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Edible Garlic Recipe

Wesley Kohn

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In researching my mother-in-law's ailments, we kept running across Garlic as a very good treatment. Popping whole garlic cloves is not pleasant. They are too big to swallow whole and the flavor too strong to chew.

Recently my wife found a solution in "Weck Small-Batch Preserving" by Stephanie Thurow. Most of the book is on various recipes for fermenting foods. Fermenting garlic turns out to mellow its flavor somewhat, and make it taste sort of like you soaked it in butter. It is very easy to get my mother-in-law to take garlic now.

As to its effectiveness? I am forbidden by the boss to post pictures of our family online, but what I saw yesterday was surely worthy of a before & after picture. She had the typical "old-lady grey skin" when she moved in with us just one month ago. I came home yesterday and she actually had pink cheeks! We started giving her garlic only two weeks ago. And despite it being winter when arthritis does its worst - she starting to sleep through the night without having to take a pain pills.''

One fermentation trick my wife does to keep the garlic submerged is to place an ordinary Ball Jar lid on top of the garlic then use marbles as weights. This seems to work better than glass weights as the garlic is very buoyant and kept tipping the weight. The marbles are forcing it to stay submerged.

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Mk Neal

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I don't know about any particular health benefits, but I love this sort of fermented garlic! It ends up with a mild almost roasted flavor. Plus the garlic brine is an excellent addition to soups and sauces, particularly if you are looking for a vegan umami "oomph."

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Marilyn Paris

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This recipe sounds wonderful. I am going to try it using an airlock.
I am not a real fan of raw garlic because of the burn. Fermenting sounds like that will solve this. But also will discovering the right variety.
I decided that I need to expand my market garden for something that has a very high demand. That would be garlic. The advice was to grow the variety that I like to eat. Well, I don't eat much garlic. I knew practically nothing until I got myself in gear and did some research.
I learned the properties of scores of hard neck varieties. I planted 1200 cloves of 7 different varieties. Most of the varieties I planted definitely need to be cooked in my opinion. Or fermented, which is a new thought for me. Thank you for posting.
The one variety I am most interested in for myself is Spanish Roja. What a delight to chew a clove raw and not get burned. All my research paid off; I have 219 Spanish Roja planted but not sure how many I will be willing to part with for the market garden in 2020. This is my first year planting garlic. Next year I should really know what I am doing.
I like to chew up one Spanish Roja clove before bedtime. It helps you sleep. Marilyn, making 2020 the best year ever

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Kena Landry

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Roasting whole garlic cloves (peel and all) alongside root vegetables also makes it very good. The pungency converts into caramelized sweetness (same as how raw onions turn into caramelized goodness with heat).

Indian food is also very rich in garlic and ginger. Even my daughters, who generally shy away from strong pungent tastes, will gobble bowls and bowls of dhal packed full of garlic and ginger (sautéed with spices, and added at the end in a pot of molten orange lentils)

Anne Miller

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Wesley Kohn wrote: As to its effectiveness? I am forbidden by the boss to post pictures of our family online, but what I saw yesterday was surely worthy of a before & after picture. She had the typical "old-lady grey skin" when she moved in with us just one month ago. I came home yesterday and she actually had pink cheeks! We started giving her garlic only two weeks ago. And despite it being winter when arthritis does its worst - she starting to sleep through the night without having to take a pain pills.''

One fermentation trick my wife does to keep the garlic submerged is to place an ordinary Ball Jar lid on top of the garlic then use marbles as weights. This seems to work better than glass weights as the garlic is very buoyant and kept tipping the weight. The marbles are forcing it to stay submerged.

Wesley, how much garlic are you giving your mother in law per day? And how often? Does she take some at night?

This article gives the health benefits of taking raw garlic in a garlic supplements:

https://draxe.com/nutrition/7-raw-garlic-benefits-reversing-disease/

And this one is about using Black Garlic, seems fermenting would give the same benefits and is easier:

https://draxe.com/nutrition/black-garlic/

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Mike Barkley

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Someone recently tossed me down the black garlic rabbit hole. First batch is going now. Really don't what to expect but it sure smells good. I'm fairly certain this experiment will be a keeper!!!

