Some recipes are planned. This one — a fermented garlic ginger paste — began with a wet walk through a park and a dog who knows exactly where the vet is.
Issy was due her annual vaccination. The surgery is on one of the busiest streets in Martos, and parking anywhere near it is a challenge at the best of times — it's essentially impossible in a six-metre campervan. My usual solution is the open space near the bullring. I won't pretend the bullring is my favourite landmark in town. I usually throw a stone at it on the way past.
From there it's a walk through the park, which is pleasant enough in good weather. Today it was raining.
Issy was fine until we were about a hundred metres from Tremedad's Cash Mascota. That's where her nose kicked in. Disinfectant. Latex. The particular smell that only means one thing. She stopped dead and decided she wasn't going any further. What followed was less a walk and more a negotiation, which I eventually won. Once inside she accepted her fate, as dogs do, though she'd have been off given half a chance.
On the way back through Monte Lope Alvarez I stopped at Marta's store for a few bits. And there, just inside the door, was a large box of fresh garlic bulbs — proper heads, tight-skinned, clearly just arrived.
I bought half a kilo. The original plan was garlic confit. But when I got home and opened the freezer, there was ginger sitting there, and a different idea took over entirely.
Marta, as she weighed out the garlic, asked whether I was making sopa de ajo — garlic soup. In fairness, at that point I had no idea what I was making. I said yes anyway. It was easier than explaining lacto-fermentation to someone who hadn't asked about it. If you do want to make garlic soup, I have a version here: French Garlic Soup with a Spanish Twist in Andalucía.
Why Ferment Garlic and Ginger?
Garlic and ginger paste is one of those foundational ingredients that sits behind an enormous number of dishes. If you cook Indian food — curries, dals, biryanis — you'll know it well. It's the base you build almost everything on. Most recipes call for a spoonful blitzed fresh, or the jarred version from the supermarket.
Fermented garlic ginger paste is something better than either of those.
The sharp, aggressive edge that raw garlic and ginger carry softens during fermentation. The flavours deepen and round out. A gentle tang develops — not sour, just alive. What you end up with is a paste that does everything the fresh version does, but with more complexity and far more depth.
It also keeps for months in the fridge, which means one batch serves you for a long time.
If you're new to fermentation, this is one of the best places to start. Two ingredients, a little salt, and patience. That's all it asks.
The 2% Salt Rule
Every ferment I make in the Fermentation Hub follows the same principle: 2% salt by weight of the total ingredients.
That level is enough to suppress unwanted bacteria while allowing the natural lactic acid bacteria — already present on the garlic and ginger — to get on with the job. It also means the finished fermented garlic ginger paste isn't overly salty. It's seasoned, not brined.
The maths is straightforward:
Total weight of garlic + ginger × 0.02 = salt needed
For the batch below — 250g garlic, 250g ginger, 500g total — that's 10g of salt.
Ingredients
250g garlic cloves, peeled
250g ginger — fresh or frozen
10g fine salt (2% of total weight)
That's it. Fermented garlic ginger paste needs no vinegar, no starter culture, and no complicated equipment.
A note on frozen ginger: I almost always have ginger in the freezer. It keeps well and thaws quickly enough to chop. This batch used freezer ginger — let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes or so before you start.
You'll also need a 750ml jar and a fermentation weight.
How to Make Fermented Garlic Ginger Paste
This method is slightly different from the blitz-and-jar approach you'll find elsewhere. The garlic and ginger go into the jar whole — pressed and chopped, not blended. They ferment that way, and you blend to a fermented garlic ginger paste at the end, once the fermentation has done its work.
It means you can see and smell exactly what's happening in the jar throughout. And you control the final texture yourself.
Prepare the ingredients
Peel the garlic cloves. If you've bought fresh bulbs — as I did from Marta's box — the skins will come away easily. Press each clove flat with the side of a knife, just enough to open it up and help the salt work its way in.
If your ginger is frozen, let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes or so, then chop it roughly. No need to be precise — random chunks are fine.
Pack the jar
Add the pressed garlic and chopped ginger to your 750ml jar, mixing them together as you go. Scatter the salt over in layers as you pack — you want it evenly distributed throughout rather than sitting on top.
Press everything down firmly and place the fermentation weight on top to keep the contents submerged. Leave a couple of centimetres of headspace — the mixture will expand slightly as fermentation gets going.
One important point: if you need to add any liquid at any stage, use filtered water rather than tap water. Tap water often contains chlorine, which can inhibit or kill the lactic acid bacteria you're relying on to do the work.
The Fermentation
Set the jar somewhere at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.
Within two to three days you'll see small bubbles forming and the jar will start to develop that characteristic fermented aroma — fresh, tangy, quietly alive. That's the lactic acid bacteria doing exactly what they should be doing.
After a week the smell and flavour will have shifted noticeably. After two to three weeks the garlic and ginger will have transformed into something considerably more interesting than the ingredients you started with.
Taste as it develops. Once the flavour is where you want it, remove the fermentation weight and blend the contents into your fermented garlic ginger paste — smooth or coarse, your choice. Transfer back to the jar (or a smaller one if needed), seal, and move to the fridge. The cold slows fermentation to a near-stop and the paste will keep for several months.
How to Use Fermented Garlic Ginger Paste
This is the fermented garlic ginger paste you reach for whenever a recipe asks for garlic and ginger. Which, if you cook a lot of curry, is constantly.
Use a spoonful as the base for:
Indian curries — it replaces the fresh garlic and ginger you'd normally fry off at the start
Marinades for chicken, lamb, or pork
Stir-fries
Soups and broths
Noodle dishes
Roasted vegetables
Stirred into yoghurt or mayonnaise for an instant sauce
My Easy Indian Chicken Curry with Garam Masala is a good place to start if you want to try it straight away — the fermented paste works beautifully in place of fresh.
One jar of fermented garlic ginger paste goes a long way.
A Note from the Fermentation Hub
If you've landed here without visiting the Fermentation Hub first, that's where you'll find my approach to fermentation laid out properly — the principles, the method, and the other ferments I've written up. The short version: keep it simple, use 2% salt, and trust the process.
Fermented garlic ginger paste is exactly the kind of ferment the hub exists for. Useful, unfussy, and quietly transformative once you have a jar of it in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is fermented garlic ginger paste?
Fermented garlic ginger paste is a mixture of garlic, ginger and salt that undergoes natural lacto-fermentation. The process softens the sharp flavours and creates a deeper, slightly tangy taste.
How long does it take to ferment?
Most garlic ginger paste begins fermenting within 2–3 days and develops good flavour after 1–3 weeks at room temperature.
This fermented garlic ginger paste recipe is part of my Fermentation Hub — a complete guide to simple, everyday fermentation from Casa Adora. It also features in my Curry Recipes hub — the complete guide to curries, spice blends, bases, chutneys and sides from The Flexible Chef.
Wonky photos, proper ferments, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef
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