As the saying goes, "Laba Festival, sacrifice to the stove, the New Year is coming." In the north As long as the Laba Festival is passed, it is the official start of the New Year. Every household must start busy buying new year's goods, buying new clothes, and cleaning the house to prepare for the arrival of the New Year. On the day of the Laba Festival, you should also drink a bowl of Laba porridge for good luck. Then pickle a large jar of Laba garlic . After the garlic cloves are completely marinated and become as green as jade, eat them with dumplings during the New Year. The taste is not to mention how fragrant it is!
Pickled Laba garlic seems simple, but there are still many friends who make Laba garlic. Either the color is not green enough, or it is sour and soft in the mouth and not crispy, and it does not taste like garlic. In fact, the ingredients used for pickling Laba garlic in and the pickling environment are the key to control. Don’t just buy some garlic and soak it in vinegar. Keep these 3 tips in mind. handles the details well. In seven days, the Laba garlic will turn green and bright, taste crispy and fragrant, and the pickling will be successful in one go.
3 tips to keep in mind when picking Laba garlic:
1. Prefer fresh purple garlic
The garlic you choose for pickling Laba garlic is very critical. It is best to buy fresh purple garlic. purple-skinned garlic is relatively solid and smaller than white-skinned garlic , making it easier to marinate. Moreover, purple-skinned garlic has sufficient moisture and the garlic aroma is more intense. The pickled Laba garlic tastes fragrant and crispy.
If you cannot buy purple-skinned garlic, you must remember to choose fresh white-skinned garlic. If you buy stale "cold storage garlic", you will not be able to pickle green Laba garlic. This kind of garlic has been stored in the cold storage for a long time, resulting in the lack of active enzymes in the garlic cloves, and it cannot transform into green.
In addition, remember to pick out any garlic cloves that have green sprouts, insect eyes, or dry and wrinkled parts. Only choose garlic cloves that are complete, plump, undamaged, and ungerminated for pickling and soaking. This way, Laba garlic can be pickled green, beautiful, and crispy and delicious.
2. Prefer white rice vinegar for pickling
It is best to use white rice vinegar for pickling Laba garlic, because the color of white rice vinegar is light, usually colorless or light yellow, unlike mature vinegar, which is too dark in color and easily affects the greenness of Laba garlic. Moreover, rice vinegar is mainly made from fermented glutinous rice. It is a bit softer and sweeter than mature vinegar and white vinegar. The pickled Laba garlic tastes better and has a hint of sweetness in the mouth.
Compared with mature vinegar, white vinegar is the least recommended. Aged vinegar will only slightly affect the color. However, most of the white vinegar on the market today is directly blended with acetic acid. The acidity is too strong and the taste is not fragrant. Using it to pickle Laba garlic will affect the taste.
3. Create a temperature difference for Laba garlic
For garlic to successfully turn green, it needs to meet two conditions, namely low temperature environment and acidic conditions. With these two points, the alliinase contained in the garlic cloves can be activated, and the active enzyme is the main component of alliinase. This is also the reason why "cold storage garlic" is not selected. After alliinase encounters vinegar, it will react with the acetic acid in the vinegar, causing structural changes to produce two sulfur-containing pigments, blue and yellow. The combination of yellow and blue will produce green.
The reason why a temperature difference is created is to speed up the greening of garlic cloves. Low temperature can activate alliinase, while a large temperature difference can promote the production of pigments. When pickling, the Laba garlic is placed in a cool place with a high temperature indoors and a cool outdoor place with a low temperature for a period of time every day. The temperature difference formed in this way will cause the garlic cloves to turn green quickly, and emerald-green Laba garlic can be pickled in seven days.
However, the temperature in the south is generally higher than in the north, so it is generally not easy to pickle green Laba garlic. You can put the Laba garlic in the refrigerator at night, and take it out during the day and place it in a warm room or outdoors to create a temperature difference, which is convenient for pickling delicious Laba garlic.
Ingredients required for pickled Laba garlic
: fresh purple-skinned garlic, white rice vinegar, rock sugar
1. Peel off the outer skin of all fresh purple-skinned garlic by hand. Do not choose a garlic peeler or put it in a basin to peel the garlic by shaking it to save trouble. These methods can easily cause damage to the garlic. If you encounter garlic cloves with sprouts, scars or dry parts, you should also pick out and remove them.
2. Rinse the selected garlic to remove the remaining dust. Use kitchen paper to dry the water on the garlic cloves. Let it dry for a while and then cut off the bottom of the garlic cloves, which will help speed up the pickling.
3. Choose a suitable container for pickling garlic. Sealed glassware or pickle jars are all acceptable, but do not use containers made of metal. Acetic acid will corrode them and are not suitable for pickling Laba garlic. Scald the selected container with boiling water, or scrub the inside and outside with high-strength white wine to perform sterilization disinfection. Then wipe it dry with kitchen paper or air it in the sun. Make sure there is no residual moisture to prevent the garlic cloves from deteriorating during the pickling process.
4. Put all the garlic cloves into a glass jar, and add an appropriate amount of rock sugar to reduce the spiciness of the garlic. It will taste more sour and sweet. If you don’t like sweetness, you can choose not to add it.
5. Pour the rice vinegar into the jar to cover all the garlic cloves, seal it with a layer of plastic wrap, cover it and marinate for about seven days. When the garlic cloves gradually turn green, you can take them out and eat them. It is good with dumplings or stir-fry.
- Lao Jing said -
When pickling Laba garlic, if you want the garlic to turn green faster, you can cut off the head and bottom of the garlic, so that the vinegar can penetrate into the garlic cloves faster and increase the speed of the garlic turning green. If you are not in a hurry, you can keep the head and tail of the garlic, and the garlic flavor will be stronger. When pickling garlic, add a little rock sugar and it will not be very sweet when eaten. It is still very different from sugared garlic. There is no need to worry about this. In addition, don’t throw away the Laba vinegar that is pickled with Laba garlic. You can keep it for dipping dumplings or mixing it with cold dishes. It is very delicious.
I am a food hunter in the market. I have been interacting with the world for many years, but I still remain bright and full of interest! I like to focus on eating, drinking and having fun in the city, and update recipes and food anecdotes every day. Follow me and enjoy the food without getting lost.
