Minced garlic is okay but minced garlic is not as good as fresh garlic.
If you buy minced garlic in a jar or can the minced garlic will not be as fresh or as good tasting but it's still good.
I prefer to mince my own fresh garlic when I want minced garlic or need minced garlic because the fresher the garlic the better.
I grow my own garlic as well and then mince it at home as it's fresher and tastes much better.
You do not have to cure garlic before eating.
Garlic is edible directly out of the ground and there's no need to heat up, cook or cure garlic before you eat it.
You can take garlic right from the ground and eat it raw and you only need to cure garlic if you want to cure it as there's no requirement to cure garlic.
Curing garlic is a good idea though if you want to extend the shelf life of garlic before it goes bad.
Cured garlic lasts longer in the pantry or out on the counter etc than non cured garlic does.
If you are using garlic right away or within a week or so then there's no need to cure the garlic before using it to cook with or eating it raw.
I've eaten raw garlic before and raw garlic is good for your health as well.