My Pickled Garlic Experiment

[Tropicalsenior]

I live in a garlic deprived household. I have one housemate who is seriously allergic to garlic and onions and I can't use them in anything. So when @liuzhou posted this picture of pickled garlic on his thread the other day, I knew that I had to have it. After searching the internet for recipes and consultation with him, I think that I have come up with a recipe that will work.

I was lucky enough to have dark soy sauce and black rice vinegar but I had no garlic. I went shopping yesterday just for garlic and I'm ready to start my experiment.

Five heads of garlic fit perfectly in a pint jar, with a little left over. I had to peel each clove individually because I had given away my garlic peeler but it's going to be worth it.

I won't go into the individual steps to do this because anyone that's done any pickling, knows what to do. Here is the finished jar. Now I have to wait three weeks until I can open it and see what I have. I'll let you know at the unveiling how it turns out.

This is the recipe that I used.

Update:

After waiting for 3 weeks to open it I was disappointed with my results so rather than start from scratch I decided to heat the brine to the boiling point and pour it back over the garlic. I waited five days more before I opened it again and it no longer had the sharp bitter taste that it had before. I am changing the recipe below to reflect the changes that I made.

Pickled Garlic

The general rule when making pickled garlic is that you need 3 parts soy sauce to 1 part vinegar and 1 part sugar. You calculate this by pouring out and measuring the water you added to cover all of the garlic cloves and using the same amount of soy sauce. The ingredient list here uses 1 cup soy sauce.

 

1 pound garlic (8 to 9 whole heads), cloves peeled and washed

1 cup dark soy sauce

1/3 cup black rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

 

Place the garlic cloves in a glass jar.

 

Fill the jar with water until the water covers about 2/3 of the garlic cloves.

 

Pour out the water and measure it. That's the amount of soy sauce you need.

 

Use 3 parts soy sauce to 1 part vinegar and 1 part sugar. (So if you need 1 cup of soy sauce, then you need 1/3 cup of vinegar and 1/3 cup of sugar).

 

Pour soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in a small pan and bring mixture to a boil; simmer for about 10 minutes and 

pour over the garlic in the glass jar. Make sure the garlic cloves are completely covered and tightly seal the jar.

Store the jar at room temperature for at least 3 weeks before opening.

After opening, store the pickled garlic in the refrigerator.

Note: for a little more flavor, I added some ginger coins and star anise to it.

 

I have all this garlic left over.

So if anyone has a favorite recipe for a garlic snack, please let me know. I'm open to any suggestions.

Edited July 26, 2021 by Tropicalsenior
Addition (log)

[donk79]

I don't have any ideas, but I suspect this thread is going to result in me making some serious garlic investment!

[donk79]

I lied.  Not going to used that much, but I have found that simmering a bulb's worth of garlic in butter before adding it to a batch of mashed potatoes is never a bad idea.

[Tropicalsenior]

1 minute ago, donk79 said:

I lied.  Not going to used that much, but I have found that simmering a bulb's worth of garlic in butter before adding it to a batch of mashed potatoes is never a bad idea.

That's a great idea and Rosario it I can still eat garlic. That way I could add it to ours and leave it plain for him. Thank you.

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, donk79 said:

simmering a bulb's worth of garlic in butter

I tried a shortcut that was a dismal failure but I think I discovered a new snack for myself. Since I only had a few loose cloves of garlic I decided to try to make it in the microwave. I sliced it very thin and put it in a small Ramekin with 3 tablespoons of butter. I then microwaved it at 4 power for about 3 minutes at a time. It showed no sign of getting soft and mushy enough for potatoes so I continue to microwave it and I wound up with garlic chips. Nice crisp little rounds of toasty garlic that were delicious. They would be great over a salad. I ate them just as they were and my breath probably would have knocked down a horse at twenty paces.

[liuzhou]

9 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

if anyone has a favorite recipe for a garlic snack, please let me know. I'm open to any suggestions.

 

My favourite garlic snack is black garlic. You can make that if you have several weeks and don't mind your house stinking of garlic for the duration. It can be made in a rice cooker. I'll say more about it in the pickles thread soon.

 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

favourite garlic snack is black garlic.

Very interesting. And all this time I have thought that the black garlic on your plates was just, well, a different variety of garlic. Obviously, you are able to buy it already made. I would love to try making it but a

A, I don't have a rice cooker B, I don't have a garage and C, I'm afraid that before it was done, I wouldn't have a housemate.

