Black garlic, what is it? How to cook black garlic at home

What it is?

Everyone knows and has seen ordinary white garlic. So black garlic, also called fermented garlic, is the same garlic, only it gets its color artificially. It cannot be grown in garden beds using seeds.

You might be interested in learning about what wild garlic is and how it should be eaten? Read our articles about the most common white garlic:

• How to grow it?
• What is the difference between winter and spring?
• What are the rules for caring for winter crops and what are the best varieties?

Vegetable consumption

When preparing various dishes, housewives often use a fragrant product. It adds sharpness, piquancy and aroma to dishes. Helps increase appetite, which leads to the appearance of gastric juice, which has a positive effect on the functioning of the stomach and intestines. Scientists say that in order for a vegetable to retain all the necessary properties, it must not be subjected to heat treatment. But this cannot be said about a dark vegetable.

As scientific developments show, this product is able to retain useful elements and also increases their number several times. In modern times, people often use the product to make sauces and butter. It is added to energy drinks and chocolate. But an ordinary vegetable and chocolate are simply not compatible.

Black garlic is usually used not only as an additive for various dishes, but also as a separate dish. It is popular with chefs all over the world. In the medical field, the dark product began to be used much earlier than in cooking. Scientists using it are trying to achieve immortality, prolong life, as well as rejuvenate a person and cleanse his body of serious diseases.

Contraindications

There are no restrictions on the number of uses of black garlic, but it is better not to get carried away with it. This especially applies to those people who suffer from the following diseases:

• stomach diseases;
• gastritis;
• ulcer;
• haemorrhoids.

After all, it has no sharpness and will only irritate the mucous membrane.

It is also not recommended for those people who are allergic to the product.

What does it look like and how is it different?

From the outside it looks like an old onion, but inside the segments are black. Let's be honest, the view is not very presentable. But there are so many advantages compared to white garlic!

1. It does not have a specific, unpleasant and pungent odor.
2. Black garlic also has an unusual taste: it is sweet, and its consistency resembles figs.
3. Garlic is better absorbed by our body.
4. After fermentation, the antioxidant content in the product doubles!

From the video you will learn why black garlic is 20 times healthier than white garlic:

Photo

Below you will see this black vegetable:

Preparation

To ferment garlic, it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature from +40 to +90 ° C and control humidity. Such conditions can be created using a multicooker. The device must have the option of maintaining a constant temperature.

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Peel the head of garlic and remove dirt with a dry sponge. Vegetables cannot be washed. It must remain dry and undamaged.

Turn on the device and set it to the “Heating” mode at a temperature from +60 to +80 °C. Place the prepared garlic in a slow cooker, close the lid and leave for about 30 days.

If the device turns off automatically, restart it. Remember that the vegetable should not be cooled for a minute.

This procedure is best carried out in a ventilated area. During the fermentation process, a fairly strong garlic odor will be released.

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This is the best way to prepare black garlic. It is almost impossible to make such a seasoning in the oven. After all, you cannot keep the oven preheated for a whole month; this can lead to its breakdown. In addition, you will have to constantly monitor him.

Some housewives prepare this seasoning over a hot radiator. But in this case, the garlic darkens very slightly and does not always turn out tasty.

Where to buy?

Due to its usefulness, the prices for this product are not cheap, but you cannot skimp on your health. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, black garlic is sold in hypermarkets and wholesale. The 2021 retail price is from 250 to 300 rubles per 100 grams or individually, and wholesale from 1000 to 1500 rubles per kilogram. You can see it on store shelves, and also purchase it in online stores, for example, ECO BIO market.

Reference. Black garlic has been known to mankind for a very long time. It was consumed as food in Thailand 4,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found garlic in the tombs of Ancient Egypt. In the East, garlic is revered as a vegetable that gives health and longevity. A company from South Korea gave a new impetus to the popularization of this product. She began exporting black garlic to the USA.

How does it affect weight loss?

Positively.

Calorie content of 1 clove of garlic is 4.5 kcal. But for weight loss this does not matter. Since the vegetable is not eaten in large quantities. Therefore, even if it were 10 calories more, it would not affect its ability to accelerate the burning of fat deposits.

The medicinal properties of garlic for weight loss are associated with the following features.

1. Allium sativum increases the sensitivity of brain cells to the hormone leptin. The higher this sensitivity, the less leptin must be released so that a person understands that he has eaten enough. Low sensitivity to the hormone leads to an increase in leptin levels, which makes it impossible to lose weight.
2. The vegetable enhances the release of norepinephrine, which speeds up metabolism and increases the rate of burning fat deposits.
3. The anti-inflammatory activity of the product helps fight low-grade inflammatory processes in the body, which, according to modern scientific understanding, are one of the causes of excess weight gain.

What are the health benefits and harms?

