Have you ever bitten into a clove of garlic and thought, “this would be even better if it were swimming in vinegar for a week”? Me neither—until that fateful Tuesday when my neighbor Elaine showed up with a jar of something that looked like pearl onions but punched like Muhammad Ali in flavor town. I’ve been obsesed with pickled garlic ever since, trying to perfect what I now call “jar-licky goodness” (yes, because sometimes I literally lick the jar when nobody’s looking). My kitchen experiments have led me down a rabbit hole of vinegar ratios and spice combinations that would make my culinary school instructor weep—not that I ever actually finished culinary school, but that’s another story involving a blowtorch and the dean’s eyebrows.
My Pickled Garlic Enlightenment Journey
I remember staring at sixteen heads of garlic spread across my counter last June—or was it July?—wondering if I’d lost my marbles. Three days earlier, I’d attempted my first batch of pickled garlic following some fancy food blog’s advice, and ended up with what I can only describe as crunchy blue swamp monsters. The garlic had turned that weird azure color that happens sometimes (totally safe, btw) but I’d freaked out and tossed the whole batch.
Brianne, my former roommate’s sister who runs that small fermentation shop in Portland—no, the other Portland—suggested I was overthinking it. “Garlic wants to be pickled,” she told me while demonstrating her fingernail-free peeling method that I still can’t replicate despite watching her do it seventeen times. My pickled garlic recipe evolved through disasters in my humid kitchen where everything ferments at hyperspeed (I once left bread dough out for what I thought was 20 minutes and returned to find something resembling a pale blob monster from a sci-fi film). The Midwest summer humidity creates what I call “swamp-kitchen syndrome,” but somehow makes for the perfect pickled garlic environment.
Whatcha Need (The Stuff List)
- GARLIC – 8-10 whole heads (about 2½ cups of peeled cloves when you’re done wrestling with them). Look for plump, firm heads that make a slight crinkle sound when you squeeze them—that’s what I call the “garlic whisper”
- VINEGAR BLEND – 1¾ cups white vinegar + ¾ cup apple cider vinegar (the ratio matters, I swear)
- SWEETENING AGENT – 3 Tbsp + 1 pinkie-tip of honey (or ¼ cup sugar if you must)
- SALT – 2 Beckman pinches (about 1½ Tbsp for normal people who don’t measure like my great-uncle)
- RED PEPPER FLAKES – ½ tsp to 2 Tbsp depending on whether you’re a flavor wimp or champion
- FANCY ADDITIONS – 1 bay leaf, 6-8 black peppercorns, and either 2 sprigs fresh dill OR 1 tsp dill seed (never both—trust me on this pickled garlic sacrilege)
- OPTIONAL WEIRDNESS – 1 thin slice of beet (makes everything gloriously pink) or 2 tsp turmeric (for golden pickled garlic that will stain your countertops for eternity)
- JAR – 1 pint-sized jar that once held something else but you’ve washed so many times it’s basically new
Let’s Get Pickling (The How-To Part)
1️⃣ First thing you’ll wanna do is PEEL ALL THAT GARLIC. This is tedious as all get-out, but I’ve developed what I call the “shake-n-rage method.” Separate the cloves from the heads, trim the woody ends, toss them in a metal bowl, cover with another bowl, and shake aggressively while releasing whatever frustrations you’re currently harboring. Check after 30 seconds—if the peels aren’t loosening, shake harder and question your life choices. I usually do this while watching bad reality TV.
B. Make your brine by combining the vinegars, sweetener, salt, and spices in a non-reactive pot (aluminum will make your pickled garlic taste like you’re licking a penny—I learned this terrible lesson in 2019). Bring to what I call a “baby boil”—not a simmer, not a rolling boil, but that point where small bubbles start actively breaking the surface but aren’t going crazy yet.
III – Pack your cleaned garlic cloves into your jar—and I mean PACK them. Don’t be gentle here; you want to fit as many as humanly possible without actually bringing out a hammer. Leave about ¾ inch of space at the top. (I once filled a jar to the brim and had vinegar overflowing all over my countertop when I added the brine—what a lovely aroma that was for the next three days!)
- Pour that hot brine over your garlic cloves until they’re completely submerged. Now, here’s where conventional wisdom says to leave headspace—ignore that. Fill it nearly to the top because the garlic will absorb some liquid and you don’t want sad, half-exposed cloves. Just don’t overflow it like I always somehow manage to do despite this very warning. Check out my pickled onions recipe for another tasty condiment that follows similar principles.
FIVE: Seal the jar and let it cool to room temperature. THIS IS IMPORTANT: Once it’s cooled, put it in the fridge for at least 3 days before tasting. I know, the waiting is awful—I’ve been known to crack into jars after 24 hours in moments of pickled garlic desperation, but the flavor is nowhere near its peak. For truly irresistible pickled garlic, wait—wait a full week if you have the self-control of a saint, which I clearly don’t.
