Lacto Fermented Garlic

I started a batch of garlic in a 2_3% Salt solution.

it fermented during a cool period around 15 degrees celsius.

Google told me to expect around 4 or 5 weeks.

I tried some and it was bitter and peppery.

not what I was expecting.  

Im not sure if I will keep it?  

A waste of my work..

How fresh was the garlic that you used - was it homegrown?

Older garlic that is starting to desiccate can sometimes develop a bitter taste.

I’ve eaten all of my last batch of lacto fermented garlic, however it remained shelf stable for several years, I tend to mainly dehydrate and/or ferment whole garlic cloves in honey when I have excess.

The lacto fermented garlic was a tan colour by the time i got around to finishing the last of it and had retained its crunch without any bitterness.

I would put it away at the back of a shelf and taste again in a few months!

Do report back if you do decide to keep it.

I found garlic to be much better after a year of fermentation than after two months. I mostly ferment it with cukes to flavor the pickles and then concentrate it into its own jars as we eat the pickles, leaving it to ferment for ages beyond what the cukes would like. Or I ferment it buried in miso, which is my favorite treatment.

I've never noticed a bitter flavor, but I seek bitter more than I think most people do, so maybe I just didn't notice.

Is it bitter because of other things in it or is there just salt and water? The batch I’m in the middle of is using 1/2 tablespoon salt per cup of water, which is what I used to make really good sauerkraut. The smell is getting so strong I had to put it on the porch so it doesn’t garlic up my house. ( the garlic I’m using is definitely not fresh, I got it at a discount food outlet) However I keep mine in the fridge when it’s done, I haven’t learned how to keep it at room temp yet.

Iv never tried the lacto fermented garlic but I know the honey garlic is best after a year. We have a batch that is 2 years old now that the family is eating like candy now lol. They hated it last year thou. Id give it time to see if it gets better if you have the space to do so.

Thank you for replies.

The garlic was 6 months old and some starting to shoot.

The wife did the honey garlic a couple years ago which we are still using.

I will keep it in the fermenter, we are coming into spring summer now.

Unfortunately the crop i have in ground now has been attacked by Cockatoos.

I should have left it netted.

Lesson learnt.

Cheers

I had no idea Cockatoos messed with garlic. Unless you count nematodes nothing messes with garlic in Iowa. The differences climate can make for a plant I thought I knew a lot about how to grow is just crazy. But the bulbs starting to sprout might have caused the bitterness?