Fermented wild garlic:
Wild garlic loves damp shady woodland areas near rivers. Pick the garlic before the flowers are out to get a maximum of flavour in the leaves.
A very large bowl of wild Garlic
2% of the garlic weight in Himalayan Salt
A sterilized 500ml Kilner jar
•Wash all your garlic leaves and spin them dry. •Weigh the wild Garlic before roughly chopping all the leaves. •Weigh 2% of Himalayan Salt and add to the chopped leaves. •Massage the salt in until the juices start to come out. •Pack the wild garlic tightly into the jar using a wooden tamper and making sure there are no air gaps anywhere. Leave a good 2-3cm headspace at the top. Place a glass weight on top to push the garlic below the liquid. Make sure all the content is submerged. If not, you might need to add a little bit of water. Check after 24h as the salt will have drawn more juices out by then and water may not be necessary. •Clean the top of the jar, inside and out, close the lid without the orange rubber and leave at room temperature, it needs to be around 18-20’C, away from direct sunlight for 5-7 days until you see a few bubbles appearing through the garlic. •At that point, remove the glass weight, replace the orange rubber and transfer the jar to the fridge. Leave it for 4 weeks before using. It will keep indefinitely.
Now I understand that the Fermented Lady means what she says… when she says ‘use a wooden tamper’, she means use a wooden tamper. I am inclined to ignore specific instructions, it’s the rebel in me, so I thought, I don’t need a wooden tamper, for gawd’s sake, I can bash my wild garlic with a stone pestle. I bow my head in shame and curtsy to the Fermented Lady. My kilner jar now boasts a star shaped crack and plans have changed… pesto here I come.