Black garlic is an absolutely natural product without dyes, preservatives or other chemicals. What is this vegetable used for? Garlic is recommended as a medicinal product and for dietary nutrition (you can find out about the benefits and harms of white garlic, for which diseases it should be taken and for which it should not be taken, as well as see the most useful recipes using it, here, and from this article you will learn about advantages and disadvantages of the Chinese vegetable and what precautions should be taken when consuming it).

Positively affects the human circulatory system and digestive organs:

• normalizes blood pressure;
• strengthens blood vessels;
• improves heart rhythm;
• prevention of atherosclerosis;
• helps in the fight against excess weight;
• improves liver function;
• activates metabolic processes.

Recommended for patients with diabetes, as it does not contain sugar.

Black garlic stimulates our immune system, and, like regular garlic , resists inflammatory processes.
Due to its high antioxidant content, it slows down aging by helping cells stay healthy. Garlic was one of the most favorite dishes of the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite; by eating garlic she remained young and beautiful. There are no contraindications, except for individual intolerance. Excessive consumption is not recommended by doctors, like any other product.

Important ! With excessive consumption, the digestive organs are primarily affected. Garlic juice irritates the mucous membrane of the organs. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat garlic for people with gastrointestinal diseases.

This “miracle” vegetable has a calorie content per 100 grams of only 149 kcal, of which per g:

The product contains vitamins, microelements, macroelements, and amino acids. Here is a list of just some of them:

• iron;
• selenium;
• manganese;
• zinc;
• beta carotene;
• lutein;
• B vitamins;
• vitamin C;
• vitamin K;
• arginine;
• tryptophan;
• potassium;
• phosphorus;
• calcium;
• magnesium.

We recommend reading materials from our experts about who can and cannot eat white garlic, why allergies occur after eating it, as well as bad breath and hands.

Video about black garlic

If you want to get my recipe - how to cook black garlic, then you need to take part in the competition. Conditions are at the very end of the article.

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. My good friend Yuri uses a more expensive method - a slow cooker with mats inside and sent several photos.

And here is the result.

During the next check to control the fermentation temperature of +60°C - in the preparation of black garlic, which began on 09/03/2016 - I discovered that the garlic in the jar had significantly decreased in volume, and most importantly, about 30 ml had flowed out of the jar. moisture - condensation from the walls of the jar, and some of the heads were wet. To check the condition of the garlic, for two hours, together with a fighting friend, we cleared all the heads from the covering husk, and the dried cloves from the shell.

The former durable coating of the cloves was easily separated with fingernails even without a knife. As a result, from 1770 grams of fresh garlic we got : 179 grams. ready-to-eat black garlic. 1 kilogram of brown garlic, requiring additional fermentation drying.

260 gr. husks and membranes of cloves,

50 ml. moisture.

The largest unfermented cloves were wrapped in aluminum foil and placed over a heater in a jar, smaller cloves were laid out on top, and the smallest ones were placed even higher.

I placed a cotton bag in the remaining space and filled it tightly with fresh medium-sized heads of garlic. As it was unnecessary, I no longer put the thermometer inside the jar. 100 gr. ready-to-eat black garlic cloves weighed from 0.15 to 3.5 grams. And we started eating 3.5 grams of black garlic per brother three times a day with meals. Of course, I also found several recipes, but for now we calmly chew soft, raisin-like teeth with what we eat. We especially liked the fact that the rather harmful, but beloved ice cream can now be eaten without fear, since black garlic greatly reduces the harm and uplifting sweetness.

Once black garlic has been made, it can be prepared in many culinary dishes at home as an additive or spice. It is often used in pizza, mashed potatoes, rice dishes, and deli meats. It also goes well with cheese, chili peppers, smoked meats, sausages, fried fish and many other foods.

But it begins to acquire a special taste only when it undergoes the aging process, since during this very period it becomes sweeter. In addition, it can be stored for a long time, up to 3 months simply by placing it in any glass jar and cooling the material.

Store-bought product can be stored at room temperature in a closed container until the expiration date. Once opened, it can be stored for 3-6 months in the refrigerator or one month at room temperature. So, we have a real prospect of mastering many recipes with black garlic. At the time of writing this article in 2021, there were only a few dishes on the Internet, but at the moment there are already hundreds of them.

Recipe to cook at home

This “colored” vegetable can be prepared at home, but it will cause a lot of trouble. Let's look at how you can make it at home.

1. You need to take the garlic, select it without damage.
2. Wrap whole heads tightly in foil, possibly in several layers.
3. Place in a deep plate and place in the oven.
4. Turn on the oven.

If you are willing to keep your oven on at 60 degrees for about two months, you can enjoy your homemade black garlic.

What is special about black garlic?

This unusual spice is not a separate variety of garlic at all, but the familiar white or pink heads, processed under specific conditions to reveal the maximum of its beneficial anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties.

Black or fermented garlic is prepared by accelerated aging and fermentation, storing it at elevated temperatures for a long time. At this time, the sugar and amino acids inside the teeth are converted, the heads “cook” and turn black, acquiring the famous umami flavor.

