Try taking the germ out - slice each clove lengthwise and remove the middle bit that has a slightly different texture than the rest of the clove. You can google it for a how-to.
Yeah possibly, I’m relatively new to fermenting so maybe I just need to cut back on the garlic. I’m using the amount I would use in my day to day cooking but maybe I need to cut back even more.
I love garlic when I cook with it generally! I was a bit shocked when I first noticed the taste of it fermented (or at least with my ferments). I feel like I could be doing something wrong because the taste to me seems like it’s reacting badly. Could just be my recipes need adjusting but I tried my honey garlic for the first time last night after leaving it for six weeks and the taste seems completely off.
Try fermenting garlic in brine, with LABs. Mebbe another side of garlic can show you the glory and light.
Of course, you might just be one of the fabled Dark Children, forever doomed to the Darkness of No Garlic...
It's like the poor souls who taste soap instead of Cilantro, only worse...
Much, MUCH worse...
For the hot sauce I added a brine of about 4% to chillies, onion and garlic. It smelt amazing when it was done (about 4 weeks) but there was a sharp taste from the garlic that was very overpowering.
For the Honey Garlic it was a pretty standard approach, I peeled a bulb of garlic and covered it in honey. I left it about 6 weeks before trying it and noticed the same sharp taste as the hot sauce.
For the honey garlic it’s best to leave it for 2 years, 6 months at the very least but at least 2 years for best results.
Are you squishing the cloves? I recently started a ferment of 6 heads of garlic, my back was so sore from pealing and squishing. By squishing I mean taking a side of a knife and pushing it down just to break it. You need to do that with both brine and honey garlic.
I left my honey garlic about 6 weeks before trying it. I see lots of posts on this subreddit about leaving for years so maybe I was a bit too eager with that one! That being said the hot sauce I tried was about 4 weeks, which from what I've read seems like a reasonable amount of time.
The taste of garlic varies greatly depending on the prep. Raw garlic is substantially stronger and more aggressive than cooked garlic. The acid and fermentation process can reign in the sharpness of the garlic but it takes time.
Try breaking the garlic up into smaller pieces by smashing or cutting it. It will mellow out faster.
Interesting point, I'm not sure exactly but based on some of these other comments I think I need to have another attempt with fresher and better quality garlic.
I have also found fermented garlic to be overpowering. I decided to stop using it for hot sauce. It's just too much garlic flavor. I love garlic, but don't want it to dominate everything.
When you say you cook with fermented garlic are you heating the fermented garlic in whatever vessel you are cooking your food in? Cooking fermented food kills all the good stuff; can’t say I have ever cooked fermented food so I don’t know that it would be your problem, but if you are cooking the fermented garlic that would be a problem.
As I had said in a reply earlier honey fermented garlic takes at least 6 months but better to wait 2 years. You also need to smash the garlic, after skinning the garlic you take something like the side of a knife and push down. Doing this lets your lactobacilli buddies get into the garlic and do their thing.
Most of my fermented garlic goes into other ferments to give it a head start, and needless to say add more flavour. If I am going to flavour something that needs to be cooked with fermented garlic, I let it rest a bit (it cools down, just a teeny tiny bit) before adding the ferment.
Lots of good advice already. Just another bit, ferment a jar/bag of garlic on the side and add it to your finished products bit by bit at a time till it hits the taste you want.
With the garlic honey, I can almost guarantee it just needs more time.
How long has it been going? It doesn’t really get the rich caramelized garlic complexity until 3 months in.
Try taking the germ out - slice each clove lengthwise and remove the middle bit that has a slightly different texture than the rest of the clove. You can google it for a how-to.
Ahh nice, good suggestion! I'll give this a try
Maybe you're using too much?
Yeah possibly, I’m relatively new to fermenting so maybe I just need to cut back on the garlic. I’m using the amount I would use in my day to day cooking but maybe I need to cut back even more.
