The first question that comes to mind when you hear the word black garlic, is, where does it come from? Is it grown? Is it a special breed of garlic? Or, who burned it? The last question is a bit closer to the answer as it involves heat to produce this wonderful “new” ingredient.
The black garlic industry is not entirely new because it has been in production since 2008, by a company in Hayward, California, named Black Garlic, Inc. and it is the only black garlic manufacturer in the United States. They use only heads of garlic grown on Jeju Island, South Korea. Scott Kim, inventor of the black garlic product and owner of the company, is considering using California-grown garlic as well.
The process is highly confidential since the manufacturing process is patented. What is generally known is that raw garlic is fermented at a high heat, high humidity controlled environment. This is left for about 3-4 weeks in the fermentation chamber. The garlic is then regularly sampled to ensure quality and consistency. It takes another week to dry them and then packaged.
Just like any other fermented products such as wine, beer, and the more exotic black tofu, black garlic is produced by mimicking the aging process. The more aged, the better it tastes.
A Brief History
Black garlic, also called fermented garlic, is prized for its supposed antioxidant properties and cancer-preventing compound. Scott Kim originally marketed black garlic as a super-food. In Korea, some extracts of black garlic are added in energy drinks. In Thailand, claims of longevity have been expressed in consuming this “super food”. In Japan, it is used in making chocolate products and even ice cream.
One year before Black Garlic, Inc. was up and running, a chef named Bruce Hill, executive chef of Bix restaurant located in San Francisco, had tasted black garlic for the first time in Kyoto Japan. It was served on a vegetable and chicken salad and added to a tapenade, an olive based dish.
Loving the ingredient and its complexity, Hill tracked down a supplier, who happens to be Kim. Hill claims they were the first ones to use it in the American culinary scene. Naturally, other chefs followed. Matthias Merges, an executive chef at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, has listed black garlic as one of his top 5 food finds in 2008. This was published in the December issue of Restaurant News, a trade publication. In New York, a seafood restaurant, Le Bernardin serves its spiced monkfish with black garlic. This dish was highlighted on an episode of Bravo’s “Top Chef: New York.” The executive chef of Ubuntu in Napa, Jeremy Fox sprinkles pureed black garlic on his fingerling potato salad.
As a result of these, food blogs are now filled with everything about this “new” ingredient. And most probably, the list of recipes will continue to grow.
Why the craze?
The answer here is its unique taste yet with undertones of the original garlic that we all love. Black garlic is known for its perfect mix of molasses-like richness and tangy flavors. It has a jelly like texture that you could crush between your tongue and palate. Some say it’s like soft dried fruit in consistency. Anyone imagine prunes?
For non-garlic lovers, this may be your avenue to having an affair with garlic. You stay away from garlic because of the annoying stuff that comes with it. Like bad breath, pungent odor and its acrid bite. None of these are present in black garlic. What we have here is a sweet, almost licorice flavored goodness.
Does it take the place of the good old garlic we all love? Hardly. With its new composition and taste, it may not be a substitute for plain garlic. As mentioned earlier, the top chefs use it to compliment a dish. For personal cooking, if you’re willing to pay at least $2 per head of black garlic in place of your plain garlic, just give it a go.
Fermentation has been occurring naturally in nature. Man has been controlling the fermentation process as early as 8 thousand years ago. This is evident from ancient jars containing wine that was found in Iran. Fermenting brings about some magical transformation on food, and in the process, produces other substances that are beneficial for consumption. In the case of wine, the French Paradox has been celebrated as one of the health benefits from consuming fermented products. This is also the case in black garlic or fermented garlic.
Garlic itself has proven over time to be very good for our health. Unfortunately it is not good for our breath. In comes black garlic-- the wonderful transformed product of a well known health supplement. The pungent smell and strong taste is virtually gone but the benefits remain. Black garlic contains certain sugars and amino acids. When fermented, these compounds produce melanoidin, a dark colored substance that gives black garlic its distinct color.
Now that you know about this “new staple” for the kitchen, where can you get one? You can order through Black Garlic, Inc. and Whole Foods Market in the US. Black Garlic, LTD has been established also in Europe which distributes the product throughout U.K. and other European nations. This is made possible through partnership with Kathy Heath.
Black Garlic hit the shores of Australia in July 2009 and was introduced by Oliveria, a store in Melbourne. It can now be found in selected markets around Australia like the Prahran and Victoria markets.
Since black garlic demand is on the rise and top chefs are at a rave about this delectable product, it is safe to assume that it would be a profitable venture. Converting ordinary garlic to black garlic only takes one month, assuming you know the right process. There are researchers now experimenting on how to hasten the fermentation process down to 3 weeks by using apricot as an additional ingredient. A finished product of this black garlic has a shelf life of 6-8 months under cool and dry storage.