· Golden Grove Mushrooms

Pickled Garlic: Easy Fridge Recipe, Uses & Why It Turns Blue

Mellow, crunchy and ready in a week. An easy pickled garlic recipe, why it can turn blue, how long it keeps, and how to use it.

A pint jar of peeled garlic cloves pickled in vinegar with peppercorns, chili flakes and a bay leaf, beside a head of garlic

Pickled garlic is whole peeled cloves left in vinegar until the harsh bite of raw garlic softens into something mellow, slightly sweet and crisp enough to eat on its own. It takes 15 minutes to make and a week of patience. Here is an easy fridge recipe, why your garlic might turn blue (it's fine), how long it keeps, and what to do with it, including the jar where garlic already does its best work: pickled crimini mushrooms.

What pickled garlic tastes like

Pickling tames garlic. The sharp, hot edge of a raw clove fades, and what is left is a gentler, sweeter garlic flavor with a vinegar tang and a satisfying crunch. People who would never bite into a raw clove happily eat pickled ones straight from the jar.

Which garlic to use

Firm, heavy heads with tight skins and no green sprouts. Well-cured garlic, the kind sold year-round, is the least likely to change color in the jar. Bags of pre-peeled cloves work too and save the fiddliest part of the job; just check they are firm and unblemished.

Garlic is in every jar we make

Garlic goes into the brine of every Golden Grove jar. It is there for the same reason it is in a kosher dill: it gives a pickle backbone. In our pickled crimini it sits with thyme and mustard seed in white wine vinegar; in the shiitake, it is garlic, bay and tamari. If you love pickled garlic, pickled mushrooms are the obvious next jar: the same mellow garlic, with a savory, meaty bite.

A jar of Golden Grove pickled crimini mushrooms beside garlic cloves, thyme, bay leaves and black peppercorns

Pickled garlic recipe

Makes one pint jar. 20 minutes, then at least 1 week in the fridge.

Ingredients

  • 1½ to 2 cups peeled garlic cloves (about 5 to 6 heads), root ends trimmed
  • 1 cup white distilled or cider vinegar, labeled 5% acidity, not diluted
  • 1½ tsp pickling or canning salt
  • 1 to 2 tsp sugar (optional)
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns
  • A pinch of chili flakes
  • 1 bay leaf

Method

  1. Sterilize a pint jar and its lid by boiling them in water for 10 minutes.
  2. Peel the garlic. To make it easier, drop the cloves into boiling water for 30 seconds, then into cold water; the skins slip off.
  3. Pack the cloves into the jar with the peppercorns, chili flakes and bay leaf.
  4. Bring the vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil and pour it over the garlic, covering the cloves completely and leaving ½ inch of space at the top.
  5. Let it cool, put on the lid and refrigerate.
  6. Wait at least a week before eating; whole cloves take that long for the vinegar to work all the way through. They are at their best after two to four weeks.

Why pickled garlic turns blue or green

Sometimes a jar of pickled garlic turns blue, green or turquoise. It looks alarming, but it is harmless: the pickles are safe to eat. Natural compounds in garlic can change color in acid, and young or freshly harvested garlic does it more. Older, well-cured garlic is less likely to change color.

How long pickled garlic lasts

  • In the fridge: about four months, kept covered in vinegar. After that it is still safe, but the flavor fades and mold becomes more likely.
  • At room temperature: never. It quickly grows mold.
  • Throw it out if you see mold or a film of yeast on the surface of the vinegar.

Safety: vinegar yes, oil no

  • Pickle garlic in vinegar, not oil. Vinegar makes the jar too acidic for botulism bacteria to grow. Garlic in oil does the opposite, and has caused botulism outbreaks. Homemade garlic oil should be refrigerated and thrown away after 4 days.
  • Don't dilute the vinegar. Use it full strength, labeled 5% acidity.
  • Don't can it. Canning garlic at home is not recommended; this is a fridge recipe.
  • Don't top the jar with oil, even for serving. Drain the cloves and drizzle oil over them on the plate instead.

How to use pickled garlic

  • On a board, in a small bowl next to cornichons, olives and pickled crimini. See the best pickles for a charcuterie board.
  • In a Bloody Mary or a martini, on the pick. More ideas in our Bloody Mary garnish guide.
  • Sliced into salads, pasta and grain bowls, where you would use raw garlic but want it milder.
  • Mashed into dressings and sauces, with a spoonful of the brine in place of vinegar.
  • On pizza, toast and burgers, sliced thin.
  • Straight from the jar, if you are a true garlic lover.

Pickled garlic questions

Does pickled garlic go bad?

Yes, eventually. It keeps about four months in the fridge. Throw it out if mold or yeast appears, and never store it at room temperature.

Is blue pickled garlic safe to eat?

Yes. The color change is a natural reaction between compounds in the garlic and the acid. The garlic is safe.

How long before pickled garlic is ready?

At least a week, so the vinegar can work all the way through the cloves. It tastes best after two to four weeks.

Can I pickle garlic in oil?

No. Garlic in oil can grow botulism bacteria. Pickle it in vinegar, and if you make garlic oil to cook with, refrigerate it and use it within 4 days.

Can I reuse the brine?

Use it in salad dressings and marinades within a day or two, but don't pickle a new batch in it.

The short version

Peeled cloves, full-strength 5% vinegar, a little salt, a week in the fridge, and up to four months to eat them. Blue is fine; oil is not. For garlic that has already done its work, try a jar of pickled crimini, or put several together in a Build Your Variety Pack. For the rest of the pickle family, see all the types of pickles.