1. What is black garlic?
Black garlic is not a special variety, but regular garlic that has been fermented. The final product does not have the usual garlic smell, tastes sweet, and has a texture reminiscent of dried fruit.
2. Where does black come from?
The unusual black color appears without any additives. During the fermentation of sugars and amino acids contained in garlic, melanoidins are formed - substances of a dark brown, almost black color, which color the final product.
3. How is black garlic produced?
Ordinary garlic is kept at a fairly high temperature for one to two months in special rooms. In simple terms, black garlic is old garlic. If you really want to, you can bring it to this state at home, but no one guarantees the final result (that you will get more than just rotten garlic) - it’s better to trust the professionals and buy ready-made ones.
4. Everything new is well forgotten old.
Black garlic is a newfangled product in healthy eating. However, in Korea it has been used for four thousand years. It is also well known in Thailand. In these countries, it is considered a divine gift that brings people health and longevity. Korean entrepreneur Scott Kim gave black garlic a second life. The company he founded, Black Garlik Inc., based in the USA, first imported ready-made black garlic from South Korea, and then established its own industrial production of this product.
5. Where is black garlic popular?
Black garlic is one of the most important seasonings in Asian cuisines. A little over five years ago, black garlic entered the market in the USA, Australia and the European Union, and has already become an integral part of “haute cuisine”. Black garlic is also gaining popularity in Russia.
6. What are the advantages of black garlic over regular garlic?
Firstly, there is no smell - you can safely eat before an important meeting or date. Secondly, it tastes pleasant and sweet, like raisins. Thirdly, it is better absorbed by the body. Fourthly, during the fermentation process its properties as an antioxidant improve 10 times.
7. Beneficial properties of black garlic
In folk medicine it is believed that black garlic
- has a positive effect on the circulatory system: helps fight atherosclerosis, stabilizes blood pressure, stimulates heart function, improves the elasticity of blood vessels;
- improves digestion, restores liver function, helps prevent obesity;
- helps fight diabetes, is a natural sweetener;
- has a beneficial effect on cell division and growth - has a rejuvenating effect;
- Due to the content of a large number of useful substances, it stimulates the body’s immune system and relieves fatigue. Like regular garlic, it effectively fights inflammation and colds.
8. How can you eat black garlic?
You can eat black garlic as your heart desires. Possible in its pure form. Can be used as an addition to bread, cheeses and olives. In addition, it can be used as a seasoning: feel free to add it to any dish - no matter meat or fish. Chefs make various sauces from it, and in Europe they make so-called compound butter from it. And black garlic will certainly decorate your table, leaving neither your household nor guests indifferent.
9. Are there any contraindications for eating black garlic?
During the fermentation process, garlic loses its “trick” - the initial components for the formation of allicin, to which it owes its pungent taste and smell, which can cause irritation of the respiratory and digestive systems, as well as the kidneys, in some people. So, apparently, the only contraindication for consuming black garlic is individual intolerance.
10. Are garlic and chocolate incompatible concepts?
Regular garlic may not go well with chocolate, but black garlic is used in making dark chocolate. Black garlic is also added to energy drinks.
Did you know that today's popular black garlic can be obtained at home. Yes, it costs a lot of time to do this, but the result will certainly please you. I use a regular slow cooker to process garlic, periodically heating the vegetable in it.
I use ready-made black garlic in canning and cooking. I will tell you more about the product in this article.
Surely each of you has paid attention to such a product as black garlic, which can be seen among the preserves on store shelves or in popular restaurants. If you have seen such a curiosity, then it is unlikely that many of you know what this plant is.
Black garlic is not grown in this form. Garlic gets its dark shade from fermentation. Working with garlic in this way removes the specific smell and adds sweetness to the taste. Many say that this product bears little resemblance to garlic; most likely it resembles dried fruit.
To obtain a black tint, garlic is kept at high temperatures for several months. The black color is due to the sugar and amino acids contained in the vegetable. Black garlic can be easily obtained at home, but for this you will need much more time and strict conditions.
The most difficult condition is to constantly maintain the garlic at a temperature of about 60 degrees for several months. You will say that this is easy to do with an oven, but you definitely won’t be able to keep it on for 2 months.
Planting garlic and application
Black garlic is a real find in Thailand, and in Korea it has been idolized for 4,000 years and is called God's gift, which gives people health and longevity. Growing garlic is very popular in summer cottages. This plant is planted in autumn and spring.
