How to pickle garlic: 5 cooking recipes

Garlic takes a special place in the list of plants. Surprisingly, it is eaten only by humans, and with pleasure and benefit to the body. It is perfectly stored fresh until almost a new harvest, without losing its taste qualities. But there are also many recipes for its preparation, if you want to treat yourself to a savory taste. One of the main ways is to pickle it. The choice of recipes is large, each has the right to exist, opening a new facet of the flavor of this plant.

Garlic Secrets

Garlic has been known for a very long time, as have its health benefits. It has a powerful antiseptic, antibacterial effect, is used in folk medicine recipes as an excellent anthelmintic, keeps off colds and viral diseases. Its pungent smell is due to the presence of special phytoncides, which also have a disinfecting effect.

Garlic is unpretentious to growing conditions, can do without fertilizers, grows with minimal watering. Numerous varieties have been bred. The main division goes by the term of planting: spring and winter. Determine visually very easy. It is enough to break the head into prongs. If there is a rigid stem-base inside, it means it is winter. The taste does not depend on the species.

All parts except the roots are edible. The main value is the garlic head itself, but no less tasty and useful are the young leaves and arrows that have not yet flowered. They are also successfully marinated, you get a very tasty and quite unusual snack for everyday dinner and festive table. Crunching like young cucumbers, the arrows have a light burnt flavor, which goes well with boiled and fried potatoes, goes well with meat and fish.

Choosing a variety for planting, storage or pickling, you should pay attention to its main characteristics. The most popular varieties are recognized as:

• Zubrenok;
• Antonnik;
• Komsomolets;
• Healer;
• Antoshka;
• Alekseevsky Giant;
• Family;
• Casablanca;
• Morado.

They may have white or purple outer scales; the flesh of the slices may be white or creamy. When choosing you should not look specifically for certain varieties, it is better to be guided by the size of the head and the degree of sharpness.

Interesting: When pickled, garlic retains almost all of its useful properties.

Facts and myths

1. Exactly the homeland of garlic is unknown, but many researchers are inclined to the option of Central Asia.
2. Cultivation of the plant began about 5 thousand years ago.
3. In India, people at first did not eat garlic because of its pungent smell, but they were well aware of its medicinal properties.
4. The largest consumers of garlic are Italy, China and Korea, where each person takes 1.5-2 heads of garlic a day.
5. Garlic is used in folk recipes and is the main ingredient in many medicinal and homeopathic preparations.
6. In some countries, garlic was hung over the door or rubbed on the juice, believing it would protect against evil spirits and lightning entering the house.
7. Both the Bible and the Qur'an mention the plant, indicating the importance of garlic.
8. In Russia, garlic was tied in the bride's braid at the marriage ceremony to protect her from spoilage.
9. Many peoples used garlic heads to calculate witches and protection against them.

Benefits and Composition

In terms of botany, garlic is an herbaceous plant. According to the housewife - the most valuable ingredient for preparing various dishes and maintaining excellent health. The composition of each clove contains:

• organic acids;
• phytoncides;
• vitamins E, C, PP, K, almost all B group;
• potassium;
• sulfur;
• calcium;
• phosphorus;
• zinc;
• chromium;
• copper;
• rubidium;
• selenium;
• essential oils.

Some people dislike garlic for its specific aroma and aftertaste. But it is worth considering that it is quite easy to get rid of them, even if not completely, and the benefits of using it in food are immeasurably higher than minor inconveniences. By the way, when pickling, the smell almost disappears, but the burning remains.

Garlic is recommended for lowering and stabilizing blood pressure, reducing the strain on the heart. It lowers cholesterol levels, stops the growth and development of cancer cells, removes toxins and heavy metal salts. Allicin reduces the tension of the walls of blood vessels, restoring their elasticity, and stimulates blood circulation. Phytoncides, contained in any part of garlic, block the activity of pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms. This same property is used in the fight against parasites in the intestines. Regular consumption of garlic is also thought to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and age-related changes in the brain and psyche.

How to choose garlic

It is better and more profitable to be engaged in harvesting garlic at harvest time. Only need to take into account that the "milky", unripe, it will not keep fresh, but will be excellent as an additive when rolling cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as for independent twisting as a flavorful snack. It is very easy to distinguish ripe from unripe. If the upper scales can be easily removed and the head with a little effort falls apart into denticles, then the product is ready for storage and further use as seed material for planting.

It is worth noting: Winter garlic is planted in the fall, almost under the snow, which means that its maturity date is earlier, about 2-3 weeks of July, depending on the region of cultivation and variety.

If you buy garlic not from your own garden bed, you should give preference to farmers' markets and domestic products. The heads should be hard and dry on the outer layer, without dark spots, with a bright rich flavor. If the slightest touch of moisture or mustiness is added, there is a fleck of uncharacteristic color, it is better to refuse to buy.