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Marilyn Paris

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Location: Hillsdale County, Michigan, zone 5B

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Mike--I read the Dr. Axe article. He says you can use a rice cooker. I suppose I could use my Instant Pot and when I want to use the Instant pot remove the garlic for a couple hours while my beans cook. What are the details how you are making your black garlic? Are you peeling it first? Are you using a rice cooker? How are you keeping the humidity high?

thanks. Marilyn, who is going to have more than a hundred pounds of garlic for sale for the market starting in August. I've been thinking of ways to preserve it in case it doesn't all sell as fresh cloves. Powdered black garlic is one idea. I wonder what anyone else here would do with a hundred pounds of garlic that didn't sell. So far I only thought of making garlic powder. Black garlic powder sounds very exotic.

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Skandi Rogers

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Does anyone have a method for black garlic that does NOT use electricity? Running a slow cooker for a month here would cost over $30 Perhaps compost could be used?

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Tereza Okava

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We do a few things with garlic:

-as mentioned, roasted garlic. You can just wrap a head or two in foil and throw it on the barbecue grill or in the oven if you already have it on for something else, and roast it til it's very soft (squeeze it to check). Spread it on bread instead of butter or cheese, or use it in cooking, it provides an amazing taste that I can only describe as "fancy". It's the secret ingredient in a tomato/rice/bean soup I make.
I've also had it in Japan in barbecue restaurants, cooked the same way but with the top of the head cut off and a bit of miso smeared into it before it was grilled. Take it out when it's soft but not yet squishy and it makes a fabulous appetizer.
-garlic soy sauce (or aminos, tamari, what have you)- occasionally I want a garnishing soy sauce with a garlic taste-- I have a bottle of soy sauce that I half-fill with fresh garlic cloves and top off with soy sauce, let it sit a week or two before using. Keep it refrigerated. After a few months, the soy sauce loses its bite. I take the "spent" garlic and throw it in whatever Chinese or Korean dish I'm making along with some fresh garlic, and then start all over again.
-pickled garlic, in a salt brine. This recipe looks a lot like how I learned to make it in Japan https://www.thespruceeats.com/korean-pickled-garlic-2118848

My mother in law buys large amounts of garlic, usually before her daughters in law come over (smart lady) and then ropes everyone into peeling them all at the same time. This she freezes, sometimes chopping or blending it first, so she doesn't have to peel garlic with her 82-year-old hands, and it also isn't quite as hard on her stomach as fresh garlic.

Ben Veenema

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Honey is another great way to ferment garlic. Just add peeled garlic to a jar, cover with raw honey and leave in a warm spot out of direct sunlight. They like to float in the honey too so a lid with weights is necessary to keep them down.

The honey will get watery thin and there will be some sediment/lees on the bottom of the jar. The most fermentation happens in the first couple weeks and you'll need to burp the jar every day or so. After a month, smaller garlic pieces will be ready, larger pieces may take a couple months or more. The garlic is get softer, and a little chewy which is a nice pairing with the honey. I like to get a garlic clove out with a teaspoon and eat the honey that comes with it too.

I've heard the honey is good brushed on pizza crust but I personally haven't tried it and am still figuring out how to use the leftover, thin honey.

I've found that mild garlics work the best for this.

The nice thing is the honey fermented garlic is shelf stable.

Tereza Okava

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Ben Veenema wrote:
I've heard the honey is good brushed on pizza crust but I personally haven't tried it and am still figuring out how to use the leftover, thin honey.

I am drooling just thinking about this. On some nice rye sourdough? on soft pretzels?

Robin Katz

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Fermenting garlic does make it less strong in my experience. I have a quart of garlic fermenting now because it's so good. I always add it to my dill pickles and the garlic stays nice and crunchy.

There are two other ways of getting more garlic that I use regularly. The first I learned in by Chinese Medicine training because garlic is used as an antiparisitic, among other things, and the dosage is one bulb (not clove) per day. The preparation is to steam the peeled and sliced garlic with a tiny amount of water for about 30 seconds. Taste it and if there is still a bite, steam a little longer. You want to remove the bite but not overcook. I have modified this by sauteing the garlic in some butter until the bite is gone, then spoon it all on a piece of bread. I have never had it upset my stomach this way and it tastes wonderful. I've found myself craving this "medicine" when I feel myself getting sick. It's great for head colds too.

The other thing I'm doing is taking garlic that's starting to sprout and planting each clove close together with about 1 inch spacing into a pot of soil and putting it on the window sill. It will put out nice green sprouts which I harvest, roots and all, and use in all kinds of foods. The green garlic is milder than the clove and has a nice green taste. If you let them get big then the clove disappears into the soil and it leaves just the sprout, like a green onion. They usually don't last that long in our house. I have a couple of 6" pots going at any one time.

Olga Booker

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Great recipes!

