Black garlic is a new ingredient to our pantry. It is tender like roast garlic with undertones of malt and molasses, and an overall sweet garlicky flavor and none of the acrid bite of raw garlic. In trying to research this ingredient we stumbled across a number of road blocks and oddities. There's a definite lack of information on the process available. It is produced in Japan, China, Korea and California. It seems that in some modern cases the process is patented using specially designed machines and controlled temperatures, although it appears
that early versions were as simplistic as storing the heads in earthenware jugs in caves or other cool areas for a few months until the transformation is complete. We were recently informed that the garlic we have is air dried for forty days over aged soy sauce. It's an ingredient that is slowly gaining ground in the culinary arena. Apparently in some circles it is now trendy to dip the black garlic cloves in chocolate for the the true garlic lover to enjoy.
Initially we smashed the garlic flat. While it was an interesting visual and a great way to transfer the flavor to different components of the dish, the beautiful individual cloves have a distinct personality which we want to keep intact. That is not to say we will not be smashing this garlic again, just that we are not convinced that it's the best way to highlight the unique qualities of the ingredient.
Today produced more failures than successes although these early attempts have helped fertilize our blossoming ideas. The black garlic has provided some fresh inspiration. Tomorrow we'll see where it takes us.
Initially we smashed the garlic flat. While it was an interesting visual and a great way to transfer the flavor to different components of the dish, the beautiful individual cloves have a distinct personality which we want to keep intact. That is not to say we will not be smashing this garlic again, just that we are not convinced that it's the best way to highlight the unique qualities of the ingredient.
Today produced more failures than successes although these early attempts have helped fertilize our blossoming ideas. The black garlic has provided some fresh inspiration. Tomorrow we'll see where it takes us.
