Pickled Garlic

Whole cloves kept under vinegar, which turns them green and then blue-green before they settle.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 300 g garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
• 400 ml rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Peel the cloves but do not cut or crush them. A cut clove goes soft in vinegar within days; a whole one stays firm for months.
2. Warm the vinegar with the sugar and salt until they dissolve, then take it off the heat and let it cool completely.
3. Pack the cloves into a clean jar and pour the cooled vinegar over until they are covered. Press any floaters down.
4. Seal it and leave it somewhere cool and dark.
5. Expect the cloves to turn green, and then a startling blue-green, over the first two or three weeks. This is a reaction between compounds in the garlic and the acid, not spoilage, and the colour fades back towards pale gold as the months pass.
6. They are pleasant at a month and better at three. Keep them under the vinegar and they will last the best part of a year in a cool cupboard.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under China · All recipes