Trader Joe's Garlic & Ginger Cubes Save So Much Time When Cooking

Trader Joe's fans are already aware of the store's many products that can save a weeknight dinner. That isn't where Trader Joe's miracles end, though. The store also has a freezer hack that will add flavor to virtually any meal.

The Dorot Gardens brand of frozen garlic cubes and ginger cubes are a must-buy from Trader Joe's. If you've ever wanted to add garlic or ginger to a meal without all of the peeling and slicing, the frozen cubes can be a game-changer.

Instead of keeping fresh garlic or ginger on hand that you'll need to peel, dice, crush, or mince before you can include it in your recipe, you can keep these small freezer cubes on hand instead. They dissolve quickly in a pan or pot but can also sit out for 30 minutes to dissolve at room temperature. And they'll stay fresh for two years in the freezer, meaning you can stock up to make sure you're always able to spice up your next recipe.

For a long time, the best options for making adding garlic to recipes easier were the giant jars of pre-minced or pulverized stuff. While these can save on time and won't go bad quickly after they've been opened, they don't work the same as fresh garlic, for a variety of reasons. Cook's Illustrated found that when the prepared stuff is directly compared to fresh cloves, the stuff in the jar just doesn't compare. The more convenient options were either too strong in all the wrong ways or were too weak to have the same flavor foodies adore fresh garlic for.

Garlic is an ingredient that's best served fresh. Once a clove of garlic is broken down, it immediately releases its main flavor compound, allicin. That sharp, stingy aroma then mellows with cooking, but it can also become unpleasant and bitter if left to sit around. Despite all of the preservative citric or phosphoric acid in the jarred varieties, they can't prevent this chemical change from happening and taking away garlics best qualities.

However, Dorot Gardens' frozen cubes are flash-frozen the moment they're processed. That halts flavor degradation, and still lets you keep an abundance of garlic or ginger ready for any occasion.

While Trader Joe's typically stocks its shelves with its private-label products, this is one offering from the chain that you can find in other stores just as easily. It's produced by Dorot Gardens, which has a convenient store locator on its website. There, you can find out if your local Safeway, Harris Teeter, or Whole Foods Market keeps the frozen flavor cubes in stock. Even if you don't have a nearby Trader Joe's, you might still be able to get your hands on them.

Another alternative inspired by these cubes is to make garlic-ginger paste at home. Breaking down garlic and ginger in a food processor is an easy preparation method that, with some additional ingredients, can help preserve valuable flavor compounds. Keeping it on hand in a jar will give you a few week's worth of delicious flavor. It can also be frozen and stored in an ice cube tray to mimic the Dorot Garden products. 

It will take extra time to batch-prep homemade ginger cubes, but this allows you to hone your preferred ratio and may save you a trip to the store as well.