Processing Method and Detailed Steps for Sweet and Sour Garlic

The processing of sweet and sour garlic includes raw material selection, peeling, salting, changing vats, sun-drying, ingredient preparation, pickling and packaging.

For the raw material used to process sweet and sour garlic, garlic bulbs that are neat and plump, with white skin and fresh, tender flesh should be selected. They are graded and sorted, that is, 20 bulbs per kilogram for the special grade, 30 bulbs per kilogram for Grade A, and more than 30 bulbs per kilogram for substandard.

Peeling: use a knife to cut off the roots and stems, peel off the garlic skin wrapped around the outside of the bulbs, wash clean in clear water, and drain off the water.

Salting: pickle according to the ratio of 100kg fresh garlic bulbs to 10kg salt. First spread a layer of bottom salt in the pickling vat, then follow the method of one layer of garlic bulbs and one layer of salt, pickling until the vat is more than half full, then scatter another layer of salt on the surface.

Changing vats: the purpose of changing vats is to make the garlic bulbs in all upper and lower parts pickle evenly. Prepare clean empty vats of the same capacity for changing vats, and change vats once in the morning and once in the evening each day, until the brine can submerge 3/3 of all the garlic bulbs. At the same time, a small hole also needs to be made in the central part of the garlic bulbs so that the brine can flow into the hole, and a ladle is often used to scoop out the brine from the hole and pour it over the surface of the garlic bulbs. After managing in this way for 15 days, they become salted garlic bulbs.

Sun-drying: scoop the salted garlic bulbs out of the vat and place them on bamboo mats to dry, until they are reduced by 30%-35% compared with their original weight. During sun-drying, turn them once a day, and at night put them indoors or cover them with a rainproof cloth to prevent rain.

Ingredients: for every 100kg of sun-dried salted garlic bulbs, use 70kg white vinegar and 32kg granulated sugar. When preparing the ingredients, first heat the white vinegar to 80°C, then add granulated sugar to dissolve it; some also add a little spice such as sanai and star anise.

Pickling: put the salted garlic bulbs into a jar, press them gently and tightly, and when the jar is 3/4 full, pour the prepared sweet and sour aromatic liquid into the jar until it is full, with the weight of the garlic bulbs and the aromatic liquid basically equal. Place several bamboo strips crosswise at the neck of the jar to prevent the garlic bulbs from floating up, then tie the jar mouth tightly with plastic film or oil paper, add a wooden board, and coat the jar mouth with sanhe clay to seal it. After 3 months, the garlic bulbs are ready; if the time is longer, the quality of the finished product is better. Sealed garlic bulbs can be stored for a long time.

Quality requirements: the finished product is required to be milky white or milky yellow, pleasantly sweet and sour, and crisp and tender in texture.