⚠️ A strange thing might happen on day 2 or 3—your garlic might turn bluish-green! DO NOT PANIC. This is a completely natural reaction between garlic’s sulfur compounds and acid. It’s perfectly safe to eat and will eventually fade. The first time this happened to me, I called my mother at 11:30 PM hyperventilating about having created “Avatar garlic.” She hung up on me.
Nuggets of Garlic Wisdom (Notes & Tips)
• CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF: Don’t refrigerate your garlic before peeling! Cold garlic is stubborn garlic. I leave mine on the counter for a full day before pickle-day to reach what I call “surrender temperature.”
• THE BLANCH DEBATE: Some people blanch their garlic for 1 minute before pickling to soften it. These people are WRONG. This destroys the lovely crisp-tender texture that makes pickled garlic so addictive. My “Stubborn Crunch Preservation Technique” (keeping the cloves raw) ensures that perfect resistance when you bite down.
• COLOR CONTROL: If you absolutely can’t handle blue-green garlic (even though it’s perfectly fine), you can minimize this by using distilled white vinegar exclusively and avoiding hard water in your brine. Food Science Explained has an excellent scientific breakdown of why this color change happens.
• STORAGE REALITY: The internet will tell you pickled garlic lasts “up to 4 months” in the refrigerator. In my house, the actual shelf-life is approximately 9 days because I eat it on everything. But theoretically, yes, 4 months is correct.
• INTENSITY TIMELINE: The garlic flavor mellows significantly during pickling. By day 3, the harsh raw bite disappears; by week 2, you’ve got mellow flavor depth; by week 4, you’re experiencing what I call “garlic nirvana”—if you can wait that long, which, again, I never have.
Kitchen Weaponry (Tools of the Trade)
GARLIC PEELER SILICONE TUBE THINGY ★★★★★
My silicone garlic peeler tube has survived three moves and one curious puppy’s chewing phase.
I’ve named mine “The Skin Stripper” and sometimes use it to work out hand cramps while watching TV.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NBQPD30
WIDE-MOUTH FUNNEL FROM THE 1970s ★★★★★
This harvest gold funnel belonged to my grandmother and has pour spots that actually don’t drip everywhere.
I refuse to replace it despite the crack down one side that sometimes pinches my finger in what I call “funnel revenge.”
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CRRN5TR
Riffing on Perfection (Variations)
SWEET-HEAT GARLIC: Add 3 Tbsp maple syrup (not pancake syrup, please—I made this mistake after a late-night pickling session and created something that tasted like breakfast gone wrong) and increase red pepper flakes to 1 Tbsp. The combination of sweet and heat makes these addictive on cheese boards.
DRUNKEN GARLIC: Replace ½ cup of vinegar with dry white wine. This creates what I call “dinner party garlic”—slightly less acidic and sophisticated enough to serve to people who think your pickling hobby is weird. I once served these at a backyard gathering, and my neighbor José (who previously questioned my sanity regarding fermentation projects) ate an entire jar by himself.
HERBAL INSANITY: Add 1 sprig each of rosemary, thyme, and oregano to the jar. This Mediterranean-inspired variation was born after I impulse-bought an herb garden and needed to use everything before leaving on vacation. The resulting pickled garlic became my go-to for homemade pizza night.
The One Thing Everyone Asks
Won’t eating pickled garlic give me horrible breath?
Surprisingly, pickled garlic causes significantly less breath issues than raw garlic! The pickling process denatures the allicin compounds responsible for garlic breath. I’ve conducted extremely unofficial experiments by eating half a jar before a date—my technique involves what I call the “passive breath check,” where I pretend to whisper something and gauge the reaction. According to my completely unscientific research, pickled garlic breath rates a 3/10 on the offensive scale compared to raw garlic’s solid 9.5/10. The vinegar tang actually seems to neutralize much of the lingering effect.
Final Garlicky Thoughts
This pickled garlic recipe has become my signature contribution to every gathering—I’ve stopped being invited to some places unless I bring “that garlic thing” with me. The tangy, mellowed cloves transform everything from salads to sandwiches, and I’ve been known to eat them straight from the jar while standing in front of the open refrigerator at midnight, contemplating my life choices.
I’m currently experimenting with a black garlic pickle that’s either going to be revolutionary or a complete disaster—I’ve already ruined two slow cookers in the pursuit of this possibly mythical creation. If you try this pickled garlic recipe, please let me know if you discover any brilliant variations. My kitchen is perpetually sticky from various pickling projects, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Until next time, may your garlic be plentiful and your vinegar be tangy!
—Chef Margie “Perpetually Pickled” Thompson
(Second runner-up, Amateur Pickling Division, 2018 Midwest Fermentation Festival)
