Don't you just hate it

[Callalily]

when this happens? No matter how careful I am picking out garlic cloves, there are times when they begin to sprout when I have them home for a short while after purchase.

[Aerows]

1. Plant the sucker!

You never know, you could get some great heads out of those cloves!

[pinto]

2. Second that. Plant it or use the cloves and green sprouts as is.

I've planted some that have sprouted and used the greens like spring onion tops. Great for eggs.

[Major Nikon]

3. I keep mine in a paper bag in a dark spot

Hanging baskets are good too if you have a dark area to hang them.

[SheilaT]

4. Oddly enough, that's never happened to me.

Sometimes my onions sprout, but never my garlic. My garlic simply gets old and gets nasty spots and I have to toss it and go buy more. I don't use a lot of garlic and it's not very expensive.

But I'm curious. Could this be some sort of climate thing? Where do you live? I'm in Santa Fe where it's dry. Are you in a moister place?

[NJCher]

5. not so fast, dearie

Sprouted garlic has heart-healthy qualities:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140226101823.htm


'Sprouted' garlic -- old garlic bulbs with bright green shoots emerging from the cloves -- is considered to be past its prime and usually ends up in the garbage can. But scientists report that this type of garlic has even more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than its fresher counterparts. They found that garlic sprouted for five days had higher antioxidant activity than fresher, younger bulbs, and it had different metabolites, suggesting that it also makes different substances. Extracts from this garlic even protected cells in a laboratory dish from certain types of damage. "Therefore, sprouting may be a useful way to improve the antioxidant potential of garlic," they conclude.


Cher

[freshwest]

6. That's what I thought. I wouldn't hate it, I'd just eat the sprouts, too. Living food is good.