Most often, garlic is planted in the spring; for this purpose, garlic is used that was not eaten in winter. For a good harvest, you only need a few heads for planting.
To plant garlic you don’t need a lot of free space; in addition, this plant can be planted in the same beds with other crops.
When grown, garlic will repel pests from its neighbors. In most cases the harvest is very good.
Benefits and harm to the body
Currently, black garlic is widely used not only in canning and a variety of dishes, but also in dietary nutrition and medicine. This product contributes well to the functioning of the circulatory system, namely:
- Normalizes blood pressure levels;
- Improves the functioning of the heart muscle;
- Used for the prevention of atherosclerosis, as well as for its treatment;
- Improves the elasticity of blood vessels.
In addition to helping the circulatory system function, black garlic has a beneficial effect on the intestines and digestion in general, helps the liver function and reduces the likelihood of human obesity.
An excellent option would be to use this product as food for people who have diabetes, because this garlic is a sugar substitute of real, natural origin.
Eating black garlic will help the skin regenerate and rejuvenate faster. The microelements contained in the product actively help the immune system in the fight against various diseases.
There are currently no known cases where consumption of this product resulted in harm to health. It is worth mentioning right away that this product is still being studied, and certain studies are being conducted that will allow us to talk about the benefits and harms more broadly.
More details about this product and how to get it in the video:
Proper consumption of food
Every day, using garlic in cooking, few housewives think about how to properly eat this vegetable. Garlic perfectly complements any dishes and gives them a unique aroma. Garlic is also useful for the digestive process; it helps produce more saliva, just like gastric juice.
In fact, to preserve all the beneficial properties of garlic, it is not at all advisable to heat it for a long time. But you can’t say that about black garlic.
Scientists have already proven that processing black garlic not only does not lead to the loss of nutrients, but also increases their concentration in the product.
Canned black garlic is ready for use immediately after opening the jar and is actively used in the preparation of various dishes, especially meat, fish and vegetables.
Around the world, many chefs use this garlic to prepare compound oils and various sauces. The product is used in the manufacture of dark chocolate and energy drinks.
As you understand, it is simply impossible to combine ordinary garlic with chocolate. Black garlic has a large amount of antioxidants, and when garlic sprouts, their concentration only increases.
Black garlic can be used not only as an addition to food or as a seasoning, but also as an independent dish, mainly pickled. Chefs from many countries use this product for amazing dishes. It is worth noting the fact that the use of this plant began much earlier in medicine than in cooking.
In ancient times, black garlic supposedly prolonged life and helped one gain immortality. Getting rid of serious diseases and rejuvenating the whole body was carried out with just such a product.
Black garlic is not a newly bred species, as one might think, but ordinary garlic prepared in a certain way, familiar to each of us from childhood. Thanks to fermentation, this product is devoid of a specific smell, has a sweetish taste, and in consistency is most similar to dried fruits. As for the beneficial properties for which this wonderful vegetable is famous in its original form, after processing it becomes 10 times more useful!
Advice: To prevent colds and viral diseases, eat fermented garlic rather than regular garlic - thereby reducing the risk of acute respiratory infections significantly!
About the benefits of black garlic
Experts in alternative medicine say that black garlic:
- It has a beneficial effect on hematopoiesis and the circulatory system as a whole, normalizing blood pressure, stabilizing the functioning of the heart muscle, helping in the fight against atherosclerosis and increasing the elasticity of blood vessels;
- Helps improve digestive processes, is effective in preventing obesity and stabilizing liver function;
- It is successfully used for diabetes mellitus, as it is a sweetener (sugar substitute) of natural origin;
- It has a beneficial effect on the molecular mechanisms of cell division and growth, which causes a noticeable rejuvenating, regenerating and tonic effect;
- Due to the content of many microelements beneficial to the body, it restores and strengthens the immune system, and is effective in the fight against inflammatory processes and infectious diseases.
Why does garlic turn black?
This is not a matter of any special additives at all - it’s just that during the fermentation of the amino acids and sugars included in its composition, high-molecular polymer compounds melanoidins are formed, giving a dark brown or almost black color. Hence the unusual black color of this familiar and beloved product by all of us.
Cooking black garlic at home, although possible, is somewhat problematic - the fact is that this will require keeping regular white garlic in a specially prepared room at high temperature for a month or even two! Therefore, at home there is a risk that it will deteriorate (or simply rot) without achieving the desired result. So it’s better to leave this important task to professionals and buy it ready-made.
