Better tools and methods for making garlic powder?

I made garlic powder for the first time last year. Super tasty and a great way to use up the surplus of unmarketable ugly/damaged cloves. Bloody time consuming though


After dehydrating I used a sacrificial food processor, guessing correctly that it was going to be permanently garlic infused.

It does the job, but not real well; there are little bits of extra hard garlic that never really grind, and some ends up crazy fine dust by the time most of it is about right.

The lack of uniformity is not a big deal, but... it looks like the very hard bits are actually slowly eroding the plastic bowl of the processor as they spin about.

I do not want plastic dust in my garlic powder!


What superior device will save me from this horror? and perhaps do a better job?


Bonus question; what is your better dehydrating method, compared to manual peeling and slicing thin? The goal being powder at the end, so some degree of uniformity and crunchiness is needed..

would the food processor work on the garlic raw? making it into a garlic slurry beforehand might work better than waiting until it was dried and harder than a rock, might have to add water to get it running through properly. you would need something like fruit leather trays to dry it, of course. only other way I can think of would be to use a mortar and pestle, either before drying or after, though I imagine 'after' would prove to be a workout and a half.

Use a glass blender? You would still have the issue of it not all being the same size but no bits of plastic.

I use a coffee grinder for mine. Specifically this kind: https://www.amazon.com/Grinder-Conical-Ceramic-Brushed-Stainless/dp/B085ZTCKZX?ref_=s9_apbd_onr_hd_bw_bx8Bt&pf_rd_r=Q05WGP5DWR6WQ22054CF&pf_rd_p=2d88c973-d4ce-5b6e-8797-43ed82e7a3bc&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-11&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=14092841

I caught them on sale and bought 2 for $20. One is dedicated to eggshells, and one to garlic. (I already had one for actual coffee.)

I roast my garlic first, then slice it before drying. Thin slices grind more easily, and I think the flavor is smoother after roasting.

To make garlic powder we slice the garlic, dehydrate it on stainless steel cookie sheets, then grind it in our old Osterizer glass blender jar. Yes, there are a few chunks. You can sift them out and reserve for use in soups, etc. Or you can grind them up with a mortar and pestle as needed. The garlic powder gets clumpy in storage, so making smaller amounts as you go avoids that problem.

I spread the peeled garlic in a glass bowl & leave it in the car parked in a sunny spot for a week or so. Then use a coffee grinder to pulverize it.

I'm with Morgwino Stur, I mash it, then dehydrate it. I do that with a lot of things. You lose a bit of flavor, but it's SO much easier.

When I use a coffee grinder I like this type: KRUPS F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder with Stainless Steel Blades not necessarily that brand, but that type. Why? Because in a lot of years of abuse, (and I grind some horrifying stuff in it!) I have yet to manage to kill it. I can kill any machine, but that ones tough! My second choice is an old fashioned mortar and pestle made of marble. Can't kill that one either.

I'm a coffee grinder person to make the powders.
First I take raw garlic, pulse it in my food processor until it is a slurry, then spread on dehydrator mats that I only use for garlic and onions and dehydrate - then whir them in my designated coffee grinder. I always buy the grinders at Goodwill for a couple of bucks. This method has gotten me a good powdery situation with garlic.
Oh, and I dehydrate the garlic outside in our greenhouse because DANG it's pungent.
I also use coffee grinders to do our powdered herbs and also I have one for salt that I grind up extra fine to use on popcorn. I think I've got 3 now to use for all the things.