Home Made Pickled Garlic

I love garlic! The markets in NY sold a slender jar of pickled garlic made by a Calf garlic grower, it was not cheap, and didn't hold much garlic.You can pickle just about anything, and have made pickled veggies before, therefore why not make my own! For some reason , I never got around to doing it while we lived in NY. Our niece, her husband and 3 sons live here in NC also. Frank is a garlic lover as I,if there were anything I could make for him as a gift, pickled garlic would be it!
  First  I searched online for recipes and then tweaked them to my tastes.
 Pickling requires vinegar,salt all other ingredients are flavorings. The pickled garlic can be eaten as is, sliced in salads,as a snack, sliced in sandwiches, chopped added to a spread ,wherever you want that  flavor.
  The process ( for this recipe) is similar to fresh pack pickling, and hot water bath processing.There are 'no cook' ,so to speak, recipes out there to select from, as well as other recipes just search the Internet,  I can only offer what I have done, and have been happy with the end results. If you are not a fan of slightly sweet pickles, reduce or leave out the sugar, for an acidic pickle
 This is the recipe I used: 

2 & 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 tbs pickling salt , found in the caning supply area of your market
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar ,the less sugar, the more acidic the taste
Dried herbs of choice: rosemary, excellent with garlic, Italian blend seasoning, or individual dried herbs of preference, spices such as mustard seed, whole or cracked black peppercorns,dill seeds,dried Chile peppers, hot pepper flakes. As you can see the combinations are endless and you make them to your personal tastes, herbaceous or hot and spicy, or perhaps both!
 About 1 & 1/2 lbs ( about 6 large heads)  fresh garlic cloves peeled ( Here I cheated and bought a 5lb jar of peeled garlic)
 tip: separate cloves from bulb, blanch 30 seconds in boiling water, rinse under cold water, drain, to easily remove skins.
 
Have ready a caner pot  filled 2/3 with hot simmering water, about 5-6 , 8oz canning jars,lids and bands, (If desired you may use larger sizes of jars, be sure to increase the processing time twice the size,twice as long), which were washed in hot soapy water and rinsed well ,kept in another pot of hot water till needed. A towel placed  on counter next to burner with pot of garlic, for ease of filling jars.A clean damp towel for wiping jar top and threads,a dry towel to hold the hot filled jars and a thick towel placed in a draft free place to put the processed jars of garlic

1) combine vinegar,salt,sugar,and desired herbs and spices in a stainless steel pot. You may also add more herbs/ spices to each jar  to increase the flavor and as a decorative appearance. Dried chile's can be placed in individual jars or added to vinegar mix and picked out. Bring  mixture to a boil. boil 1 minute,add garlic cloves boil 3-5 minutes
2) using funnel and a ladle fill jars with garlic to 1/2 " of top and then fill with hot brine to 1/4" of top
3) wipe rim and threads of jars with clean damp towel to remove residue of brine
4) place a lid and screw on bands finger tight, place in caner filled  2/3 with simmering water 
5) continue till all jars are filled, process in gently boiling water , covered, 10 minutes, remove place on towel in draft free area  several inches apart to cool  over night.
 6) Check for seal by pressing down on lid, if it does not go up and down it is sealed, if not,reprocess or refridgerate, remove bands clean threads and bands with a clean damp towel, leave bands off or replace loosely, store in a cool dark place.
7) let the pickled garlic age for about a month, if you can't wait, I understand completely, the longer it ages the better the flavors will blend., keep in fridge after opening

I added some hot pepper flakes to the hot jar prior to adding the garlic, be creative add any spices you enjoy.

a small sprig of fresh rosemary

filling with brine to 1/4" of top rim

using plastic tool remove any air bubbles

filled to correct height garlic 1/2"  from rim, brine 1/4" of rim, clean rim and threads with clean damp towel

add clean hot lid

screw on band finger tight only

process 10 minutes in gently boiling hot water bath, water should be 2-3 " above jar tops

after 1 month chill if desired, open enjoy!

NOTE: I noticed some of the cloves had turned a greenish blue. I researched online the cause of garlic to turn color when in contact with an acid, and found it has to do with the sulphur compounds in the galic, it does not affect the flavor or quality. check here:
 http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/bluegarlic.htm