[DanielCoffey]

For those wanting to store garlic to reduce waste due to sprouted cloves, fermenting is easy and safe. You will need to store the jar of garlic in the fridge. The intention is to lacto-ferment the cloves in a glass jar so that stray sugars are consumed by the lacto bacteria. They will also mildly acidify the brine and generate carbon dioxide which will help with preserving.

Wash a 1L glass Kilner Jar and plastic lid. Peel around 6-7 large bulbs of garlic to fill the Kilner to about 1.5" below the top. Do not top and tail the cloves - you can do this when using them in a recipe later. Keep any tiny or damaged cloves aside and use normally while still fresh.

In a measuring jug, add 1/2 cup Kombucha if you have it (strained whey from home-made live yogurt will do too) and 2 tbsp sea salt. Stir to dissolve. If you don't have the Kombucha just use water instead and double the amount of salt. In that case the fermentation will be slower to start but will get there in the end.

Pour the prepared brine into the Kilner jar and top up with cold water to about 1" below the top. It may bubble slightly hence the unused space.

Put lid on securely and invert a few times to blend the starter with the water. Shake slightly to settle the garlic below the surface and set aside at room temperature for 3 days. It may try to float in which case a small glass weight or a round section of a cabbage leaf can be used to push everything back below the surface. It is not absolutely essential that everything is submerged but is beneficial.

Invert once every day, especially if any small cloves try to float. Fairly soon small bubbles will appear. This is normal.

After three days transfer to the fridge and store refrigerated. Ready to use immediately. Will keep at least one year.

After a few months the texture of the cloves will change a little to resemble gherkins but the taste will remain the same. The liquor will darken to an orange gold colour and smell rather pungently of garlic. This is normal.

If you are preparing a new batch of garlic and have some of the liquor left from the previous year it is safe to use instead of the Kombucha as it contains all the beneficial bacteria needed to start the next ferment.

[hasbeans]

That's neat plaiting.  My wife needs to up her game as it's not how the garlic looks after she preps ours for storage.  No doubt she'll have some excuse about hardnecks!

[DanielCoffey]

Confession time - I bought it like that.