How Many Cloves Of Garlic In A Teaspoon

I tend to cook lots of Latin and European inspired dishes, so garlic is in just about every recipe I make. If you’re following a recipe it may list whole cloves of garlic, teaspoons or tablespoons. So it’s important to understand how many cloves of garlic are in a teaspoon. The answer is 1 small sized clove of garlic = 1 teaspoon. There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. So 3 small sized cloves of garlic = 1 tablespoon. But what about if you don’t have small garlic cloves on hand?

Garlic bulbs come in 3 basic sizes, small, medium and large. These are referred to as culinary garlic, large garlic, and jumbo garlic. Small culinary garlic bulbs are around 1 3/4 – 2 inch. Medium size garlic bulbs, a.k.a. large garlic, are between 2 – 2 1/2 inch. And large jumbo size garlic bulbs are 2 1/2 inch and up. Different size bulbs produce larger or smaller size cloves. So depending on what type of bulb you use, it effects how many cloves of garlic are in a teaspoon.

1 teaspoon of garlic = 1 small clove, 1 medium clove or 3/4 jumbo clove.

When you’re cooking and the recipe calls for a teaspoon of fresh garlic, you have to look at your cloves and determine how big they are. Garlic is a strong ingredient, so you don’t want to overdo it. But you also don’t want to use too little or the flavor will be off. I say always always err on the high side because you can never get too much garlic but that’s just me.

Garlic is one of the most popular ingredients used in cooking. But it can be difficult getting the amount just right. Hopefully this article will help.

How Many Cloves Of Garlic Equal A Teaspoon?

When a recipe calls for a teaspoon of chopped, diced or minced garlic, you can either use pre-chopped garlic in a jar or chop it yourself. I prefer chopping my own garlic because it’s the freshest.

How many cloves equal a teaspoon depends largely on the size of the clove. Culinary garlic is small with bulbs about 1 3/4 – 2 inch in size. The bulbs produce small cloves around the size of a quarter. This is the perfect size for chopping teaspoons of fresh garlic.

1 clove of small culinary size garlic = 1 teaspoon.

If you buy larger bulbs of garlic, they’ll produce larger cloves. This means a clove will usually produce more than a teaspoon worth.

Small culinary size cloves produce 1 teaspoon of garlic.
Large cloves produce about 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons of garlic.
Jumbo cloves produce around 2 – 3 teaspoons of garlic.

When I shop for garlic I try to buy the small culinary size bulbs that produce small cloves. This makes measuring easier. 1 small clove = 1 teaspoon. 3 small cloves = 1 tablespoon.

How To Measure Garlic

Many recipes that call for garlic require a certain number of teaspoons, tablespoon or cloves.

Since a tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons, the teaspoon is the most important measurement to understand. Once you get a feel for how many cloves make a teaspoon, you can then scale it to tablespoons.

Generally, it takes just one small clove to equal one teaspoon. However, cloves come in a variety of sizes based on the bulb. This is why you should cook with culinary size garlic. The bulbs are small, about 1 1/2 – 2 inch in diameter and produce small cloves. Just 1 small clove produces 1 teaspoon when chopped.

Measuring chopped garlic by teaspoon or tablespoon isn’t an exact science, so try to get as close as you can. When in doubt, I usually err on the high side.

When a recipe calls for teaspoons, tablespoons or cloves of garlic, unless otherwise specified it’s referring to culinary size garlic. When your shopping at the grocery store, culinary size is the smallest bulb size.

Garlic Cloves Aren’t All The Same Size

Garlic cloves are taken from a bulb. The bulbs grow less than a foot underground with a stalk on top.

Each bulb generally produces about 10 cloves of different shapes and sizes. Even within the same bulb, each clove can be a slightly different shape and/or size. So there’s very little uniformity.

Cooking has a lot to do with feel. A small culinary size clove will produce about 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic. But sometimes you’ll get a little more and sometimes a little less.

A clove to teaspoon or tablespoon ratio is just a guide, if your cloves are really small, use 1 1/2. Or if the cloves are larger, try using 3/4 instead of the whole thing.

using a rough equivalent like 1 small clove per teaspoon will help you figure out the approximate amount of garlic to add. Then adjust the actual amount to taste.

