I used straght vinegar and salt in my batch last year. But any amount (ratio) suitable for a water/vinegar ratio thats also used for regular pickles is just fine too. I cut mine long to a length to fit the height of the jars. The straight sided 12 ounce jelly jars are great for these, or those wide mouth straights.

Ken, So you didn't use any dill or anything?

-Robin

Actually I left that ingredient out, just so someone would ask. Keep it alive!! Yes, some got the dill, but at that time of year, weed only as it was not at seed stage for a while later. My scapes were removed the begining of June (Music/Musik type garlic). Also, I added a few red pepper flakes to couple jars. A few times instead of just salt, I would use a little dill pickle mix instead. Yes, yellow tumeric, but close to green color anyway. Same holds true for whole pickled garlic cloves. Those, I need a LOT more help on, so I cheat, and use the 3 pound jars sold at Costco. Christopher Ranch brand. Already peeled and only need that tannish, dry, root end cut off. Love it when they sometimes turn green/blue in the jars for the first few weeks.

Ken, I have a question on the whole pickled garlic cloves. If they turn greenish on the cut end but smell fine are they okay to use or should they be thrown out?

Dafy

All of the safe-tested recipes I've seen for pickled garlic were 100% vinegar with one exception. It's 2 parts vinegar to 1 part water.

I did read one source that said 50% vinegar and 50% water is OK, but it's the same source that uses 2:1 in the posted recipe.

Carol

The green/blue color tinge change is usually only temporary. Its attributed to some enzymes within the cloves, especially if they have been freshly dug and dried a week or two. Most garlic cloves would have that normal creamish color inside, and maybe even a purple paper skin. With colors like these within a clove is when acids in vinegar and heat of processing come into play. Ever drop iodine on a potato? It turns blue. I wonder what happens when you do the same with a true blue potato? Does it turn white? Hmmm food for thought.

As to vinegar strength. I usually do ALL my vinegar based pickles with full strength 5% acidity distilled white vinegar. Even for that, more sweet and spicy B&B, sweet mixed, and a few other pickles that benefit from using some cider vinegar to be a bit more 'mello', may see a bit of water added. My pickled pepproncini are full strength vinegar too. With a full quart of pickled garlic, and full strength vinegar, you have a safer canning combination for that larger quart size mass.

Was at a web site (canning pantry) where they offer many more Mrs. Wages pickle mixes. Apparently they realized that Ball as 'droppped the ball', when it comes to a bigger variety of mix flavors. There is one for making 'dilly' beans, pickled beets, and and also one for pickling all kinds of garden veggies. Additionally choices for refrigerater pickles, where you do no heat processing at all.
Also found that, yes, Ball appears to have sugar in their dill pickle mixes (even as the first ingredient), hardly a true dill pickle. Polish dills use a few peppercorns in that style (Grandma did too).

Carol, this is Garlic Scapes though not garlic. Really when you deal with them they are way less oily then garlic. Actually they are not oily at all. More like a green bean. However I have not found a recipe on an extension site. One place said they used the dilly bean recipe but it did not mention safety at all.

-Robin

Robin What are garlic scapes? Paula

I noticed you had mentioned garlic scapes. Since I don't know of any recipes for pickling scapes, I looked at garlic.

I wasn't thinking of the oil. I was thinking of the water (moisture) content of the scapes themselves. When in doubt my inclination is to go with the most conservative option.

It will be interesting to hear how these turn out. I hope you let us know.

Ever considered garlic scape pesto or in stir-fry?

Carol

Garlic 'scapes' are only produced by northern hardy varieties of hard necked garlic. They are the center main solid stem you see when you break open a whole bulb of hardeck. These scapes start to form early spring, and send up a solid, long green stalk from the bulb (about 1/4 inch in diameter. If left on, they will form a bud and then flower or seed ball. Once that happens the planted bulb's cloves will stop growing and all the stength goes into that green scape. Needless to say, if its removed before its formed a ligh color bud, early on, the bulb will get back its much needed enegy, and grow bigger. About 1-3 months later the leafy garlic greens start to die out. Once dead, you carefully dig the bulbs up. I place m dug garlic on a big open screen frame with a big fan running under them. NEVER wash them once out of the ground. Every few days, I rub off the dry dirt and trim off the dead tops. They remain at that drying stage for a few weeks so they mature enough not to spoil for a long period. Mine are at that final stage snow, and look really well. There are still a bunch of dirty dried roots attached too, but once these start to crumble and break off when rubbed, the bulbs are now headed for the house. Music/Musik type is my favorite now. I hate the kinds that have tiny sliver cloves with layers, but that is the most common type in stores however, due to less labor (no scape cutting) involved when grown on a big farm.

Macaroni salad and/or ant other salad type. Chopped and roasted with chicken..

I like to take garlic scapes and chop them to the size of green beans, then fry them in a little olive oil in a HOT pan. I add some water towards the end, so they get soft as it steams them a little. I like them rather soft and fairly well cooked. When the water is steamed away, hit with salt and grated parm cheese.

I also would think something similar to the dilly bean recipe would be super awesome using garlic scapes. My CSA had tons of scapes this year, in fact they had some in the "take extra if you want" bin, so maybe next year I will try and pickle some.

Sadly, my scapes are all bye bye for this year.

I got my whole mess of garlic Scapes form my CSA's Extra's area as well. I am a little embarrassed at how many I took. However I left shortly before pick up was over and they still had some. I am also planning on freezing some garlic scapes pesto as we stuffed a leg of lamb with that earlier in the season. Then I plan on freezing foraged greens (also known as edible weeds) pesto make with garlic scapes.

Sigh, i guess I will probably go with the straight vinegar although I really would prefer some water.

-Robin

I think you can do some water; I just wasn't sure about half-and-half. The 2:1 ratio of vinegar to water might get you where you'd like to be with the scapes but still provide a greater margin of safety.

That pesto sounds excellent with lamb. I have a leg of lamb in the freezer. I should try that.

Carol

Yes, as Carol has mentioned, an 80:20 should be fine. Also a tiny bit of sugar in the brine will 'soften' the acid a bit.

I tend to ramble on lately (medication side effects) and so some of my replies get REALLY detailed and maybe very boring for some. Can't please everyone...

If you are growing hard neck type garlic, snip off any of those scapes at an early age, especially before the bud pops open at the curly tip. If all were originaly planted at the same time, they usually all mature to scapes about the same time too. One last note about the bulbs in soil. If left too long in the soil, after their greens died out, the cloves will swell and split apart. This shortens their lifespan during storage. Stay on them, as to the signs of maturity and the dead leaves.

Robin, be sure to let us know how those scapes turn out. I've mostly used mine up as "green garlic" in stir fries and sauces, but I'd like something new as I plant to plant more garlic next year than I have been in years past.

Pesto from foraged greens? I've been considering trying a pesto with lambs quarter and purslane, both of which I have in excess. If it grows in my garden, I'm gonna eat it, that's my new motto, LOL.

Actually, Elery and I added purslane to cabbage last year and made cole slaw and it was a very nice addition.

Annie