Garlic pickle is great. I have been making it for years and my daughter-in-law would bite my hand off to get a jar. The honey and garlic is brilliant and it works really well for coughs.

My great uncle, AKA 1876, rubbed a clove of garlic on an old crust of bread and ate it first thing in the morning and every single day of his life. Never saw a doctor in his life. A more appetising version might be the Italian bruchetta. Rub a clove of garlic on a toast (French or Italian bread is very good) drizzle some olive oil, add some chopped, juicy, ripe tomato, salt and pepper and basil. You can add anything else you want like feta cheese, olive, onions or different fresh herbs.

Loads of garlic thinly sliced and fried until brown and crispy, dry on absorbent towel, mix with salt and chilli powder to taste. Will keep a few days and is good sprinkled on cheese toast, dahl, rice etc...

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Mike Barkley

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What are the details how you are making your black garlic? Are you peeling it first? Are you using a rice cooker? How are you keeping the humidity high?

I'm using a borrowed crockpot like device with a stay warm feature. 140F degrees. Did not peel. No extra water, just filled it with garlic. It's been going almost a week but judging by condensation on the lid the humidity is taking care of itself. It's completely on it's own for another two weeks.

A rice cooker? Not me. I'm mostly a cast iron guy. I also try to avoid things with plugs. If this first batch turns out half as good as expected I'll attempt making black garlic via a solar cooker when spring gets a little closer.

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Denise Cares

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Garlic is great for balancing gut microbiome. Thanks for all the tips on how to grow and prepare it.

Marilyn Paris

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My black garlic is done! I vacuum sealed every bulb and my house did not smell like garlic at all the whole time it has been in my Excalibur these last three weeks. It tastes very sweet and chews like a gummy bear.

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Mike Barkley

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For anyone who is interested ... my black garlic in a crock pot experiment came out good. I did add a little water about half way through. One split open & about half of that one dried out so I ground it up & added to some dried garlic powder. The remainder has a texture about like raisins with a subtle but rich earthy flavor. Some were a little moister than others so I think mixing them every few days in the crock pot might give slightly more consistent results. Twenty whole garlics made one pint jar of finished & peeled black garlic.

I used some to make gumbo. The subtle flavor got lost in the other spices. I'm guessing it will do better in simple soups. My gumbo has attitude!!!

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Pearl Sutton

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My last batch I peeled my garlic and put it in small glass jars, then put it in the cooker. Once or twice while it cooked, I dumped it into a bowl and mixed it well, then put it back into it's little jars. Made a LOT of very consistently blacked garlic. I can get over twice the amount in per batch by peeling and jarring it. No lids on the jars, I put a bit of foil on the tops, not sure I needed to. It's incredibly easy to use since it's peeled. Peeling is tedious, but I will be doing it that way from now on, that was by far the best batch I have made.

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Marilyn Paris

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I've been popping sections out of the paper of my black garlic and munching on them for snacks. I never thought I'd be eating garlic like this.

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Pearl Sutton

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I started a new batch today. I still want them to be peeled, that works SO well, but the garlic is nice and fresh and being a total PITA to peel. So I separated all the cloves really well, and put them in the cooker in a container. I'll give them a few days, then take them out and peel them, and put them back in to finish.

If anyone is interested, I use a second hand stainless steel electric frying pan, set to 140 (I got it right, then marked it on the controls. To stabilize the temperature and prevent scorching (after a bad batch) I broke a piece of floor tile up, and laid the pieces in to fill the whole bottom one nice flat layer deep. The set up works well, I have had no issues with it since I tiled it. I had the cloves in small glass canning jars last time, this time, at the moment, they are in a pan (spring-form cake pan, actually, it's what fit) and that gives me a lot of depth, and I plied it. There will be a lot out of this batch!

Pan like this. I got it at a second hand store for 5.00. When it turned out to work SO well for what I'm doing, I picked up two more when I saw them. I think one of them cost me 7.00. Worth it to me, I have backups of a good system now, and parts I can swap as needed. Farberware Stainless Steel Electric 12 inch skillet.

Carina Hilbert

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I don't know where to start. I want to make all the garlic things! Black garlic! Garlic honey! Fermented garlic!

I did not plant enough garlic last fall. Sixty bulbs just isn't going to be enough with all these options. Hmm.

John F Dean

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We dehydrate our garlic.

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

Pearl Sutton

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Update on that last batch I did. Took it out of the cooker today!
I pulled of all the loose papery stuff, then put it in, all broken into cloves, for a couple of days, then took it out and peeled them easily. Put them back in. This is what I ended up with:

The pan full there is 8 inches wide by 3 inches deep. It's hard to tell how much I started with, as things changed multiple times. I estimate about 4 pounds of garlic. Cook time was 11 days at 140F.

