The bright green shoots of wild garlic are one of the most heart-lifting aspects of an early Spring. I eat it fresh, in salads, in cooked dishes, as pesto, or soup. By the summer, it is gone again. I love having wild garlic later in the year but I can’t dry it like most other plants, as it loses it flavour and those ethereal sulphur tones! Freezing it in bags just leaves a defrosted slightly slimy mess. So I have a couple of options: making a wild garlic pesto or fermenting the wild garlic.
Fermented Wild Garlic
There are different methods.Some people like to add salt to their vegetables, crush them and allow their own juices to do all the fermenting. I am often short for time, or tired at the end of a day’s foraging and just want to put my feet up when I still have baskets of foraged goodies to clean or stash. So I am drawn to methods that are quick, simple and easy to do, without compromising on taste! For wild garlic, I use the brine method.
To do this I make a 2% brine. Basically that is 20g of salt to 1 litre of filtered water.
I chop and prepare the garlic, adding a lot of flower buds, white stem, and only a little of the darker green leaf. The I pack it tightly into a clean preserving jar and pour the brine over until it covers the contents. Then I put a glass over the mouth to weight down the green stuff, to make sure everything is below the surface of the brine.
I then leave it in a cool place and wait for the bubbles! After a day or two you will realise that there is a strong smell of sulphur being emitted from your jar. Don’t worry. This is part of the transformation, just apologise to visitors to your home!
These are ready to eat in about 2 weeks.
Sometimes, to get a stronger flavoured ferment, I will just soak in the brine for 24 hours. Then I’ll drain it and press it under it’s own juices and let it ferment in its own juices which have been released by the salty brine.
Occasionally I’ll add garlic… or chillies. There are no rules!
If you’re interested in fermenting, consider investing in Sandor Katz’s book ‘The Art of Fermentation’. If you have this, you’ll never need another book. Below is a short video of Sandor that you might find interesting.
This is absolutely delicious! What a great way to preserve ramsons. Will be great with Japanese food as an alternative to their pickles! I am surrounded by them in the millions and always looking for ways to keep them going.
Thanks so much for the technique. Can I ask, do you put the lid on at any time during the two weeks you are waiting for it to be ready, or does it just sit continually with the weighted object continually on top? And once the two weeks are up, can it be stored or does it need to be eaten straight away? Thanks for your help 🙂
You can put the lid on but you’ll need to ‘burp’ them daily to let the gas out, or use a loose crock lid. Once it’s ready you can eat it straightaway or store it.
Thanks Monica. I put the kilner lid loosely on top. Two weeks are now up, I’m slightly wary as never done this before but fingers crossed I don’t poison myself and partner! He’s waiting for me to have tried and survived for two days before he goes near it!!
Ha ha. You won’t poison him!
Glad to report we are still alive 😉 Thanks for your help with my questions. I’ve just ordered a proper fermenting crock as I have a feeling I’m going to end up having a small production line doing this!! I can’t believe how easy and simple it is to make fermented food from foraged plants that we’ve been paying ££s for in the shop. Life-changing! All the best, Kat
Yay!!!
Hi Monica! This sounds amazing thank you so much for sharing. Wondering what your favourite ways to eat the fermented wild garlic are? In what dishes etc? Thanks so much! Freya