Black Garlic. Intriguing, Sensational, Exquisite. Is This the New Superfood?
Last night I met a man who introduced me to Black Garlic. I found the whole story most intriguing. Fortunately for us, he raced home a short distance & brought back samples for all at our table. Meals pushed aside, we keenly sampled….
Oh my god! An exquisitely delicate taste sensation! Sweet, soft, buttery goodness. Caramel, balsamic, tamarind. As a chef, my mind races with thoughts of how to use it, my palate aches for more…
What is Black Garlic?
Originating from Asia, black garlic is just your normal raw garlic that undergoes a maillard process requiring the perfect combination of heat, humidity & time. It’s a very low, very slow cooking process.
Products of the Maillard reaction provide flavours, scents & colours that are much desired & lend their characteristics to a variety of foods, like toast, caramels, chocolate & beer for example.
During this process, the natural sugars & amino acids found in garlic, combine, creating its unique flavour & deep colour. It radically changes the complexity & enhances the health benefits.
This results in a completely natural product totally free from added colours, flavours & preservatives. Winning!
Black garlic is the perfect mix of sweet & savoury, with subtle notes of balsamic vinegar, caramel & tamarind, still retaining the garlic essence. It’s soft, prune-like texture melts in your mouth without leaving any trace of that lingering “garlic breath”.
- Did you know as much as 90% of the garlic on our supermarket shelves has been imported? Fresh consumption of garlic in Australia is around 3,500 tonnes, imported mainly from China. Each year, only about 300-500 tonnes of garlic is produced here. A handful of serious Australian growers are trying to change that & the first signs of a local garlic industry are beginning to spring up. Yay!
The guys at Deep Earth Black Garlic know their stuff. They are passionate about the new super product & are bringing us the goods, fortunately making this taste sensation available to us all. Check them out & do yourself a favour, order some right here. http://www.deepearthblackgarlic.com.au/
Use this precious gem as the focus…a little delicately crushed over fresh asparagus or green beans would give them a whole new dynamic.
Use on cheese platters, pizzas, spread on bruschetta, an exquisite pasta sauce, with scrambled eggs, vegetables, risotto, heat in meat juices & serve over the top, chicken, fish or red meats. Even with chocolate desserts.
Here’s another word for this Black Garlic sensation…Umami. Good word.
Yum …. love it!!!
Have you made this discovery Kel? Or shall I bring some down next time I see you? xxxx
I loooooove black garlic. So unique and unforgettable. But I really hate the buzz phrase ‘superfood’… ALL FOOD IS SUPERFOOD. xx
Lol…yes Lolly, I’m hearing you, we really do give buzz words an extreme overuse when they catch on. But it is such gorgeous stuff isn’t it!!!! And it does have health properties :)) Cheers for joining in xx
I can’t remember where I saw black garlic but it must have been a food show somewhere. I loved it!
Hope you got to taste it too Maureen. I can’t imagine you would forget it….it really tickled my fancy.
Great to hear from you xx
Another Superfood!! Sounds Awesome… The plant itself is gorgeous!! Love it!
Garlic has always been a good thing, but this black garlic tastes so amazing you get the double whammy….thanks for having a read & connecting with us. It all adds to our education…..:)) love xx
I tried some & was blown away. What a fantastic flavour sensation. Thanks Mambo.
Thanks Dayne, I knew with your creative pallete you would appreciate the exquisite subtleties of the black garlic. Bet it won’t be long until you come up with all sorts of ways to taste it’s treasures. And how great to introduce it to your budding little chef children! ????
Excellent post! We are linking to this great post on our site.
Keep up the great writing.
Ooohhh, I’ve never heard of this before. Will have to try it! Garlic is so easy to grow. Buy whole bulbs grown in your local area, separate and plant individual cloves about 15 – 20cm apart. I Plant in May and harvest in October – November.
Hey Jen, thanks heaps for stopping by. So glad we could introduce you to an awesome new product (well at least to us anyhow :))
Give it a taste, you will love it!!!