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Roy Edward Long

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I like to sprout the garlic and eat the greens, not sure if that has the same medicinal effect as eating the cloves or not. As a green they are a bit less potent and actually "quite" tasty. I use the greens in salad, soups, stir fries and just as a snack.

Burl Smith

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I haven't had crystalized ginger in a while but those garlic cloves preserved in honey are delectable!

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Rebecca Norman

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I've been making garlic confit the past couple of autumns. It lasts for ages, as long as you keep it well submerged in the oil. Takes only an hour, on low heat on the stove in the kitchen.

It makes the garlic very mild, sweet and spreadable, much like roasted garlic. I don't make confit of all the garlic I want to keep for the winter, but it is lovely. I like to make a kilo (two pounds) of garlic into confit every fall, but if I were using the confit more often I'd happily make much more.

Epicurious on garlic confit:

First step: Get yourself a lot of garlic. Then peel the cloves, submerge them in olive oil, and cook over very, very low heat. Within an hour, the garlic will be soft, rich, and spreadable.

By the way, I also made a batch of salted Moroccan lemons, which is another easy, yummy, umami, preservation method. (In this picture it's the Indian "lemons" that are lime sized. Lemons with thicker skin would probably be tastier because the skin turns out the best. And I cut them in quarters instead of keeping the quarters attached in the round. Google it if you're interested.)

20200915_salted_lemons_and_garlic_confit.jpg

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Burl Smith

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Pearl Sutton wrote: Peeling is tedious,

Peel a whole bulb of garlic in 20 seconds:

Litter As An Edible Forest

Cat Knight

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Ben Veenema wrote:Honey is another great way to ferment garlic. Just add peeled garlic to a jar, cover with raw honey and leave in a warm spot out of direct sunlight...

The nice thing is the honey fermented garlic is shelf stable.

So I use something like this as a remedy for colds with sore throat. I mince garlic and mix it in honey (2 cloves to 1/4 cup) and add a little cayenne. Keep it in the fridge and take a teaspoon twice a day. When you suddenly find it tastes strong, you no longer need it. This usually happens around day 3. I don't know where I got this medicine from, but I've used it with at least 5 people who now swear by it and my partner without the cayenne because of a capcasin allergy who also agrees it is effective. It also tasty on chicken.

The reason I bring this up is because you can use it raw and have it be effective in a pinch, or perhaps the ferment will be just as or more effective.

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Catherine Guzovich

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Even though this information is a bit late to the post, here is a recipe for Russian Garlic Salad. Be careful, because after this has set in the refrigerator for the prescribed time, the garlic takes on a slightly lemony nutty taste and it is easy to forget you are eating garlic. If you eat too much of this, you will ward off mosquitoes and vampires for several days.

Russian Garlic Salad, Frugal Gourmet cookbook

30 garlic cloves, cleaned and peeled
1⁄2 cup olive oil
1⁄4 cup lemon juice
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
1⁄2 teaspoon oregano (optional)

Blanch the whole cloves of garlic in boiling water for 5 minutes.
Remove and plunge into cold water.
Drain.
Mix with the remaining ingredients.
Allow to marinate for 5-7 days in the refrigerator before serving.
The salad is served as it is, in small bowls alongside the main plate.
Or you may chop this up and add it to a layered green salad.

Rebecca Norman

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Dehydrating garlic hasn't been discussed on this thread yet. Maybe it's not related to the original question, but I find it wonderfully useful. I dry it in chunks and throw it into curries, soups, spaghetti sauce, etc. It can be ground up for powder, which is also useful.

And I finally really did find a trick for peeling small garlic cloves! This actually works, unlike those cutesy videos that come up in my social media. Cut the cloves in half in their skin. You can even do this right through a whole bulb. Ideally cut off the root end, too. Now dehydrate them. I do it on the roof in the desert sun. When they are at least partially dried, they will have shrunk away from skins and you can rub them gently between your hands and the skins crumble right off.

