I was able to pick up a large quantity of garlic at my local farmer’s market a couple of weeks ago. I bought enough to fill up a quart sized container – so probably about 10-12 heads of garlic. I wanted to preserve it for later use and will also plant some in my garden to have some garlic in the spring. The method below is from the cookbook Real Food Fermentation – I used Alex’s pickle method and applied it to garlic. Check out my giveaway on now (until Nov 6) to win one of two of these cookbooks!
Ingredients
1 quart garlic cloves, peeled
Unchlorinated water
2 Tbsp salt – where to buy salt
2 Tbsp veggie ferment starter or whey (this is optional) – where to buy starters
Method
Place unpeeled garlic cloves in a warm oven (under 200 degrees F) for about an hour. This will help you peel them faster. One reader suggested moving them around a stainless steel bowl to get the skins off.
In parallel, boil a pot of water (about a quart). This will remove the chlorine from the water if you do not have a filter. Let the water cool down to room temperature while your garlic is warming.
Place the peeled garlic in a Mason jar or your fermentation vessel of choice.
Mix the water with the salt and starter (I used a couple of tablespoons from some sauerkraut I have brewing) or whey. Note this is optional – the salt will do the job of fermenting the garlic on its own, the starter just speeds up the process. Pour the brine over the garlic and close your jar or vessel.
If you added the starter, ferment on your counter for 48 hours and then move to your refrigerator. If you didn’t add the starter then ferment for 5-7 days on your counter and then move to your refrigerator.
I am probably going to mince half of the garlic after it ferments for easy access all winter. I will leave the rest whole for roasting, etc.
This post is featured on: Monday Mania, Sunday School, Real Food Wednesday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday
How will you store it after you mince it? Will you just return it to that jar, or place it in another jar? Will you add any brine to it to keep it moist/preserved? I LOVE garlic, and I use a ton of it, I had no idea it could be preserved though, thank you for this post!
Homemade Mommy, can you answer this question..how do you store it after its fermented? do you take it out of the liquid or keep it in? thanks! great idea!
I store it in the brine in the fridge all year.
Love this idea! I may have to finally give fermenting a try, since I use garlic in eeeeeeverything.
Lovely meeting you last night at the Bloggin’ Mama Social!
It was great meeting you too!
Great post. I really want to grow garlic sometime because we go through so much of it. I’ve heard it’s great fermented.
I assume you’re using a Fido or Pickl-It jar? In case you haven’t run into this yet, I just wanted to share that those rubber gaskets can really pick up the garlic flavor. I made a batch of fermented radishes with a few cloves of garlic, and when they were all gone I used that gasket on a jar of strawberry water kefir. My water kefir started tasting really garlicy! After that I labeled that gasket and we only use it on foods where you wouldn’t mind the flavor, like fermented jalapenos. 🙂
I use Fido jars – thank you for letting me know about the gasket! I am going to have to buy some extras I think!
How do you use fermented garlic? Is there a way to roast it after it has fermented? This is a great idea to keep garlic around all winter! I absolutely hate when I pull out a garlic head that has been laying around for a while to find out the entire thing is unusable. Thanks!
You use it just like fresh garlic. You can roast it, add it to saute recipe, etc. You are just preserving it! I really was so excited about this one too. Now I am going to do it all of the time. I am hoping the fermentation process makes it easier for us all to digest too.
Lindsey, I have never tried fermented garlic but will give it a try! I would love to have you share this on Thursday at Tasty Traditions
http://myculturedpalate.com/
Do you have to store it in the refrigerator? How long does it last after being fermented? Is there a way to store it back in the pantry or will it ruin?
You can store it in a root cellar type place – somewhere cool and dark. It should last 3-6 months – maybe even longer!
I’ve never fermented anything. I’ve been wanting too for a long time.
Is the whey as affective as buying a starter? How much whey do you
suggest using? Can i make whey by hanging some yogurt in a nut milk
bag, and letting it drip? In other words…is that what you mean by
whey? I love garlic, and I’m looking ofrward to doing this!!
Will kefir whey work?
What ever way you store your garlic, do not, NOT, try storing it in oil, batulism (sp?) will set in.
I shall try this one sometime…..But for the last 24 yrs my family and I have always relied upon my garlic, lemon and honey mixture…(Always a jar of it at the ready).. Our families ‘Tried and True’ anti-biotic,anti-parisitic,anti-viral, antifungal….and more…..Always rough amounts used..But 1 head of garlic…2 whole lemons (fresh off a tree)… 2 – 3 generous tablespoons of pure honey..Blend all together finely. Store in glass jar… refrigerate or leave out on bench.. It cures splendidly when left out on the bench..A little longer when it is refrigerated. It is one of my ‘Panacea’s’…..If bought lemons are used and not organic then I don’t use the lemon rind…Remove pips if you wish….If not purest form of honey ..supermarket honey is fine…..To be taken internally ..say a 1/2- 1 teaspoon three – four times daily dependant upon the severity of the condition. The only malady I have ever found it to be contra-indicated is conjuctivitis. as the garlic is heating and this condition requires a ‘cooling’ remedy… It can also be used as a cooking shortcut ingredient whether it be in Homemade mayonaisse or stirfry’s etc…
P.S. My husband and I have raised four children to adult life unimmunized and anti-biotic free….And believe me when I say.. we’ve had our fair share of so called childhood diseases…. Cheers From Lizzie.
When leaving the mixture “out on a bench”, does that just mean at room temperature or leave it in the sun for time??
Lindsey, Love your site. Just started fermenting and love it, but have some quick questions. I made the fermented garlic, but the garlic is floating up to the top. Is this okay or no? I thought the food was suppose to stay below the brine. This is happening with my cabbage, too, but I just keep pushing it down everyday when I open it to release the gas. Also, with my kombucha, the scoby is on the bottom of the jar, but it seems like it is making a new one on top. It’s only 4 days old. What do you think? Look forward to hearing from you! Take care, Meg
Hi Meg,
It should be fine that the garlic is floating to the top. As for the cabbage – I am surprised. Did you add water to the bring or just pound it with salt? Usually there isn’t that much water. In any event, if the ones on top don’t look agreeable to you, then just toss them and eat the rest!
As for the question on Kombucha, I am afraid I cannot answer that as I have never made my own!
This is my first year growing garlic. While getting recipes for storing it someone asked if you could use honey.
Can anyone tell me if you are able to preserve garlic in honey as opposed to a brine mixture.
thanks
john