It is the spices that can make or break a dish. So you must know the minute differences between ingredients that sound similar but are actually different in taste and flavours.
Garlic is one such ingredient that we add to various dishes to make it taste better, and it also comes in different forms nowadays. But we often confuse ourselves when to use garlic powder and when to use garlic salt.
Garlic Powder vs Garlic Salt
The difference between garlic powder and garlic salt is the presence of salt in garlic salt, whereas, in garlic powder, you will find none. So both of the spices will be very different in taste and cannot be used in each other’s place. Apart from the addition of salt, there are differences that we need to know before using them in our dishes.
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Garlic powder is the powdered form of garlic. In this process, the cloves are sliced or minced properly and then put into a dehydrator at 105f.
Once properly dried, it is left to cool down to room temperature and then processed in a mixer until it turns into powder.
Garlic Salt, on the other hand, is prepared through a different process. It simply involves mixing garlic powder and any kind of salt, preferably sea salt, in a fixed proportion and weight.
Sometimes you may find other ingredients in garlic salt, which can be different depending on the brand you are using.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Garlic Powder | Garlic Salt |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Garlic powder is prepared by grinding the dried garlic granules. | To make garlic salt, you need to mix garlic powder and salt. |
| Health benefits | Garlic powder is healthy to consume. | Garlic salt causes more harm than good. |
| Usage | Garlic powder can used both as a seasoning and spice. | Garlic salt can be used to season meals. |
| Nutrition | Garlic powder is highly nutritious. | Garlic salt is low in nutrition value. |
| Harmful | Garlic powder does not cause diseases rather helps to cure heart diseases and cancer. | Garlic salt is harmful to your health if consumed excessively. |
What is Garlic Powder?
Garlic powder is prepared by crushing the garlic cloves into powder. It is done by chopping all the cloves into the same size and then spreading them over into a dehydrator.
The required temperature should be around 160°c so that all the moisture inside the cloves is soaked and they are properly dried.
The dried cloves are then grounded in a processor to turn them into a powdery form. Garlic powder can both be used as a seasoning element and spice.
From ancient times, it has been an essential ingredient in many Indian and Chinese dishes. Many Asian and European countries also have traces of using garlic powder in their traditional dishes.
Garlic powder has high nutritional value as it has carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins and also minerals in it.
It is mainly used in preparing savoury dishes of meat fish and is often added to vegetarian dishes, soups etc. By adding garlic powder to your dish, you can elevate the flavour of your dish and also the way it smells.
However, garlic powder is very healthy to consume. It helps to improve your health if you are affected by heart disease. Out of these two, it can be said that garlic powder is safer to use and consume because of its high nutrition and flavour.
What is Garlic Salt?
Garlic Salt is made by mixing these three ingredients together- garlic powder, sea salt and calcium silicate. The ratio of the garlic powder and salt is 1:3. Thus, making garlic salt does not involve a complicated and tiresome process like garlic powder.
But to use garlic salt excessively may lead to worsening your health. As it contains salt that can increase your blood pressure and cause heart diseases.
Due to the high content of salt or sodium in garlic salt, stomach cancer can also be a potential risk. So everyone needs to keep a check on the consumption level of garlic salt.
In terms of taste, garlic salt is not that flavourful but can be used as a mild seasoning. Unlike garlic powder, it does not have many health benefits rather causes harm if consumed excessively.
Some researches also show that consuming too much salt can make your bones.
Now it’s very easy to make garlic salt at home. You just need to add garlic powder with any type of salt in a proper proportion. Though the nutrition value of garlic salt is not as high as garlic powder, it does make your dish tasty and flavoursome.
Main Differences Between Garlic Powder and Garlic Salt
- Garlic powder is the powdered form of dried garlic granules, and garlic salt is the mixture of garlic powder and salt.
- The taste of garlic powder is more close to the flavour of real garlic. But garlic salt is not that tasteful.
- Consuming garlic powder can give many health benefits, whereas garlic salt is not very healthy to consume.
- The nutrition value of garlic powder is high as it contains protein, fibre, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. But garlic salt is not that nutritious.
- While garlic powder is very flavoursome and can be used as a spice, garlic salt is not that tasteful, and it is better to use it to season things.
- https://journals.asm.org/doi/abs/10.1128/aem.66.5.2269-2273.2000
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5401602/
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
