Preserved Garlic: Two Ways
Garlic has excellent antibacterial and antimicrobial properties and I like to incorporate more garlic into my diet during the cold and flu season as a delicious, preventative precaution.
These simple recipes help to make raw garlic more palatable. The Sweet Preserved Garlic can be used as a tea or simply just something to pop into your mouth and snack on. The Savory Preserved Garlic can be used to make dressings, soups, or a stir-fry. A simple recipe that I like to make when I have a cold is to poach an egg and then mix in some of the miso (that now has a garlic flavor!) into the water along with thinly sliced preserved garlic. Add some chili oil and fresh herbs and call it a day.
Like a fine wine, both of them just get better and better with age. I like to give the Sweet Preserved Garlic a minimum of a month but things really start to get interesting after a year or two. The flavors mellow out and it becomes almost candy-like.
INGREDIENTS
Sweet Preserved Garlic
1 cup peeled garlic cloves
1 medium claw of ginger, peeled & sliced into thin strips
Local, raw honey
Savory Preserved Garlic
1 cup peeled garlic cloves
~8oz red miso, divided
DIRECTIONS
Sweet Preserved Garlic
In a sterilized pint mason jar add garlic and ginger.
Pour in just enough honey to cover all cloves and pieces of ginger. You may need to stir slightly.
Cover the jar and set aside in a dark, cool place for at least 1 month. Garlic and ginger pieces may float so if feel free to use a sterilized fermentation weight to press pieces down.
Savory Preserved Garlic
Mix all but 3 Tbsp miso with garlic in a non-reactive bowl.
In a sterilized quart mason jar pack in miso garlic mixture. Try to make sure that there are no air pockets. Spread remaining 3 Tbsp of miso on top.
Store in a dark, cool area for a minimum of 6 months. If the garlic cloves are large then it is best to let the mixture sit for a year.