Garlic is a spicy, flavorful bulb that adds a magical touch to countless dishes. But not all garlic is created equal. Whether you’re a home cook or a food processor, choosing quality garlic is key. This blog post takes a deep dive into two ways to achieve this: traditional hand picking and the modern wonder of garlic sorting machine.
For generations, the preferred method for picking quality garlic has been hand picking. This requires carefully examining each bulb, using your senses to assess quality. Here’s what to look for:
Hardness: Pick up a bulb and give it a gentle squeeze. It should feel firm and heavy. Garlic that’s soft or spongy is past its best-ever eating date.
Dry Skin: The skin should be dry and papery, not mushy or wet. Wetness can mean the garlic has gone bad or moldy.
Color: Fresh garlic has a firm, white or light purple skin with no blemishes or greening. Avoid buying garlic cloves that are yellowing or discolored, as they may have sprouted or dried out.
Sprouting: Fresh garlic should not have any visible sprouts. Sprouting indicates that the garlic is nearing the end of its useful life and may have a stronger, less desirable flavor.
While manual selection offers a tactile experience, it can be time-consuming and impractical for large quantities of garlic. That’s where garlic sorters come in.
The Rise of the Machines: Sorting Efficiency and Consistency
Garlic sorters utilize advanced technology to automate the quality selection process. Here’s how they work:
Sorting Technology: These garlic sorting machine use a variety of technologies, such as RGB cameras, infrared sensors, or a combination of both. RGB cameras excel at color sorting, ensuring consistent visual quality. On the other hand, infrared sensors can detect defects that are invisible to the naked eye, such as internal bruising or rot.
Efficiency and Throughput: Garlic sorting machines can process large quantities of garlic quickly and efficiently, greatly reducing labor costs. Throughput varies by model, so choose one that meets your processing needs.
Adaptability: Modern machines can be adapted to handle garlic varieties of different sizes and shapes. This ensures efficient sorting no matter what type of garlic you’re processing.
Choosing between manual selection and a sorter, the method that’s best for you depends on your specific needs. Here is a quick breakdown:
Manual picking: Good for small quantities, requiring careful inspection of each garlic bulb.
Sorting machine: Great for large-scale processing, ensuring consistent quality and increasing efficiency.
This article will show you which method of picking garlic is more suitable. If you want to start a garlic processing business, then choose garlic processing machinery. As it happens, we are a garlic processing equipment manufacturer, and we have a variety of garlic processing machinery, including garlic peeling machines, garlic graders, garlic packaging machines, and more. Feel free to contact us.