Have you ever heard of black garlic? I had not heard of it til yesterday! Thank goodness for Facebook! Where would my life be without it? 🙂
Black garlic is reputed to have health benefits . . I have no idea. Some of what I’ve read sounds a little far fetched but I’ll try anything once. We love roasted garlic and I think this should taste better than traditional roasted garlic. I suppose if I get younger looking, skinny, rich and happy, you’ll know it was the black garlic! 🙂
Black garlic is made about the same as roasted garlic, only it’s done at a very low temp for 2 to 3, maybe 4 weeks! One recipe said it emits a garlic odor and I’m not sure I want to smell that for 2 or 3 weeks . . so I was tempted to take it all out to the greenhouse and I may do that but for now, it’s in the kitchen.
Garlic
I started with 15 bulbs of garlic.
The more I read on the internet, the more confused I got. I think most people making it are like me . . kinda fumbling in the dark and hoping for the best but I’m going to get it . . it may take a few fails but I’m giving it my best shot.
There are several methods suggested for making black garlic:
- Dehydrator
- Slow Cooker
- Rice Cooker
- Brod & Taylor Proofer
- Pressure Cooker (only saw one person recommend this method)
Some of the methods say to wrap in foil. Some say do not. Some say wash the garlic and let it dry. DO NOT START WITH IT WET. Some say drizzle it with beer. Some say to keep the humidity at 70%. Some say keep it dry. Seriously, I’m guessing at what to do.
My first thought was to try it in my least expensive gadget because I’m not so sure any of these appliances are meant to run non-stop for 2 to 3 weeks.
The various instructions were so confusing that I decided to try the proofer, the slow cooker and the rice cooker. Something should work, right?
Making Black Garlic
I got it all started, following various directions on various websites.
For the proofer, I placed the “naked” (not wrapped in foil) garlic on the rack and set it for 120°.
For the rice cooker, I put paper towels in the cooker, then put the “naked” garlic in and set it to “warm”.
For the slow cooker, I put the trivet inside and put the “naked” garlic in there and set it on “warm”.
This should be interesting! My plan is to make notes daily and see if I can nail this down to something that works correctly.
pat says
Hi Judy where did you get your black garlic.
thank you
Sherrill Pecere says
And then how is it consumed? My DH worked with a guy who ate garlic all the time (for health benefits) and said he REEKED of garlic! People in the office had a really hard time being anywhere near him. My former nephew in law would do that periodically as well and WOW, did he smell!!! I know a lot of Asians (or is it East Indians) eat it for the same reasons or maybe just because they like it!!
Viv Heier says
I have used black garlic on a grilled salmon and couldn’t notice any difference!
Judy H says
I’m SO glad you’re trying this! I was just reading about black garlic the other day, and I want to make some. The information I read said that after it cooks slowly for 4 weeks it still needs to sit for 45 days. That’s a considerable amount of time to devote to making something, so I think you’re smart to try multiple ways at once! I’ll look forward to your results!