“With the new storage I have much more control over the quality of the garlic”

The storage requirements of onions and garlic are very similar. For both crops it is important that the products dry quickly and are kept at a low relative humidity. This ensures that any fungi and bacteria can't spread further. It also keeps the colour more beautiful. “We wanted to get that drying under better control,” says Olivier Drubay. "For our way of working, it is very important that the foliage of the garlic is thoroughly dry, but that it remains strong enough to be able to braid." The garlic is harvested with a top lifting harvester and then left on the field to dry. With the investment in the new storage, this risky field period has been considerably shortened. After loading into boxes, the garlic is placed in front of the letter box and the drying process is controlled by the Vision Control with the modulating gas heaters and the automatic hatch control. Drubay is enthusiastic about drying in storage: “with the new storage I have much more control over the quality of the garlic”.

The new box storage area is equipped with 3 independent cells, all of which are equipped with a drying wall with energy-efficient fans. In total, approximately 1,000 tons of product can be stored in “closed” boxes. These have an extra-large pallet opening so that a lot of air can pass through. The mechanical cooling with natural refrigerant is installed in 2 cells and makes it possible to store the onions at 1 °C and the garlic at -3 °C.

Part of the 18 hectares of garlic grown by Drubay is already planted in the winter period and the harvest can therefore take place from the end of June. After harvesting, drying takes place in storage until a relative humidity of around 65% is reached. The boxes are then emptied onto the sorting machine and the garlic is cleaned and sorted according to size. Each garlic bulb goes through the hands of one of the employees to remove all loose skins and foliage and to put the different sizes together. “This process still requires a lot of manual work. There are up to 50 employees on the farm during the high season. It is difficult to do otherwise, because the foliage on the bulb must also remain intact for the next step in the process,” says Drubay. The sorted garlic bulbs are then placed in a low box by size.

Then strands of the garlic bulbs are braided by the braiders. This can vary from 10 bulbs in a strand up to 90 bulbs. Sometimes it is necessary to moisten the foliage again before braiding it, to give it sufficient strength so that it does not break during braiding. The last step in the process is that the strands are hung to be smoked in special smoking chambers.

Smoking garlic is an ancient storage method that originated mainly in France. In the closed smoking room, a fire of oak or beech sawdust smoulders, releasing smoke. This is a precise process, because the garlic should not be steamed until done, but it must receive sufficient heat to ensure that it no longer sprouts. The temperature in the smoking chambers is therefore accurately measured with the Vision Control climate computer. After being treated in the smoking chamber for at least 8-9 days, the desired shelf life has been reached. The garlic also gets a beautiful golden-brown colour through smoking and a smoky, special taste is created.

“We combine traditional and new storage techniques at our company,” says Drubay proudly.“ With the new storage we have taken an extra step in continuing to deliver a unique regional quality product!”