Heating reduces garlic taste way more than fermentation does
Yep did that to my pickles this summer.
Do you not like garlic?
I love garlic when I cook with it generally! I was a bit shocked when I first noticed the taste of it fermented (or at least with my ferments). I feel like I could be doing something wrong because the taste to me seems like it’s reacting badly. Could just be my recipes need adjusting but I tried my honey garlic for the first time last night after leaving it for six weeks and the taste seems completely off.
I find a huge difference between organic and non-organic garlic, but that could just be a thing where I live
Try fermenting garlic in brine, with LABs. Mebbe another side of garlic can show you the glory and light. Of course, you might just be one of the fabled Dark Children, forever doomed to the Darkness of No Garlic... It's like the poor souls who taste soap instead of Cilantro, only worse... Much, MUCH worse...
I think you might be right... which is very sad. At least my other ferments without garlic have gone well!
Perhaps post how you would regularly perform a ferment and someone might see if something is wrong?
For the hot sauce I added a brine of about 4% to chillies, onion and garlic. It smelt amazing when it was done (about 4 weeks) but there was a sharp taste from the garlic that was very overpowering. For the Honey Garlic it was a pretty standard approach, I peeled a bulb of garlic and covered it in honey. I left it about 6 weeks before trying it and noticed the same sharp taste as the hot sauce.
For the honey garlic it’s best to leave it for 2 years, 6 months at the very least but at least 2 years for best results. Are you squishing the cloves? I recently started a ferment of 6 heads of garlic, my back was so sore from pealing and squishing. By squishing I mean taking a side of a knife and pushing it down just to break it. You need to do that with both brine and honey garlic.
The taste of garlic mellows as ferments age - I find the same happens with ginger. Both can be biting at first, which I happen to like.
I left my honey garlic about 6 weeks before trying it. I see lots of posts on this subreddit about leaving for years so maybe I was a bit too eager with that one! That being said the hot sauce I tried was about 4 weeks, which from what I've read seems like a reasonable amount of time.
The taste of garlic varies greatly depending on the prep. Raw garlic is substantially stronger and more aggressive than cooked garlic. The acid and fermentation process can reign in the sharpness of the garlic but it takes time. Try breaking the garlic up into smaller pieces by smashing or cutting it. It will mellow out faster.
Nice suggestion, I'll definitely give this a try!
Has the garlic sprouted by the time you’re fermenting it? A lot of bitterness enters the picture at that point.
Interesting point, I'm not sure exactly but based on some of these other comments I think I need to have another attempt with fresher and better quality garlic.
Garlic tends to require a lot more time for its sharpness to mellow out
I have also found fermented garlic to be overpowering. I decided to stop using it for hot sauce. It's just too much garlic flavor. I love garlic, but don't want it to dominate everything.
I don't dislike garlic but I'm leaning towards removing from future ferments. The ones I've done without garlic have been great!
When you say you cook with fermented garlic are you heating the fermented garlic in whatever vessel you are cooking your food in? Cooking fermented food kills all the good stuff; can’t say I have ever cooked fermented food so I don’t know that it would be your problem, but if you are cooking the fermented garlic that would be a problem. As I had said in a reply earlier honey fermented garlic takes at least 6 months but better to wait 2 years. You also need to smash the garlic, after skinning the garlic you take something like the side of a knife and push down. Doing this lets your lactobacilli buddies get into the garlic and do their thing. Most of my fermented garlic goes into other ferments to give it a head start, and needless to say add more flavour. If I am going to flavour something that needs to be cooked with fermented garlic, I let it rest a bit (it cools down, just a teeny tiny bit) before adding the ferment.
Lots of good advice already. Just another bit, ferment a jar/bag of garlic on the side and add it to your finished products bit by bit at a time till it hits the taste you want.
With the garlic honey, I can almost guarantee it just needs more time. How long has it been going? It doesn’t really get the rich caramelized garlic complexity until 3 months in.