Black Garlic Gustatory Great & Fantastic Super Food

Don’t worry, your monitor isn’t giving you funky colours and the garlic hasn’t gone past it’s “use by” date. This little beauty is black garlic and there are several reasons you should become its friend as soon as you’re able.

Flavor-wise, black garlic is everything you could want. It’s sweet and savory, with notes of balsamic vinegar and tamarind. Yes, it does have that familiar garlic tang we all know and love. Best part yet, flavor-wise? It does all of that without the sharp taste, lingering odor and bad breath associated with its lighter cousin. You’ll get a great “mouth feel” with this tasty ingredient, too. Imagine melt-in-your-mouth jelly meets soft dried fruit! How’s that for a sensory experience?

It also packs a punch in terms of health benefits. We all know the importance of anti-oxidants. They’ve been called cancer preventers as well as anti-aging helpers. Black garlic has nearly two times the anti-oxidants as raw garlic. It also provides a good supply of S-Allycysteine, a known cancer preventer. Rumors have it that it even confers immortality, though I’m betting that’s just the anti-aging power of the anti-oxidants at work.

So, how is it grown, you may wonder. It’s not, actually. Black garlic starts out as raw, white garlic and goes through a process called fermentation. Although the process name is a bit misleading as no microbial action is involved. It’s a process of high heat and controlled humidity over a number of weeks. The number varies depending on the producer.

Somewhere out there someone is said to make black garlic chocolate. If true, they are my new best friends!

Post provided by regular Live To Eat guest blogger Jay Belle Isle you can find out more regarding Jay’s work here.