How to Ferment Garlic – Lacto-Fermented Garlic

Have you always wondered how to ferment garlic in brine? Fermenting garlic is really easy to do. All you need is some good quality ingredients to get started. Those ingredients are organic (preferably) garlic, filtered water, and himalayan salt. That is basically it. In 3 months you can have some wonderful fermented garlic!

The Pros of Fermented Garlic

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If you don’t like eating raw garlic because it is too spicy, but still want the benefits, fermented garlic is a perfect choice. After garlic ferments for several months, the spicy taste calms down a lot. Every batch will be different, but from all of the batches that I’ve made they were much less spicy that regular raw garlic. Not to mention, much easier to digest. Not only does it provide those awesome probiotics that are wonderful for the tummy, but it calms done the harshness of garlic that is hard to digest raw.

The Power of Salt – How to ferment garlic

I like to eat raw garlic, or fermented garlic when I am feeling unwell. Fermented garlic is salty and crunchy. Thats right, you might think that garlic sitting around in water for 3 months might get soft, but it doesn’t. That is the power of salt!

Supplies:

Amazon affiliate links below to show you what I use when fermenting!

• Mason Jar, size of your choice
• Fermentools a starter kit or grab a 6 pack so you can ferment more at a time.
• Wooden Spoon
• Toothpicks or other small wooden spoon for tasting when done fermenting. (Don’t use metal or plastic if possible, and if not possible only use high quality stainless steel)

Ingredients:

• Enough garlic to fill up your mason jar, leaving 1-2 inches of headspace at the top.
• 3% brine
• Filtered water

Directions:

1. Peel all of the garlic, try to keep it intact as much as possible.
2. Add the garlic to the mason jar until it’s almost full, leaving a 1-2 inch head space.
3. Add 1-2 glass weights on top of the garlic.
4. Mix brine, add your measurement of salt and water to a separate jar and mix until the salt has dissolved. Learn how to calculate how much salt to water ratio by using this brine calculator.
5. Ferment for 3 months or more, make sure to store away from light in temps between  60 – 70ºF. It gets better with age! I usually start eating it after 3 months, but the flavors are even better if you ferment it for much longer.

Throw out the garlic if you see any sign of mold. Fermented garlic has a strong odor of garlic, be prepared for this. Sticking it in a cabinet that doesn’t get opened very often will help cut down on the stench! I happen to love the smell, lol! If you smell the garlic and it smells bad, like its gone bad, check it for mold. Remember if you see mold, the whole batch is bad. Mold grows in wet, warm conditions.  A high enough salt content should keep out mold, so if you are seeing mold you may have not calculated the salt content properly. If you need help with this leave me a comment!

 

How to Eat Fermented Garlic:

• Any recipe that would keep the garlic raw. You don’t want to cook it, because it would loose some beneficial bacteria.
• In a green salad. Enhance the taste of a plain old salad with fermented garlic!
• In a pesto, like my Kale and Basil Pesto!
• In a wrap, or on a sandwich. I love eating garlic this way!
• Garlic Hummus calls for garlic, and fermented garlic will add tons of flavor!

 

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