Make Garlic Even More Healthful by Fermenting It With This Recipe (2024)

Cooking School
Fermenting Food

Amber Shehan

Amber is a writer and recipe developer specializing in brewery.

Learn about The Spruce Eats'Editorial Process

Updated on 03/7/24

Tested by

Colleen Graham

Tested byColleen Graham

Freelance writer and co*cktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.

Learn about The Spruce Eats'Editorial Process

(237)

Write a Review

Trending Videos

Make Garlic Even More Healthful by Fermenting It With This Recipe (2)

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 0 mins

Fermentation: 730 hrs

Total: 730 hrs 10 mins

Servings: 50 servings

Yield: 1 pint

237 ratings

Write a Review

Add a comment

Garlic is one of the most common flavorings used around the world, considered a dietary staple in many countries; it is also known as a potent herbal medicine.Garlic is a food that is mineral-rich. It is a good source of antioxidants, vitamin B-6, vitamin C, manganese, and selenium. It has well-documented antibacterial and antiviral properties and also helps to boost the immune system. But would you believe that garlic can get even more healthy?

You can acquire garlic in many forms—fresh, dried, infused into oil, minced—but none of these quite have the same effect on the palate and the body as lacto-fermented garlic cloves.Fermenting garlic makes all of those minerals even more accessible to the body during digestion, and it also adds phenomenal probiotics to your diet.

Fermenting garlic might seem like alchemy, but it is quite easy. You'll simply make a brine with salt and water, then let it sit for a month or two and open the jar daily. The recipe fills a one-pint jar with garlic cloves, and you likely won't need all of the brine. By maintaining the 1/2 teaspoon of salt for each cup of non-chlorinated water in the brine, you can also scale it up or down for any size jar and make as much lacto-fermented garlic as you like.

You can use fermented garlic anywhere you would use fresh garlic. After fermentation, one clove almost works as well as two raw cloves.

What is Fermentation?

What You'll Need to Make This Lacto-Fermented Garlic Recipe

A Nice Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

5 to 8 whole garlic bulbs
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, or other non-iodized fine salt
2 cups non-chlorinated water

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
Peel as many garlic cloves as it takes to fill a 1-pint jar.
In a small bowl, create a salt brine by dissolving the salt in the water.
Add as much brine to the jar as needed to completely cover the garlic cloves. Don't fill the jar all the way to the top with brine.
Screw the lid loosely on the jar and set it on your kitchen counter.
Open the jar once a day to release the pressure created by fermentation. When you do this, your kitchen will smell very strongly of garlic, especially once the fermentation really gets going.
It might take a few days to a week for fermentation to begin. You will see tiny bubbles in the brine. After a bit, the brine will take on a lovely golden-brown color.
Let the garlic continue to ferment for at least 1 month for best results. Some of the best, most mellow flavors come from cloves fermented for at least 2 months. When you decide that it is done, screw the lid on firmly and place the jar in the fridge to store.

Tips

Remember to open your jar each day to release the pressure.
If you are testing the pH of the fermentation, it should reach a level below 4.6 when ready. Keeping the fermentation below 4.6 guarantees botulism will not occur.
When you finish the garlic, save the brine. Add a drop or two to savory co*cktails like bloody Marys, sprinkle in dressings or marinades, or blend with melted butter for quick and easy garlic butter.

How to Store

The fermented garlic should stay in the brine and be refrigerated in a tightly sealed jar for no longer than two months.

Black Garlic Recipe

Fermenting Food
American Food

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
4	Calories
0g	Fat
1g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 50
Amount per serving
Calories	4
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 47mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate 1g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 1mg	5%
Calcium 6mg	0%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 12mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

garlic
american
summer
ingredient

Rate This Recipe

I don't like this at all.It's not the worst.Sure, this will do.I'm a fan—would recommend.Amazing! I love it!Thanks for your rating!