookbooks, hand-written on notecards).

Unfortunately, there is no exact answer. As you may recall from above, not even garlic cloves are equal in size. With that said, the general consensus across the inter-web is a ratio of 1:1 or that 1 clove of garlic is equal to approximately 1 teaspoon of minced garlic.

How Much Garlic Powder Equals One Clove

Garlic powder is significantly more potent than fresh garlic. It’s best to start with less and as more as needed. As such, approximately 1/8th of a teaspoon of garlic powder is equal to one clove.

Garlic Recipes

• Honey Garlic Shrimp
• Garlic Roasted Potatoes
• Garlic Butter Steak Bites
• Garlic Butter Sauce
• Rosemary Garlic Chicken

And in case you haven’t had a chance to read: How to Mince Garlic