Forage & Ferment
Wild Garlic Party
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Gather some of your favourite people, head outside to forage wild garlic together, come home and turn it into kimchi and fermented pesto. Simple, seasonal, and something to show for it.
This page has everything you need to organise your own wild garlic party — from the invite to the aftercare instructions for when your friends take their jars home.
STEP 1
Choose a date & send your invite
Wild garlic season runs from February to June, peaking in April & May. Pick a date while it’s still abundant.
Your invite
Copy and paste the text below into WhatsApp, email or wherever you gather your people,
Hey! I’m organising a wild garlic foraging and fermenting afternoon and would love you to come.
We’ll head out to pick wild garlic together, then come back and make kimchi and fermented pesto. You’ll go home with your own jar to ferment.
Date: 2026
Meet at: [location]
Time: [time]
Please bring: a bag for foraging, kitchen knife, a large bowl, and your jars — one 500ml jar and one small jar (approx 200ml) per person. Jam jars or clip-top kilner jars are perfect. Bring a couple of extras just in case.
Let me know if you can make it!
STEP 2
Shopping list
We’ve based everything on one batch per person — that’s 350g of kimchi and 100g of pesto each. It’s easy to scale up, just multiply the quantities and use bigger or more jars.
A good way to organise this is to allocate one ingredient to each friend.
I haven’t included quantities for wild garlic in the shopping list as it is foraged on the day
For the kimchi (per person, per batch)
100g radish (use mooli/daikon, turnip, kohlrabi, parsnip, Jerusalem artichoke or whatever is in season)
½ red onion
½ apple or pear
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
2–3 tsp gochugaru (or chipotle or ancho chillies)
1 tsp good quality salt (no additives)
For the pesto (per person, per batch)
45g seeds or nuts of your choice — sunflower seeds work beautifully
½ tsp salt
Note: unlike a traditional pesto we don’t add oil or parmesan at this stage — you’ll add those before serving once it’s fermented.
On the day you’ll also need:
A former (to stop bits floating the the surface) – something like a nori sheet, large wild garlic leaves, or onion skins
A weight to keep everything submerged — a glass weight, ramekin dish, or a zip-lock bag filled with salt water works perfectly.
A food processor ideally one that can pulse and also blitz or a grater for your ginger
STEP 3
The day before - checklist
Remind your friends to bring:
A chopping board
A kitchen knife
A large bowl
Their jars — one 500ml and one small jar (approx 200ml) per person, plus a couple of extras. The jars need to have been thoroughly washed with hot soapy water.
Their allocated ingredient from the shopping list
You’ll need to have ready:
Nori sheets, onion skins or large leaves (for the kimchi former)
A weight for each kimchi jar — a ramekin, glass weight or zip-lock bag filled with water
A food processor
STEP 4
The day before — foraging guide
Make sure everyone in your group can confidently identify wild garlic before you head out.
Wild garlic has broad, flat, bright green leaves and smells strongly of garlic — if in doubt, crush a leaf and smell it
Only pick from abundant patches and take no more than a third from any one area
Avoid picking near roads or well-used dog-walking paths
Don’t confuse with lords and ladies or lily of the valley — neither smells of garlic
STEP 5
On the day — foraging
You need 200g of wild garlic per person for the kimchi and 75g per person for the pesto — so aim for around 275g per person in total.
Wild garlic is like spinach — it weighs almost nothing, so what looks like a modest harvest can turn into much more than you expected once you’re back in the kitchen. Have extra jars and ingredients on hand just in case.
Nobody ever complained about too much kimchi.
STEP 6
The recipes
Wash your gathered garlic, making sure you get rid of any soil and any debris (bits of ivy and moss etc). Leave it in a colander to drain (or use a salad spinner). Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and a slice of cake before you tackle the recipes. It is a party after all!
Also make sure all the jars, tools and bowls have been thoroughly washed with hot soapy water before you begin.
Wild Garlic Kimchi
Wild garlic kimchi
1 batch = 350g — use one 500ml jar (you need a little headspace for fermentation)
200g wild garlic
100g radish (or whatever is in season)
½ red onion
½ apple or pear
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp soy sauce
2–3 tsp gochugaru (or chipotle or ancho chillies)
1 tsp salt
We’re leaving the wild garlic whole for this – but if you’d prefer it chopped – just chop in roughly.
