Hello food lovers, today I will share with you the secret of making a special home-cooked dish - pickled garlic. Pickled garlic is a popular traditional side dish, which not only has a moderate sweet and sour taste, is crisp and delicious, but also does not deteriorate for a long time, and is a delicious side dish that is always prepared at home.
First of all, let's talk about the choice of ingredients for pickled garlic. The protagonist of sweet garlic is naturally garlic. Among the many garlics, purple garlic has become the first choice for pickling sugar garlic due to its small and firm characteristics. It has a spicy taste and is rich in allicin, a natural "plant antibiotic" that not only enhances the aroma of the dish, but also helps with long-term preservation. Of course, if you prefer a milder garlic, white-skinned garlic is also a good choice, as it has a sweeter flavor and is equally suitable for pickling.
This is followed by the pre-processing of the pickled garlic. First of all, the garlic should be peeled off the outer layer of garlic and cut off the garlic stems, which can help the sweet garlic better absorb the flavor of the seasoning. Then, soak the garlic in salted water. The purpose of soaking garlic in salt water is to remove impurities and excessive spiciness from its surface, and it also has a certain disinfecting effect. After soaking the garlic in brine overnight, it needs to be drained, which is a crucial step to avoid too much water that can cause the garlic to spoil easily.
In the process of marinating sugar and garlic, in addition to the traditional sugar and vinegar, there is also a secret ingredient - table salt. The addition of salt can not only balance the sweet and sour taste of sweet and sour, but also help to maintain the crisp taste of sweet garlic and play a preservative role. Regarding the proportion of these ingredients, experience tells us that for each catty of purple garlic, it is recommended to add 30 grams of salt, 80 grams of sugar and 150 grams of vinegar, which can make the taste of sugar garlic achieve the best balance.
In the specific curing step, we need to first mix the sugar, vinegar and table salt and bring it to a boil over high heat to ensure that the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Then, the mixture is cooled and poured into a clean glass bottle with garlic. Seal the glass bottle tightly and store it in a cool, ventilated place. The marinating cycle lasts about 30 days, during which time the garlic will completely absorb the sweet and sour sauce and become more distinctive.
Finally, when we enjoy this delicious pickled garlic, we can not only feel its unique sweet, sour and crispy taste, but also enjoy the health benefits of garlic. This dish can be used not only as a side dish but also as a condiment to add flavor to other dishes. I hope that everyone can try to make this simple and delicious pickled garlic at home, and share this healthy and delicious dish with their families.
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