Making black garlic at home

Making black garlic at home

Ingredients

• Garlic

Cooking Instructions

Chose whole cloves of fresh garlic. Preferably white or red garlic, but if you prefer other types it is fine too. The important thing is for the head of garlic to be big and round. None of the cloves should be broken up and the entire head should be intact. Making black garlic is easy and does not take a lot of time if you are properly prepared. Start by putting some whole garlic bulbs into a bowl and do not peel any skin off. Ensure your bowl can hold as many bulbs as you wish.

After you have chosen your fresh garlic make sure that none of it is rotting or germinating. If it is, throw it away, or use it for something else, but don’t try to make black garlic with it. It is preferable for the humidity to be 70% if possible.

Wash and clean your garlic. Use fresh (filtered water if possible) to rinse and clean your whole heads of garlic. After washing put them in a cool dry place for a minimum of 6 hours or longer until completely dry. Do not try to start the fermenting process while the garlic is still wet or damp. After confirming they are dry inspect for cleanliness. If the garlic is not clean repeat the cleaning process. Do not use garlic with dirt still on it for making black garlic.

You can also use a slow cooker or a rice cooker to make the black garlic if you prefer. Do not use foil if making black garlic in a ferment box, rice cooker, or slow cooker. You can purchase a black garlic fermenting machine at www.blackgarlic.cn A fermenting box is the best way to make black garlic and the safest.

In a fermenting box set the temperature to 122- 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the fresh garlic in the box. Set the humidity to 60-80% for 10 hours. After the first 10 hours change the settings on the ferment box to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and change the humidity to 90% for 30 hours. After those 30 hours are complete change the setting on the ferment box to 180 Fahrenheit with the humidity to 95% for 200 hours. At the end of 200 hours the black will be complete.

If you do not chose to use a fermenting box then try to follow the same temperature settings with your rice cooker or stove. (not recommended)

Cooking black garlic

After you have made black garlic, you can cook it in many ways. Just like fresh garlic can be used in many dishes, black garlic can be used to make pizza toppings, puree, legume rice dishes and any legume based dishes. The black garlic ca also be an accompaniment with the cheese, chiles, smoked meat, sausages, grilled fish and much more.

Health benefits

The black garlic doesn’t lose its health benefits. This is because the garlic contains more antioxidants, and also has S-Allycysteine. This is a compound that is said to be effective when it comes to prevention of cancer. Black garlic gets better as it ages since it gets sweeter. You can also store the black garlic for a long period of time, for up to 3 months, by just placing it in a jar and refrigerating it.