Judging by the size of the taste is useless. Here it is necessary to be guided by the purpose of purchase. If the whole heads are to be pickled in jars, it is better to choose small, but dense. When it is to be pickled in a barrel or pot in order to eat it as quickly as possible, you can buy and voluminous heads. They will also be suitable for recipes where you need to separate them into cogs.

How to pickle garlic deliciously: recipes

Crunchy aromatic garlic will be a real salvation for the immune system and will perfectly diversify the diet in the cold winter season. In fact, many people will not give up on it in the fall, preferring the salted version, and the spring, when just bored to the teeth fresh food and want something special. Probably, therefore, so many ways to roll garlic, whole heads and cloves, individually and in combination with other vegetables and root vegetables.

Quick and easy

For a liter jar will need:

• 600 grams of peeled garlic cloves;
• 7 peppercorns of black pepper and allspice;
• 1 bay leaf medium sized.

Marinade is prepared separately at the rate of 1 tbsp salt, 1.5 tbsp sugar and 100 ml. table vinegar for 3 cups of water. Garlic cloves are boiled in brine for no more than 2 minutes, and then immediately placed in jars, pour the liquid in which boiled, and hermetically sealed.

Soon-to-be-ripened

This recipe comes in handy if there are 3-4 days before the arrival of guests and you want to surprise them with an unusual snack. In the composition:

• 500 grams of garlic slices;
• 100 ml of 6% vinegar and water;
• 10 peas of black pepper;
• 15g. salt;
• 25 gr. sugar;
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds.

Important: The recipe specifies the weight of already peeled cloves.

The prepared product is poured with boiling water so that it completely covers the surface of the garlic cloves, kept under a lid for 2 minutes. Then the cloves are quickly transferred to very cold water or a bowl with crushed ice. The marinade is prepared separately. The garlic is placed tightly in a jar, poured into the marinade, covered with a lid and cooled on the table. Then you can put it in the fridge for three days. By the time guests arrive, the treat is ready.

Whole young garlic

A little unripe small heads have a special piquancy. You do not have to dismantle them to pieces, you only have to cut off their roots and leave a small stick-tail on top and wash them well, removing only the top scales. For 300 g of garlic you need to take:

• 25 grams each of sugar and salt;
• 2 peas of allspice and clove buds;
• 2 tsp. 9% vinegar.

The products are put at once in a jar, the spices are placed on top, and then the jar is filled to the top with warm unboiled water. It is covered with a napkin and left in a warm place for 24 hours. Then the liquid is poured into a separate pan, brought to a boil, and the vinegar is poured in. The brine is poured into a jar, which is immediately closed with a lid. Time of readiness - 2 months, store only in a cool place.

Garlic and beets

The recipe requires a little more effort, but first of all, it's beautiful, and second, it's delicious. For 1 kg. of garlic cloves it takes:

• 1 small beet;
• 1 umbrella of dill with seeds;
• 2 tablespoons salt and sugar;
• 7 peppercorns;
• 2 dried clove buds;
• 100 ml. 9% vinegar.

For the marinade you need 1 liter of water and 4 more for the preparatory stage. Pour 2 liters of water into a saucepan, bring it to a boil, put the garlic in it for 2 minutes, and then immediately dip it on a colander in cold water. Peeled beets are cut into slices of any shape no thicker than 2 cm. Beet slices and garlic cloves are placed in layers in a jar, pour boiling marinade. Vinegar is poured at the last moment. It should be closed with a normal lid, metal or capron. The starter should stand for 15-20 days in a dark place at room temperature. If the liquid begins to darken and cloudy - then the process is going right. The taste of the finished garlic is sour-sweet, slightly spicy.

In soy sauce

A very unusual and delicious appetizer is obtained when a new ingredient is introduced into the usual recipe. For 1 kg. garlic you need:

• 50 grams each of salt and sugar;
• 4 tbsp. soy sauce;
• 1 tbsp. 70% vinegar essence.

The calculation is given for 1 liter of water. To make it all fit, you need to prepare a 2-liter jar.

The heads are placed whole first in a pot or deep bowl, remove only the top layer of husk, then pour the usual clean water for 8-12 hours. Then the liquid is poured off, and the scales are removed.

The brine is prepared in a separate container. All ingredients except vinegar are put into it, the mass is brought to a boil and kept for 2-3 minutes. After adding the essence, it is immediately removed from the heat and poured into a jar. It is not necessary to close the jar, a regular cap of kapron is enough. Store in a cool place, where sunlight does not penetrate. The first sample can be taken after a month.

If you aim to find original recipes for pickling garlic, you will find a whole notebook of them, and maybe more. This plant is known and appreciated in many countries, so in the cookbooks of different nations will certainly find a new way, not inferior in taste and ease of preparation to those that are already well known.