Tip: The most delicious fermented garlic is produced by a company from the USA - Black Garlik Inc, which previously imported it from South Korea and then set up its own production on an industrial scale. Once you try this great product, you will not want to look for a replacement!
Product benefits
The first and main advantage is the lack of smell, which allows you to eat it even before a date with your girlfriend, or just before an important business meeting. The second indisputable advantage of the black analogue over its white counterpart is the improved digestibility of the beneficial substances it contains. Third, of course, is the sweet taste and pleasant consistency, like raisins. Well, and fourthly, thanks to the fermentation process, its properties as an antioxidant increase 10 times!
Advice: For some diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, etc., eating regular garlic is not recommended. However, this does not apply to black garlic, which has virtually no contraindications!
How to eat it correctly?
Eat this garlic for your health with whatever your heart desires - it is equally tasty both in its pure form and in combination with hard cheeses, green or black pickled olives, and even just with bread! It is great as an exotic seasoning: feel free to flavor any dish of meat, fish or seafood with it and enjoy the unique, refined taste. Asian chefs prepare various sauces from it, and European cooks use it as one of the basic components of the well-known compound aromatic oil. Black garlic will serve as a real decoration and an unusual delicacy for any table and will not leave either guests or family indifferent.
Tip: Try this garlic... with chocolate! This combination has long become a classic in the USA, Thailand and many Asian countries. It is also added to some energy drinks.
Energy properties of black garlic
100 grams of product contains:
Black garlic– an unusual product that is successfully conquering the world. The technology for making this unusual vegetable has been known for a long time. For the first time, such garlic appeared on the table of residents of Thailand and Korea; by the way, to this day this product occupies an important position there. Black garlic was created by Scott Kim, but after that the plant went through many different improvements. Today, this unusual vegetable occupies a leading position in the arsenal of famous chefs and housewives.
Interestingly, black garlic is obtained quite naturally through the fermentation process. Considering this, we can say that this vegetable is a completely natural product. The black version differs from the usual garlic for many in its sweet taste, which is compared to caramel. The texture of the vegetable is somewhat similar to raisins or figs (see photo).
Beneficial features
Black garlic has many of the properties of the regular version, but it also has no pungent odor or taste, which allows the body to absorb this product much better. After fermentation, the vegetable increases the amount of antioxidants and fructose, as well as it retains the property of a natural antibiotic. The rich composition of the product allows you to stimulate and strengthen the immune system.
Thanks to regular consumption of black garlic, you can get rid of inflammatory processes and colds. In addition, the vegetable helps eliminate atherosclerosis and stabilize blood pressure. Black garlic has a hypotensive and cardioprotective effect on the body. In addition, the vegetable promotes cell division and growth, which helps achieve a rejuvenating effect.
Use in cooking
Thanks to the unusual taste and universal properties of black garlic, this vegetable can be used as a separate original snack. This product goes well with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, bread and other products. In addition, black garlic can be used as an ingredient for fish and vegetable dishes. Also, an unusual and beautiful vegetable can be a wonderful decoration for various dishes.
Benefits of black garlic and treatment
The benefits of black garlic have been known for quite some time. Regular consumption of this vegetable as a natural antibiotic has been proven to help increase life expectancy. It has been observed that black garlic has the ability to stimulate the cardiovascular system. Some scientists believe that this vegetable can be used as an anticancer agent.
Harm of black garlic and contraindications
Black garlic can be harmful to people with individual intolerance to the product. Since research into the effects of this vegetable has not yet been completed, other contraindications may be identified.
I started making black garlic at home in the bathroom for three good reasons.
Vermicolleagues and just guests, good day!
1. many times increasing benefits.
2. High cost.
3. To save heat.
I just haven’t seen black garlic in our stores, but on the Internet I found that you can buy one head for about 200 rubles. 
Ask - why in the bathroom?
I talk about this in detail at the end of the article.
But first, everything or almost everything about black garlic with a break from reading while watching videos.
Here, for example, is a rather difficult to replicate version of a domestic homemade one.
How much and how to consume so that a healthy person does not get sick.
List of diseases treated by traditional medicine.
New qualities.
Historical reference.
How to do it yourself at home.
!!!Win-win competition for commentators!!!
Since the beginning of this year, our main focus has been on restoring health after the “resort pleasures” in Min Vody, which have been discussed in detail more than once.
To the above, I will add that in addition to the beneficial properties of all varieties of ordinary fresh garlic, in the process of 2-3 months of fermentation at a temperature of + 60°C, it not only acquires a black color - instead of white, but also surpasses regular hot garlic almost 10 times in all respects.
