Black garlic came into my life back in 2015 from a fellow blogger, Elaine who made Black Garlic Harissa. https://foodbod.wordpress.com/2015/02/20/introducing-my-black-garlic-harissa-so-exciting-plus-a-discount-for-this-amazing-garlic/

Being a gardener and a cook I was fascinated with the possibilities. Could I grow it like my regular garlic – no such luck as it goes through a process, not fermentation, but what is called the Maillard reaction. It cooks for a month or so in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. They say you can try making it yourself in a rice cooker, slow cooker or dehydrator. I will buy it!!!

As I absolutely love garlic and add it in many recipes I was very curious as to what black garlic tasted like too and of course ways to use it. My first recipe was:

Pasta al Pomodoro with Black Gold

See the specks of black garlic? I used cloves from a whole head of black garlic.

So, what is black garlic? It’s a sweet and savory ingredient that is very versatile. It has a soft, balsamic-molasses flavor, which adds a deep umami to many dishes. It does not have the sharpness of fresh white garlic and is easier to digest. Black garlic has significantly higher antioxidant levels. No additives or preservatives and is shelf stable, however once a jar has been opened it should be refrigerated and used within a month.

Black garlic has many uses in spreads and sauces such as hummus or compound butter; savory dishes such as risotto, pasta or stir-fries; use as a marinade for many proteins that you roast or grill; try it in salad dressings or roasted veggies.They say it works great with dark chocolate – I think I will try that another time!

It’s history begins primarily in Asian countries such as Korea, China and Japan. It has medicinal properties as well as being a cooking staple. In the early 2000’s black garlic came on the scene in Europe and the United States.

Black garlic is available in different forms; whole black garlic bulbs, peeled black garlic cloves, bulk peeled black garlic, puree, powder and what I used black garlic solo bulbs in a papery husk that you peel off. They are large bulbs and good for presentation as well as in your recipes; eat them as a snack too! I even found black garlic chili crisp on Amazon – might give this a try. Next day delivery and I tried the garlic crisp in a dipping sauce for dumplings. Didn’t care for it too much – still prefer Lao Gan Ma !!!

The cloves are rather big and are encased in a papery husk. Only 3 were needed to equal 1 oz.

Made a dipping sauce of 2 tbsp. black garlic crisp, 2 tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar and 1 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce to serve with some dumplings. Lao Gan Ma is still my favorite.