Garlic Conversions

The amount of chopped garlic you get from one small clove is roughly one teaspoon. This assumes that the clove is fresh and somewhat moist.

If the clove is getting older and drying out, you may not get that much. It’s best to cook with fresh ingredients as much as possible if you can. Although dries garlic is still a very nice ingredient to cook with for some things.

Larger cloves produce more garlic, which is why chefs prefer using the small bulbs. That’s why they’re called culinary garlic. If you always use the same size bulbs your recipes will be more consistent. When you use small cloves, any time a recipe calls for a teaspoon of garlic, you simply chop one clove. For a tablespoon, you chop 3.

However, if a recipe calls for a teaspoon of garlic but you don’t have any fresh cloves on hand, you may need to make a substitution.

Here’s a reference for converting a small culinary size clove into other products.

1 clove of garlic = 1 teaspoon of freshly chopped garlic
1 clove of garlic = ½ teaspoon of store-bought minced garlic
1 clove of garlic = ½ teaspoon of garlic paste
1 clove of garlic = ½ teaspoon of crushed garlic
1 clove of garlic = ½ teaspoon garlic juice
1 clove of garlic = ½ teaspoon garlic flakes
1 clove of garlic = ½ teaspoon of garlic salt
1 clove of garlic = ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
1 clove of garlic = ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder

Keep in mind that substituting one form of garlic for another may change the flavor a bit.

How Many Teaspoons Is 2 Cloves Of Garlic?

The number of teaspoons you’ll get out of 2 fresh cloves depends on the size of the cloves.

In cooking we use culinary size garlic which is the smallest size bulb. A culinary garlic bulb is between 1 1/2 – 2 inches in diameter. It produces cloves about the size of a quarter.

2 Cloves of small culinary size garlic produces about 2 teaspoons of garlic.

How Many Teaspoons Is A Clove Of Minced Garlic

1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic from a jar is = to 1 small culinary size clove.

If you chop or dice a small clove, it will equal about 1 teaspoon. However, if you mine it into tiny pieces, you’ll only get about 1/2 teaspoon. The smaller you mince the garlic the less space it will take up in the teaspoon. This is because the pieces are smaller and you loose moisture as you mince.

FAQ

Here’s a small list of the most frequently asked questions we get about measuring garlic. If you have any other questions let me know by clicking here and I’ll answer and add them to the list.

Can I use minced garlic in place of garlic cloves?

It’s OK to substitute 1/2 teaspoon of jarred minced garlic for one fresh small garlic clove.But don’t substitute 1 teaspoon for 1 teaspoon. Minced garlic in a jar is stronger and produces more garlic per teaspoon than if you chopped it fresh. Use the breakdown above for substitutions.

Many people don’t like the taste of minced garlic in a jar because it has a bitterness that fresh garlic doesn’t have. So be careful when you make a substitution.

Is garlic in a jar as good as fresh garlic?

Garlic in a jar is not as good as fresh. It has a different taste that’s a little more bitter and doesn’t taste as fresh. A great chef once told me to always use as fresh ingredients as you can. Especially when it comes to herbs and vegetables. When in a jar, the garlic loses some of it’s natural moisture and texture.

Summary: How Many Cloves Of Garlic In A Teaspoon?

I tend to cook lots of Latin and European inspired dishes, so garlic is in just about every recipe I make. If you’re following a recipe it may list whole cloves of garlic, teaspoons or tablespoons. So it’s important to understand how many cloves are in a teaspoon. The answer is 1 small sized clove of garlic = 1 teaspoon. There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. So 3 small sized cloves of garlic = 1 tablespoon. But what about if you don’t have small cloves on hand?

Garlic bulbs come in 3 basic sizes, small, medium and large. These are referred to as culinary, large, and jumbo garlic. Small culinary bulbs are around 1 3/4 – 2 inch. Medium size bulbs, a.k.a. large garlic, are between 2 – 2 1/2 inch. And large jumbo size bulbs are 2 1/2 inch and up. Different size bulbs produce larger or smaller size cloves. So depending on what type of bulb you use, it effects how many cloves of garlic are in a teaspoon.

1 teaspoon of garlic = 1 small clove, 1 medium clove or 3/4 jumbo clove.

If you have any questions about garlic, email any time.