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Summer Fest: Spicy Pickled Garlic

September 8, 2010 by Nicole 44 Comments

Pickled Garlic in Jars

This past weekend might have marked the unofficial end of summer, but Summer Fest is still in full swing over here.  This week we’re celebrating garlic and it’s perfect timing for me because my friend Ruby recently sent me home with a big bag of garlic from her mom’s garden.

Garlic Bulbs

I wasn’t sure what to do with all the garlic and I toyed with the idea of roasting a huge batch and perhaps freezing it in small portions to use throughout the fall and winter.  But then I remembered the pickled garlic that my grandmother used to buy and serve alongside other appetizers during the holidays.  It was really good and I wondered if I could make something similar myself.

I found a couple recipes for pickled garlic in my books about pickling and preserving, and it seemed simple enough.  The recipes called for either straight vinegar or a mixture of vinegar and wine.  I didn’t have any wine in the house, so I decided on a white wine vinegar to use as my liquid.  I didn’t use any pickling spices, opting instead for some dried red chiles – I wanted spicy pickled garlic!

While searching for information about preserving garlic, I found a link to a UC Davis food safety publication called Garlic: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy. It’s a great resource and it reassured me that I could safely store garlic cloves in wine or vinegar in the refrigerator for a few months.

Separated Garlic Cloves

I ended up peeling about five heads of garlic to fill my three half-pint jars with cloves.  It took a while!

Peeled Garlic Cloves

My books said to blanch the cloves in boiling water for 30 seconds to help loosen the skins for peeling.  I did that, but I’m not sure that it was any faster than if I had just peeled them dry.

Garlic Cloves in Jars

I sterilized the jars in the dishwasher then filled them with cloves and put one dried red chile in each jar.  I boiled the vinegar with salt and sugar then poured the hot liquid over the garlic and puts the lids on.

Spicy Pickled Garlic

That was it!  I waited for them to cool and then put them in the refrigerator to hang out for the next month or so.  I’ll let you know in a month how they taste!  Here’s the recipe I used in case you want to give it a try yourself in the meantime.

Spicy Pickled Garlic

Approximately 1 1/2 cups peeled garlic cloves (4 – 5 heads of garlic)
3 dried chilies
2 cups white wine vinegar
2 scant teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

special equipment:  3 sterilized half-pint jars with lids

Fill jars with garlic cloves and add one dried chili to each jar.  In a small saucepan, combine vinegars, sugar, and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.  Fill jars with hot liquid and screw lids onto the jars.  Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate.  Garlic should be ready to eat in about 3-4 weeks and will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 months.

Other Summer Fest Attendees Celebrating Garlic:

  • Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple: Garlic Knots
  • Sara at Food2: Easiest Recipes Ever, Starring Garlic
  • Michelle at Cooking Channel: Roasted Garlic
  • Liz at Healthy Eats: 5 Reasons to Eat More Garlic
  • Kirsten at FN Dish: Garlic Chicken Greats
  • Margaret at A Way to Garden: Growing and Storing a Year of Garlic
  • Caroline at the Wright Recipes: Ajo Blanco Soup, and Confit Garlic
  • The Gilded Fork: Garlic Dossier and Recipes
  • Food Network UK: Glorious Garlic
  • Alana at Eating from the Group Up: Pickled Garlic
  • Cate at Sweetnicks: Double Dose of Garlic—Cuban Black Beans and The Best Pork Ever
  • Caron at San Diego Foodstuff: Italian Marinated Eggplant and Sorrel and Garlic Sauce
  • Paige at The Sister Project: Spaghetti with Garlic and Zucchini

How You Can Join in Summer/Fall Fest 2010

Summer Fest 2010 Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? You can contribute to our online recipe swap in various ways, big or small.

Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer/Fall Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Matt Bites), or the new pumpkin version he just did if it’s for September 22 onward.

Summer/Fall Fest 2010 Posting Schedule

7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit – I missed this one!
8/25: Tomatoes

9/1: Sweet and Spicy Peppers
9/8: Garlic
9/15: White (or colorful “white”…but not sweet) Potatoes
9/22: Spinach
9/29: Apples

10/6: Fall Salads
10/13: Pumpkin + Winter Squash
10/20: Pears
10/27: “Mad Stash” (as in what you’re shoving in freezer/jars/dehydrator, etc.)

