Black Garlic???
Does anyone (Sam, perhaps) know what the process is for turning ordinary garlic into delicious, umami-rich black garlic? I've been cooking with it a lot the last two weeks in preparation for writing about it for the local paper. My research has yielded wildly conflicting results.
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I took fermented black garlic aka aged black garlic from 11/10/12 through 2/20/13 and updated my blood test to see how the fermented black garlic worked. Compared to my blood test from 9/11/12, total cholesterol changed from 214 to 151, TC 57 to 54, HDL 67 to 59, LDL 135 to 81, Glucose 105 to 76. I was very pleased with the change and I want to share how to make this wonderful fermented black garlic at home.
1. Buy 15-20 bulbs of organic garlics (I used organic garlic from California). USE ONLY ORGANIC GARLIC.
2. In a electrical rice cooker that has cooking and warming settings for 10 cups, place the basket vegetable steamer at the bottom of the rice cooker. Place the garlic about 15-20 bulbs in an upright position in the rice cooker.
3. Spray the garlic with draft beer (I used Asahi Japanese beer) lightly.
4. Closed the lid and plug the rice cooker, set it at warming. I recommend keeping the rice cooker outside. It smells really strong. I kept mine on the deck under the patio table to keep the snow and rain out.
5. Leave it alone for 14 days. DO NOT OPEN PRIOR TO 14 DAYS.
6. Take the garlic out and place them on a tray and let it dry for 14 days in a cool dark place. I dried mine in the garage.
7. Put the garlic in a ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator.
8. Peel one bulb at a time and eat 2 cloves with food three times a day.
9. Drink plenty of water.
10. For further info on the fermented black garlic, check http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic... -
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I am totally intrigued and am going to try to make some myself. My plan is to put 2 or 3 heads of garlic into one of those glass canning jars with the rubber ring and metal clasp so that it's sealed really tight, since sealing in the humidity seems to be key. Then I'll put it in my Aga's warming oven for the requiered 40 days. I'll prolly purchase some online as well so that I can compare the taste of mine when it's done with purchased.
This seems like a really great use of the Aga's warming oven, since it's already turned on all the time.
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I just finished making my own black garlic by sealing 6 whole heads in a vaccuum bag and submerging it in a water bath at 140F for 40 days. The garlic is nice and black now but I have not yet opened the bag as I am a bit concerned about safety. I believe that having cooked at that temperature for that length of time the garlic should be pasteurized. Does anyone know how I should store them?
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re: nextguy
I don't know enough about the invisible monsters in our food to give reliable advice about how to store your black garlic without making it poisonous. I wait with mounting curiosity to hear the results of your experiment tho.
(The results in terms of taste. I hoping it's tasty, I'm not hoping you kill your guests.)
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re: mamachef
buttertart
Apr 11, 2011 08:56 AM
I really can't wrap my mind around this whole black garlic concept. It just does not appeal to me at all.
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re: buttertart
A bit of info re black garlic and a few more recipe ideas here...
http://nutsaboutfruit.blogspot.com/2009/07/black-garlic-umami-to-max.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-foo...I'm looking for the black garlic ice cream recipe that is utterly mmmmmm!!
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re: mamachef
It's wonderfully mellow and smooth. Sort of like roasted garlic but better! Lots of these are divine including the risotto, scallops, pork fillet recipes.
http://www.friendandburrell.com.au/more/black-garlic/recipes/
Black garlic vinaigrette...
http://www.thespicehouse.com/recipes/black-garlic-vinaigrette
And a few more...(some are doubles of the first website
)http://www.blackgarlic.co.uk/index.as...
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I found an article for making black garlic:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5902625_make-...There are scientific publications about this process. It looks really simple. How someone can patent fermentation that just requires warming is beyond me.
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re: brother bill
AndrewK512
Jan 24, 2010 10:39 PM
Dang, it appears to be deleted now.
Do you remember what the instructions were?-
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re: dmd_kc
Most decent food dehydrators are in that 140-155 F range. I actually am planning on getting a ton of garlic this weekend, and trying it out with mine. I couldn't imagine trying to do it in the oven, and not having access for a month+. Only downside with my dehydrator, is I won't have a way to put the garlic in a glass jar. I don't have high hopes for it, but I never use my dehydrator, and with how cheap garlic is, I'm going to give it a shot.
BTW, here is a link on a ton of dehydrators with their temp range. If you're serious about doing it yourself, and have a few bucks to spare on buying the right one for it, it might be worth giving a shot. Hell, you could probably make a ton at a time, and sell it for a decent amount of money at a farmers market, if that's your kind of thing.
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Although I have never done it myself I recently searched for the same answer myself. Aging, fermentation, and pickling has long been a difficult and mysterious trade. I believe that I found my answer here:
http://www.freshpatents.com/Process-f...
It appears to be a patent for the preparation of the aforementioned item. I read the entire length of it and decided that it was probably perpetuated by the one distributor and possible inventor; a man who I believe goes by the name Scott Kim.
Cheers,
-SpotPrawn
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hannaone
Feb 18, 2009 07:35 AM
The only thing I've been able to come up with is the Korean aged garlic. I haven't experimented yet but what I've seen calls for simply placing whole garlic heads into an earthenware container, setting that in a cool dark place like a cave or root cellar, and letting it set for a couple months until it turns black. The garlic may be suspended above aged soy sauce in the container.
