A note about black garlic
May. 12th, 2010 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geeksoupI got so caught up in the wakame that I forgot to talk about the black garlic! Its expense is due to the length of time and intense conditions under which it is fermented. I have seen different methods, but the prevailing one seems to be storing the garlic at between 120 and 140 degrees F for just over a month.
What happens is the cloves turn soft and chewy and very, very black. The skin has, by this point, turned more like parchment and less like paper and peels away easily. The cloves slice like butter and have a sweet, savory, only slightly garlicky taste. They're incredibly sticky (which is why I tossed them with the chive slices because otherwise you'd have a clump of garlic pieces rather than a sprinkling). I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to ferment something in heat and call it edible, but you know, as many times as it's been done, I don't know why I question anymore.
What happens is the cloves turn soft and chewy and very, very black. The skin has, by this point, turned more like parchment and less like paper and peels away easily. The cloves slice like butter and have a sweet, savory, only slightly garlicky taste. They're incredibly sticky (which is why I tossed them with the chive slices because otherwise you'd have a clump of garlic pieces rather than a sprinkling). I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to ferment something in heat and call it edible, but you know, as many times as it's been done, I don't know why I question anymore.