Julienne the radish (this adds some crunch)
- Finely slice the onion
For the kimchi element you can either create a paste with the ginger, pear, soy sauce, chilli flakes and salt (which is what I did but you need a blender for this) or grate the ginger and dice or slice the pear/apple and add the salt, chilli & soy sauce separately
Add your ingredients to your wild garlic leaves (you might want to use gloves to avoid staining or if you’re sensitive to chilli). Mix really well to make sure all the wild garlic is coated.
- Leave for 20 minutes or so to allow the salt to help brine release from the wild garlic.
Pack tightly into your jar, pressing down firmly to eliminate all air pockets and so that the liquid rises above the veg
Use a nori sheet, onion skin or large leaf to tuck everything below the brine
Place your weight on top — a ramekin, glass weight or zip-lock bag filled with a salt brine of 2% work well (that’s 20g salt per litre filtered water). You can ferment without these but your ferment will need a little extra nurturing.
If you are using a ziplock – this can act as a weight, lid and makeshift airlock (keeping the air out while allowing gases to escape.) Otherwise pop your lid on and leave to ferment at room temperature for 5 – 14 days.
If you are not using an airlock system you will need to burp your jar daily to release the build up of gases. Also, if you are not using an airlock system press down your weight – or if you’re not using a weight press down your veggies with a clean utensil to make sure it stays below the brine. I wouldn’t touch it if you are using the zip lock and the whole surface of the ferment is covered.
Start to taste after 5-7 days and when you are happy with the level of tang, put the lid on tightly and pop it in the fridge where it will last unopened for several months.
Fermented Wild Garlic Pesto
Fermented wild garlic pesto
1 batch = 100g — use a 200ml jar (you need a little head space for fermentation)
75g wild garlic leaves
45g seeds or nuts of your choice
½ tsp salt
Roughly chop the wild garlic leaves
Add the seeds or nuts a food processor and pulse a few times until they are roughly chopped.
- Add your salt and then your wild garlic leaves in batches. Pulse. You want a roughly chopped paste.
Leave for 10-20 mins to allow the salt to work on the wild garlic and extract a little brine.
Pack tightly into a clean jar, pressing down firmly to remove air pockets
- Add a large wild garlic leaf or some onion skins to stop anything floating up. Add a weight if you have room. (a zip lock bag works well here too)
Seal and leave at room temperature for 3-7 days to ferment, then move to the fridge.
Before serving, stir in olive oil and parmesan or nutritional yeast to taste
STEP 7
Aftercare
Downloadable Recipe, Instructions & Aftercare
Share this info with your friends when they head home.
Kimchi
Leave at room temperature for 5-14 days, tasting as you go
It’s ready when it tastes pleasingly sour and funky
Once happy with the flavour, move to the fridge — it will keep for several months
Every day or two, press the veg back below the brine with a clean spoon
A little bubbling is completely normal and a good sign
If anything looks or smells wrong, trust your instincts and discard
Fermented pesto
Leave at room temperature for 3-7 days
Keep the paste pressed below the surface — add a little water if needed
Once fermented to your taste, move to the fridge
Stir in olive oil and parmesan or nutritional yeast before serving
Use within 2–3 weeks once opened
A little brine on top is fine — white fuzz is not, discard if that appears
Want to Learn More Fermentation Like This?
If you enjoyed this recipe, fermentation has a whole world of discovery waiting for you.
Inside The Fermentation Hub, in March renowned author and educator Kirsten K Shockey takes a deep dive into fermenting onions as the main ingredient and share her delicious spicy onion and mango recipe. We’re also making a Fermented Cleavers tonic – a lightly effervescent soda that supports your lymphatic system – making the most of the newly emerging shoots.
In April we’re making wild garlic miso (because it would be rude not to make the most of this delicious free ingredient) and rhubarb kosho – a seasonal riff on a spicy Japanese condiment. In May we’re exploring how to apply Ayurvedic principles to your ferments to optimise the health benefits through the seasons.
Each month in the Hub includes:
- Seasonal tutorials – what’s in season and how to work with it
- Intentional ingredient sessions – herbs, plants and ferments that support everyday nourishment and wellbeing
- Live Q&A / panel conversations with experienced fermenters and educators
- Kind, moderated discussion spaces to ask questions, seek reassurance or post ‘does this look ok?’ images or ‘look what I just made!’ photos
- Beginner friendly with plenty of depth for more experienced fermenters
- Replays you can watch anytime
The goal is simple: helping people feel confident bringing fermentation into their kitchens in a way that feels practical, nourishing, and enjoyable.
If you’d like to ferment the seasons with a community who genuinely love this stuff, the Hub is right here. First month is easy to cancel (cancel any time) — but most people stay.