Before the days of rice cookers, how did the people keep it at a constant temperature in order to ferment it?

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Before the days of rice cookers, how did the people keep it at a constant temperature in order to ferment it?

 

Good question, to which I don't have the answer. The entire history of black garlic is mired in dissent, lies and male bovine excrement. I'll go into more detail in the other topic.

P.S. Black garlic isn't fermented.

[Tropicalsenior]

8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

other topic.

In the other thread, I asked if you had ever heard of Japanese garlic. At least that's what they called it in Mexico.

I have to say that of all the garlic snacks I've ever had, this was my very favorite one.

It has a very hard shell, is about the size of a hazelnut, and it is very sweet. All you do is crack them open and eat them. I brought about a kilo back with me but, stupid me, I never thought of planting them. Have you ever seen them in any of your travels?

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

In the other thread, I asked if you had ever heard of Japanese garlic. At least that's what they called it in Mexico.

I have to say that of all the garlic snacks I've ever had, this was my very favorite one.

It has a very hard shell, is about the size of a hazelnut, and it is very sweet. All you do is crack them open and eat them. I brought about a kilo back with me but, stupid me, I never thought of planting them. Have you ever seen them in any of your travels?

 

Nope. never heard of it, but what I know about Mexican food is almost zero. Too much c@rn, for a start!

Japanese? Maybe, but I'm doubtful.

[Tropicalsenior]

42 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Japanese? Maybe, but I'm doubtful.

I'm not surprised. If it is something they haven't seen here before they tend to tack on their own name. They call tissue paper here papel Chino because when they first started importing things from China everything came wrapped in tissue paper.

[Tropicalsenior]

A friend of mine from France just sent me his favorite garlic cheese recipe. I just made it and OMG is it good. I only made up half the recipe because it was just for me and I'm already regretting that. He said to wait 24 hours before eating it and it may not last that long.

 

Slovenian Cheese Recipe

8 oz cream cheese, softened

4 oz salted butter, softened

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons onions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon capers, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika * not the hot one

1 teaspoon fennel or caraway seeds, GROUND

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

 

Mix everything with a mixer (or by hand like I do)

Wait a good night or 24 hours rest before enjoying.

 

My Note: since I don't have onions in the house, I used dehydrated onion. I prefer dehydrated onions in dips and spreads because they give a little bit of texture and they don't get mushy.

[heidih]

So a Liptauer spread. Nice. I also like those dehydrated in dips though the fried shallots from Asian or South Asian markets are nice also.

Edited July 6, 2021 by heidih (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

27 minutes ago, heidih said:

Liptauer spread

You're right. I didn't recognize it as such but here is the identical recipe on the internet. I really like the one that I made because when I cut the recipe in half, I accidentally doubled the garlic and the onion. It sure satisfies the garlic craving.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[AAQuesada]

Garlic confit.

 

Peel garlic, then into a  small sauce pan cover 3/4 with olive oil and place on low heat until completely soft with no color. Place in a food processor or blender with enough oil to make a  smooth puree. Reserve puree and any extra garlic oil. 

 

Great in pasta sauces, aioli. Vinaigrettes ect ect. 

[liuzhou]

18 minutes ago, AAQuesada said:

Garlic confit.

 

Peel garlic, then into a  small sauce pan cover 3/4 with olive oil and place on low heat until completely soft with no color. Place in a food processor or blender with enough oil to make a  smooth puree. Reserve puree and any extra garlic oil. 

 

Great in pasta sauces, aioli. Vinaigrettes ect ect. 

 

Garlic in oil MUST be kept refrigerated or there is a real risk of botulism.

 

Quote

Research performed by the University of Georgia confirmed that mixtures of garlic in oil stored at room temperature are at risk for the development of botulism. Garlic in oil should be made fresh and stored in the refrigerator at 40 °F  or lower for no more than 7 days. It may be frozen for several months. Package in glass freezer jars or plastic freezer boxes, leaving ½-inch headspace. Label, date, and freeze.

 

https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Can-you-get-botulism-from-garlic-in-oil

 

Quote

Unfortunately, heat doesn't kill the spores, so you can't roast or sauté the botulism risk to oblivion. But, heat does destroy the toxin itself—five minutes or longer at 185 Fahrenheit should do the job, according to the World Health Organization.

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[AAQuesada]

I  always do keep refrigerated. 