11/3: Root veggies
11/10: Brassicas: incl. Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Cabbage or other
11/17: Sweet Potatoes
11/24: Bounty to Be Grateful For

Filed Under: Appetizers, Snacks, Summerfest 2010, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chef Louise says

    September 10, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    I've never had pickled garlic before, unless I ate it on accident. I can always expect you to give us something creative-good job. I did a review on some new Wine Flour Pasta along with garlic for Summer Fest. ~Caberneti Spaghetti Nests with Crispy Egg and Golden Garlic http://2besatisfied.blogspot.com/2010/09/summer-fest-caberneti-spaghetti-nests.html ~Chef Louise
    Reply
  2. Emily says

    September 11, 2010 at 8:05 am

    I've never had whole garlic pickled... The minced garlic I had was in vinegar though and it gives it a slightly different taste! I'd have been tempted to roast it along side a chicken and eat garlic with hot roast chicken. Friend was discussing with me recently about jars and how they found it hard to get the new lids these days... I just recycle old jam jars - we seem to use an inordinate amount of jam here!
    Reply
  3. Rachel says

    September 22, 2010 at 8:20 am

    Just noticed Summer/Fall Fest 2010... how fun! I guess I missed Summer Fest but I'm excited to participate in Fall Fest! Going to look for something to make with apples right now...
    Reply
  4. HungryCook says

    September 28, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    Thank you for including the link to the UC Davis garlic info! I made garlic steeped in olive oil a few years ago and it was delicious, but apparently I was at risk of botulism poisoning! Good to know for the future. Might have to try it in vinegar instead.
    Reply
  5. Johanna says

    July 7, 2011 at 6:42 am

    Hello--just curious, how did the pickled garlic turn out? I searched your site but didn't see a follow up. Are there any changes to the original recipe that you'd recommend? Thanks!
    Reply
  6. Michael says

    April 14, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    Hello–just curious, how did the pickled garlic turn out? I searched your site but didn’t see a follow up...
    Reply
  7. Jaclyn says

    December 5, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    Hi there, I was just wondering instead of the white wine vinegar could you just use pickling vinegar.
    Reply
  8. kimek says

    December 28, 2012 at 11:37 pm

    Really nice pictures. Pickled garlic is my favourite, it can be fantastic with this spicy chili.
    Reply
  9. mara says

    October 18, 2013 at 3:24 pm

    Found your post hunting around for ideas to hurry along an old favourite. As for your recipe: Gorgeous photos and love the added peppers for flavour and beauty. But... I learned how to pickle garlic from my partners Persian mother some 25 years ago. She merely peeled garlic (by the boat load!!) and filled gallon jars full of them and poured them full to the top with red wine vinegar and put them away in a cool dark place.... FOR YEARS!! I recently stole into a jar a bit early (about 5 years) and though lovely they were not complete. Never heard of a botulism problem (and I was versed greatly in these issues as a child while helping my own mother can and preserve). The garlic preserved this way will turn a lovely deep brown and become sweet as you can imagine, and the vinegar is divine!! 7 years is the usual waiting time so you can see why I was hunting down a more hurried recipe, hoping if maybe heating the vinegar or vinegar with the garlic would produce faster results. I don't believe the same result would come from storing this in a refrigerator sadly. A favourite way of eating it is merely cooked basmati rice fried with olive oil and saffron, served over crumbled feta cheese with the garlic on the side.... HEAVEN! Would really love an update to how yours turned out... I know from time to time she's used white wine vinegar to pickle but never has quite the same depth of flavour to me.
    Reply
  10. Desjay says

    January 12, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    A super fast way to peel garlic is to put an entire head of garlic into a mason jar, put the cover on, and shake it very hard for about 30-45 seconds. All the cloves will be separated and peeled. Give it a try, you'll be amazed.
    Reply
  11. Adi says

    February 11, 2014 at 4:29 am

    Hey there, I'm quite new to cooking and I never really pickled anything. Lately I ate in a restaurant garlic pickled with white wine and dried chili, and now I'm trying to do it myself at home (sadly, I don't have the recipe). Is it ok to pickle the garlic with dry white wine alone (without any vinegar)? If it's possible do I need to cook the wine? how is it different from doing it with vinegar? Thanks!
    Reply
  12. gary donaldson says

    January 17, 2015 at 2:36 am

    I have pickled some garlic for the first time is it ok if it has turned light green?
    Reply
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