Black garlic is not just a new fashionable healthy food product - after all, only 3-4 cloves of it are eaten per day –
before or after meals, help healthy people not get sick:
- as a powerful antioxidant
- has a rejuvenating effect - due to its positive effect on cell division and growth,
- stimulates the body's immune system - due to the content of a large number of useful substances,
- relieves fatigue,
- lowers cholesterol levels,
- stimulates the formation of glucose in the body.
After 1-3 months of fermentation of ordinary garlic of any variety, the new product that appears not only does not lose the beneficial properties of fresh garlic, but is greatly enhanced and acquires new properties, while black garlic contains:
- allylcysteine (component S), which reduces the risk of cancer;
- antioxidants that prevent aging;
- vitamins B6 and C;
- natural black dye;
- calcium;
- manganese;
- selenium;
- phosphorus.
And this company has been producing black garlic in Europe for several years.
The same use of black garlic has been used in folk medicine for thousands of years. used for ailments in a large list of diseases:
- atherosclerosis,
- inflammatory processes,
- hypotamia,
- hypertension,
- disorders of the circulatory system,
- obesity,
- colds,
- malfunction of the liver,
- digestive abnormalities,
- effectively kills cancer cells,
- heart diseases,
- diabetes
- decreased elasticity of blood vessels.
A number of new qualities of black garlic:
- the taste becomes so pleasant and sweet that it is used as a seasoning not only for fish and meat, but also for sauces, and in dessert dishes, as a natural sweetener, and even added to dark chocolate,
- the structure is similar to raisins, but so soft that it can be spread on bread,
- The pungent taste and smell characteristic of white garlic is so absent that you can chew it without worry before a date or business meeting,
- without any additives during long-term high-temperature fermentation, dark brown melanoidins are formed to blackness - substances from sugars and amino acids present in fresh garlic,
- its unusual color will refresh any table, especially since it can be used without fear indefinitely, both without anything and as a compound butter, with olives, with cheese or just with bread.
This is how oriental craftsmen prepare black garlic in a slow cooker with pre-cleaned cloves.
Historical background on black garlic.
- According to various sources, it has been used for 4-10 thousand years.
- The birthplace of the product is Japan.
- The initial preparation technology is fermentation in clay pots, kept in wet straw for 60 days, self-heating to + 60°C.
- The routes of distribution to Europe were through the USA, where the finished product was first supplied from Korea and Thailand, where it was always revered as a divine gift that brings people health and longevity.
- In the USA, Korean entrepreneur Scott Kim founded the company Black Garlik Inc., which gave a second life to black garlic; at first he imported ready-made black garlic from South Korea, and then set up his own production on an industrial scale.
- More than five years ago, black garlic became not only one of the most important seasonings in Asian cuisines, but also entered the market of the USA, Australia and the European Union, where it became an integral part of “haute cuisine”, gaining popularity in Russia.
Risky and energy-consuming cooking in a slow cooker with uncleaned cloves.
After watching several websites and a dozen and a half Asian videos in the evening on the production of black garlic, last night I came up with the idea of how to make it myself
fundamentally new thermostat:
- unlimited in performance,
- simplest to repeat even for a child over 10 years old,
- from accessible materials always available in stores,
- easy to use - download and forget for 2 months,
- ultra-economical - 25 watts,
- fireproof,
- Light in weight - just over a kilogram.
Therefore, in the morning, already an hour after the start of needlework, the homemade product was launched, and another hour later, after controlling the temperature, I loaded 150 of the smallest garlic bulbs into it, without disassembling them and my own
a unique project with a power of only 25 watts has come into force.
I had the necessary materials at hand, and their cost was about 20 euros.
I installed a thermostat with garlic in the bathtub, because it has minimal external heat losses, since this is the warmest room, where the heated towel rail coil is constantly hot from the high temperature water circulating through it.
If you want to get my recipe - how to cook black garlic, then you need to take part in the competition.
By the way, 100 grams of black Spanish garlic in Tallinn, in the Swedish store STOKMAN, costs 17.30 euros, which means 173 euros per 1 kg. i.e. at today's exchange rate 12,515 rubles.
In half an hour I made a thermostat myself and put 2 kg in it. garlic for fermentation.
Dishes with black garlic .
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Well, if you want to immediately receive a unique valuable gift - the simplest cooking method black garlic, then just subscribe to the news.
My good friend Yuri uses a more expensive method –
a slow cooker with mats inside and sent some photos.