My Pickled Garlic Experiment

[Tropicalsenior]

18 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

 

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

If I make the pickles again I will try that, thank you.

[AAQuesada]

39 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

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

That'll soften it up for sure! But to get that dark color i think you can just simmer in the liquid for a good 15-20 min on low then cool in the pickling liquid and it'll soften as it cooks anyway. 

 

In any case I am curious see how it all turns out 

[shain]

4 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

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

 

 

4 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I was hoping for something that was soft and sweet

 

Maybe you'r looking for something more akin garlic confit?

There is a pickles vendor in one of the markets in Tel Aviv I used to frequent some years ago. Among many goodies (amazing amba, schug, and lots of pickles) they made a spiced garlic confit with vinegar added. There was thyme and a maybe cumin or something. It was soft and sweet, slightly acidic and was just perfect over some soft bread or pita.

 

Edited to add:

That's the place. I sure should make a visit sometime!

Edited July 24, 2021 by shain (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

I just finished my first attempt at candied garlic. I'm on the right track but my first attempt was too soft and a bit too tart. It is still delicious. I only have one head of garlic left so I hope that with the changes that I'm going to make it will turn out perfect. Wish me luck. If it turns out the way that I think it will, I will share the process.

[Tropicalsenior]

26 minutes ago, shain said:

That's the place. I sure should make a visit sometime

I envy you. I wish we had something like that here.

[Shelby]

6 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

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?

 

The garlic in my pickle crocks always turns green during pickling.  Much greener than yours.  It was shocking the first time, but, like you said, it's not harmful at all.

[lemniscate]

Blanching the garlic cloves before pickling will keep the discoloration from happening.  Blanching can also tame that bite of the garlic so your head stays connected.

 

If you want it softer, you could try freezing the cloves, then defrosting before pickling, that should break the cell walls and make the cloves softer.  Disclosure:  I haven't done this, I only blanch before putting in pickling liquid.

 

If you want sweeter less harsh, maybe use a sweeter vinegar, like balsamic or malt to pickle.  Also, maybe just add some sugar or honey to the pickling liquid, couldn't hurt right?

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

It was shocking the first time,

Some of the pictures that I saw on the internet were absolutely stunning. They ranged from bright green to almost Neon turquoise.

My second attempt at candied garlic was better but still not a success. Before the liquid became a nice syrup, the garlic had gotten too soft. It is still delicious but not what I want.

@lemniscate had a great idea and it made me remember that I have about two heads of garlic in the freezer so Monday it's back to the drawing board.

I mixed the first soft batch of garlic in some cream cheese and had a great lunch of garlic cheese and crackers. As long as it is garlic it's not going to go to waste.

[Tropicalsenior]

22 hours ago, AAQuesada said:

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 

I told a friend of mine about your pickles and she wanted to know if it reduced the heat of the peppers. And also, if you remove the seeds before you made them. She loves the flavor of peppers but can't stand the heat.

[heidih]

38 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I told a friend of mine about your pickles and she wanted to know if it reduced the heat of the peppers. And also, if you remove the seeds before you made them. She loves the flavor of peppers but can't stand the heat.

On the pepper heat - though the seed removal has been touted as removing heat, I think the current consensus is that the heat is in the ribs  https://www.thekitchn.com/the-true-source-of-a-chile-peppers-heat-kitchen-facts-216983

[AAQuesada]

@Tropicalsenior in thinking more as a garnish for a  crudo but no i didn't de seed. They are pretty tasty 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

14 minutes ago, AAQuesada said:

@Tropicalsenior in thinking more as a garnish for a  crudo but no i didn't de seed. They are pretty tasty 

 

 

They look great. We can't get Serranos here so she's thinking of trying it with jalapeños.

[AAQuesada]

Good luck, should be great with jalapeño. I was going for just thick enough that they retain some crunch 

[Tropicalsenior]

I opened my pickles today again after five more days in a hot pickle brine. They are not exactly what I was looking for but they are very good garlic pickles if you are a garlic fan. The extra 5 days in the hot pickle brine did remove the hot garlic effect and they are quite pleasant to eat. I will go back to the original recipe and edit it to reflect the changes. Meanwhile, here is the result.

[Tropicalsenior]

Success! I finally got exactly what I wanted and it wasn't pickled garlic at all. I think that I have invented candied garlic, at least I couldn't find any recipes for it on the internet. What I wound up with today, thanks to the help of @AAQuesada, @MokaPot, and @lemniscate was the perfect garlic snack.

Candied Garlic

2 heads of garlic, peeled

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese black rice vinegar

15 G ginger, sliced thinly

1 star anise

 

Peel the garlic and place in the freezer overnight. Remove the next day and thaw completely.

Combine the ingredients for the syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the Heat and simmer very slowly for 30 minutes. Add the thawed garlic and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Let the garlic cool in the syrup and it is ready to eat.

Note: I suppose that this could be made with regular rice vinegar but the black vinegar gives it in rich, smoky flavor. I suppose that if I just had the rice vinegar that I would add a drop of smoke flavoring.

This is the vinegar that I used.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Tropicalsenior
Addition (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

And my very special thanks to @liuzhou for starting me down this rabbit hole in the first place.