 

the garlic is cooked to temp for 20/30 minutes  reducing the AW. Then the garlic is not kept in the oil 

 

It's also important to note botulism comes from the soil and is a good idea to wash / rinse the peeled cloves and remove the stem end.

 

Personally i am satisfied this will keep safely refrigerated for 7 to 10 days or longer frozen 

[liuzhou]

18 minutes ago, AAQuesada said:

I  always do keep refrigerated. 

 

the garlic is cooked to temp for 20/30 minutes  reducing the AW. Then the garlic is not kept in the oil 

 

It's also important to note botulism comes from the soil and is a good idea to wash / rinse the peeled cloves and remove the stem end.

 

Personally i am satisfied this will keep safely refrigerated for 7 to 10 days or longer frozen 

 

Yes.  you are probably correct. but I still think, any time we talk about garlic in oil, it's important to point out the risks to others who may not be aware of the possibility of serious health issues or how to avoid them. 

[Tropicalsenior]

20 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Yes.  you are probably correct. but I still think, any time we talk about garlic in oil, it's important to point out the risks to others who may not be aware of the possibility of serious health issues or how to avoid them. 

How right you are! This is a subject worth mentioning again and again. I was not aware of this for years and have often thought of the risks that I was taking.

According to the CDC, "You cannot see, smell, or taste botulinum toxin – but taking even a small taste of food containing this toxin can be deadly."

I had a slight bout of food poisoning for my birthday this year and I still think that it was the chicken breast with butter sauce with fresh garlic. It was from a restaurant that is usually  very busy, but with the pandemic and less business they probably just kept garlic in melted butter too long at room temperature.

Unless you plan to keep some in the freezer, garlic oil is so easy to make. Just make up what you need and pitch the rest. It's not worth the risk!

[Tropicalsenior]

It's also worth mentioning that an amount that can just cause a nasty case of food poisoning for younger people can be fatal for the elderly and children.

[Tropicalsenior]

Well, it's time to report back on my pickled garlic. I was supposed to open them on Wednesday but I couldn't get the jar open so yesterday Carlos opened it for me and it was a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for something that was soft and sweet and instead I got something that was almost still raw and almost took the top of my head off.

There were some cloves in the batch that had turned green but I know from prior research that that isn't a problem. In fact, the Chinese make a jade green pickled garlic that is highly prized. Maybe mine turned green because it is Chinese garlic. At the same time that I pickled the first batch I also made a batch with just a regular pickling brine. Some of that turned green, too, but in contrast to the batch made with soy sauce and black vinegar, it is quite mild in taste.

So back to the drawing board. I drained the liquid from the dark ones, sterilized the jar again, boiled the liquid and poured the hot liquid over the garlic cloves. I'll give it another week and see what happens.

Maybe garlic pickles aren't exactly what I'm looking for. Has anybody ever heard of candied garlic?

 

[heidih]

My stepmother has bought pickled garlic before and it is hard. I'd rather eat a raw clove than that stuff. In terms of "candied" i've no experience. My favorite to smear on good bread is confit in olive oil. Now that is lush and plusg. It lasts quite well refrigerated as long as you use a clean utensil and don't "double diph

[AAQuesada]

51 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Maybe garlic pickles aren't exactly what I'm looking for. Has anybody ever heard of candied garlic?

 

Maybe try simmering the garlic cloves in the soy/sugar/vinegar mixture as its reducing! 

 

Btw i tried your pickle but with chile Serrano that I sliced up and they came out fantastic. I'm going to do another batch 

[MokaPot]

1 minute ago, AAQuesada said:

Maybe try simmering the garlic cloves in the soy/sugar/vinegar mixture as its reducing! 

 

 

Yes, I was thinking maybe try blanching the garlic first.

[Tropicalsenior]

After I finished my post I got to thinking, why not candied garlic? So I went to mister Google and absolutely no help whatsoever. Someone had a concoction of garlic and honey but it sounded too much to me like somebody's idea of an old time recipe for cough syrup. However, I have made candied ginger, candied lemon and orange peels, all kinds of candied fruits and made stem ginger so I should be able to come up with a recipe for garlic. I have two more heads of garlic to go so I'm going to try one using the basic method for stem ginger and the flavor profile for the garlic pickles. The pickling liquid was delicious. The black vinegar gives it a smoky flavor that is really good. Right now I am busy peeling garlic so I will report back on the results later.