20221127_drying-garlic-on-roof.jpg

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Kate Medland

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We ferment our garlic for 3 months in raw honey! It's spectacular. Favourite treat!

james cox

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"And I finally really did find a trick for peeling small garlic cloves! This actually works, unlike those cutesy videos that come up in my social media. Cut the cloves in half in their skin. You can even do this right through a whole bulb. Ideally cut off the root end, too. Now dehydrate them. I do it on the roof in the desert sun. When they are at least partially dried, they will have shrunk away from skins and you can rub them gently between your hands and the skins crumble right off."

that is a great tip for peeling, i will try it and use my dehydrator since i don't live in the desert. i have used the soaking method and it works too. i grind mine in my hand meat grinder for dehydrating and once dried i put it in jars to store. when i want to use some i put it in the mortar and grind it, then filter. i get powder, granules, and small chips. the chips i put in a pepper style grinder and put it on the table beside the salt and pepper for the garlic lovers.
i'm wondering do you grow mainly a softneck or hardneck variety there.
it's also amazing to me that at 10500' you are still zone 5. it looks so barren. i read that garlic was traced back to one of the countries north of there, uzbekistan or kazikstan, somewhere in that neighbourhood. should be some pretty incredible heirloom/ old heritage garlic in those mountains.

I'm not lost because where ever I go there I am and that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

Rebecca Norman

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james cox wrote:
i'm wondering do you grow mainly a softneck or hardneck variety there.
it's also amazing to me that at 10500' you are still zone 5. it looks so barren. i read that garlic was traced back to one of the countries north of there, uzbekistan or kazikstan, somewhere in that neighbourhood. should be some pretty incredible heirloom/ old heritage garlic in those mountains.

Interesting about the origin of garlic. I had no idea it was from this Central Asian region! But from older people it sounds like most people weren't growing garlic 60 years ago in this particular region. Well one part of the region did and others would get it from there, but it wasn't commonly grown. Hmm, now I think I should find out more.

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james cox

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Hmm, not I think I should find out more.

darn, rebecca, now i have to rummage through all my unpacked book boxes(we recently moved) and dig out my garlic books. i will get back with some info. this is my third year growing garlic(2000 bulbs, seed mostly from the previous 2 year) so still learning a lot. most folk when they smell my dried garlic go wow, and then they say it backwards, wow! only the garlic lovers tho.

I'm not lost because where ever I go there I am and that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

james cox

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Location: north okanagan

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posted 2 years ago

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here is a bit of info on the history/origins of garlic from one of the first books i bought about garlic. and pics of my 2022 harvest and my dehydrated garlic. hope the attachments show up.

great-garlic-book.jpg

history pages from the "complete book of garlic"

some-small-bulbs-still-in-the-fridge-from-2022.jpg

down to the last couple of dozen and starting to dry out

my-dehydrated-garlic.jpg

ground and dried not to be confused with granola

I'm not lost because where ever I go there I am and that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

james cox

Posts: 100

Location: north okanagan

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posted 2 years ago

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hope the attachments show up.

well guess that didn't go as expected. i will try the pics instead.

1st-page.jpg

2nd-page-1st-column.jpg

2nd-page-2nd-column.jpg

I'm not lost because where ever I go there I am and that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

james cox

Posts: 100

Location: north okanagan

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posted 2 years ago

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hope you can turn your screen on end to read or lay on your side. sure hope to get better at this media stuff, eh?

I'm not lost because where ever I go there I am and that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

Staff note (John F Dean) :

No problem I fixed it.

Constancia Wiweru

Posts: 65

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posted 2 years ago

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Anne Miller wrote:

Wesley Kohn wrote:
This article gives the health benefits of taking raw garlic in a garlic supplements:

https://draxe.com/nutrition/7-raw-garlic-benefits-reversing-disease/

And this one is about using Black Garlic, seems fermenting would give the same benefits and is easier:

https://draxe.com/nutrition/black-garlic/

Thanks for the links. We discovered black garlic while living in Korea. The neighbor who introduced it to me said, "Tastes like candy." I still make it and we do eat it just like candy!

As for raw, the only way I can tolerate it is the lemony Middle Eastern sauce, used for dipping. I think I could eat an entire cup of it. https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/lebanese-garlic-sauce/ I've made it myself and tried a few different restaurants. Still working on trying to get a batch that is as smooth and tastes as delectable as the first time I tried it.

I like growin' stuff.

Leanne Opaskar

Posts: 21

Location: Front Range Colorado (USDA 5B, Sunset 1-2)

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posted 2 years ago

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That Lebanese sauce looks incredible. I’ll have to try that.

My system has been cranky since I moved states in 2020, and I’ve been sick for the last couple weeks with a virus. I set a batch of garlic on to ferment, and we’ll see how it turns out.

This didn’t stop me from snacking on a couple of tiny raw cloves while peeling. Apparently my system is in agreement that garlic is a good idea!

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