Black Garlic

We have something rather wonderful from über garlic grower Mark Botwright, his  Black Garlic, a true artisan product produced by Mark on his farm in South Dorset.

Black Garlic is produced by a traditional technique originally from SE Asia. It is made by ‘cooking’ whole heads of garlic in a sealed container at very low temperatures for forty days.

This process is sometimes referred to as fermenting, this is not entirely accurate.  The transformation is partly due to the breakdown of alliinase, the enzyme that helps to give garlic its pungency, and partly to the Maillard Reaction, a series of chemical reactions that produce a dark colour and complex, caramelised flavours. This is same process that produces a flavoursome crust on seared meat, often wrongly referred to as ‘sealing’. 

Black Garlic has an extraordinary flavour with hints of aged Balsamic, black cardamom, an umami savouriness (cheese?), leather, smoke, tamarind and liquorice.
Black garlic is a unique ingredient, as special in its own way as Alba truffles or Beluga caviar. 

Follow Black Garlic on twitter at @UKBlackGarlic, you won’t regret it.