Food preservation and safety: lacto-fermenting garlic - Ask Extension
I've been playing around with lacto-fermenting veggies for a while, with delicious success. I worry about botulism when garlic is involved. Many peopl...
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Food preservation and safety: lacto-fermenting garlic #930666
Asked May 05, 2026, 10:38 AM EDT
I've been playing around with lacto-fermenting veggies for a while, with delicious success. I worry about botulism when garlic is involved. Many people have fermented garlic without getting sick, but I have a pretty low risk tolerance when it comes to food safety.
Do you know if lacto-fermenting garlic as a paste with something like 3% by mass added salt, or in a 3% salt brine, would likely be safe to avoid botulism? Would adding something like citric acid help with the pH, without preventing the good microbes from getting established?
Thank you!
Franklin CountyOhio
Expert Response
I am actively looking for an answer to your question. I will send you a response as soon as possible.
What recipe are you using and where did you find it? Also, do you have a pH meter in your possession.
Fermentation is not an approved, safe method of preserving garlic. There are currently no validated recipes for fermenting garlic. Garlic is a low acid food (high pH/acidity); therefore, it must be preserved safely or there is a risk of botulism.
UC Davis has a "Garlic: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy" publication that provides several different validated methods that can be used as an alternative to fermenting.
My recipe wasn't a true published recipe - just cobbled together from people citing personal experience, mostly in real life but also in places like the /r/fermentation subreddit. Garlic paste + salt or garlic in brine have both been discussed there on Reddit; more popular is garlic in honey, which feels even riskier based on my little knowledge.
I've been debating buying a pH meter, but I don't have one yet.
The storing in wine idea from the UC Davis sounds interesting, so I'll give that a try instead of gambling with my garlic.