Aged garlic is more like candy or marmalade. It is compared to dried fruits and carob beans for its unusual smoky and sweetish flavor. There is no sharpness or sharpness left in the product.

The drug is mainly used in folk medicine and cosmetologists, but also in cooking - in sauces, seasonings and for decorating unique dishes.

The consistency of garlic becomes soft and slightly viscous, and the color and shade of its smell will depend on the method and degree of processing. Previously, such a product was produced only in Asia - in Korea and Taiwan. Today, garlic has not only migrated to the United States, where its production business was first launched, but has also spread throughout Europe. In Russia it is made by ministers of southern monasteries. A curiosity with healing properties costs a lot of money and, judging by reviews, is capable of curing even advanced diseases in the shortest possible time.

The good news is that the likeness of a unique product can be reproduced at home at a significant cost savings. In just a few days, ordinary garlic grown in your own beds will become a healing raw material that heals the skin and cells of internal organs, cleanses the blood and prevents the development of cancer.

What are the benefits of black garlic?

• With special heat treatment, the components of garlic undergo chemical changes, due to which its antiseptic and antioxidant properties are significantly enhanced.

The main difference in the composition of the black product is the formation in it of the most powerful sulfur-containing antioxidant allyl cysteine ​​and other important amino acids that promote the regeneration of healthy cells and the removal of waste and pathogenic products from the body.

• Black garlic is famous for its ability to fight the effects of free radicals, disinfect, quickly heal and renew cells, removing inflammatory processes in the body, cleansing it of parasites and significantly strengthening the immune system.
• The vegetable has a positive effect on the condition of the heart and blood vessels. It fights cholesterol in the blood much more effectively than other products, strengthens elastic tissues, increasing their endurance, and helps control sugar levels.

These functions play an important role not only for people suffering from atherosclerosis and hypertension, but also for patients with impaired brain function after strokes, hypoxia, damage and age-related changes in the vascular tissues supplying blood to the head. The product helps with senile dementia and cognitive impairment.

• They also note the almost miraculous effect of black garlic on the skin. It relieves diseases of bacterial, fungal and unknown origin, activating the immune system, cleansing the lymph, and starting the process of cell regeneration. In reviews of treatment with black garlic, patients tell how psoriasis and neurodermatitis were cured.

Modern research shows that the product stops the development of cancer, restoring the body.

• The findings are also of great importance for cosmetology. Fermented garlic has been compared to “rejuvenating apples.” It cleanses cells, protects them from the effects of negative environmental factors, stimulates their rapid renewal, thanks to which you can tighten the contours of your face and figure. Eliminate wrinkles and unhealthy skin color.
• Experts say that black garlic protects liver cells from fibrosis, restoring normal functioning of the organ. In addition, it improves metabolism, promoting the breakdown of fatty tissue and healthy weight loss.

How to eat?

This product can be eaten without additional processing. Peel and eat like dried fruits. Can be combined with cheeses or bread. Cooks use it in crushed form as a seasoning for fish, mushroom and meat dishes. Black garlic can be used to make sauces and butter.

Reference. It is not recommended to heat ordinary garlic, as it loses its beneficial properties. But black garlic is not afraid of it!

Black garlic oil or a compound oil containing it are widely used for cooking:

• rice;
• vegetables;
• beans

The oil is suitable for pizza and sandwiches.

You can prepare simple dishes at home using garlic.

Pickled vegetable

Ingredients:

• garlic;
• water;
• 2-3 tsp. citric acid;
• sugar;
• salt;
• seasonings

Preparation:

1. Take a head of garlic, peel, wash and dry.
2. Take 500 gr. jar, put garlic in it and pour boiling water, let cool and pour again.
3. Add citric acid, sugar, salt, seasonings (to taste: cloves, bay leaf, dill, peppercorns).
4. Pour boiling water over everything and roll up the jar.

How to store a valuable item

Black garlic must be consumed within six months from the date of its preparation. Therefore, if a product is purchased, you need to carefully monitor the production date. It is advisable to store whole heads or closed grains in the refrigerator in a vegetable container.

At normal temperatures, black garlic will definitely retain its valuable properties for 1 month. It is not customary to store opened heads; they will last in the refrigerator in a closed jar for several days.

This type of raw material cannot be frozen, otherwise it will lose its pleasant consistency and most of its beneficial properties.

Contraindications

1. An allergy to Allium sativum is a strict contraindication for inclusion in the diet in any form.
2. Raw vegetables should be excluded from the diet of those who have stomach and duodenal ulcers. Fresh garlic is also not indicated for gastritis, pancreatitis, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome. But in heat-treated form, it is, as a rule, absorbed in gastrointestinal pathologies much easier.
3. Raw garlic can be harmful to the heart if a person has any type of arrhythmia. Since it is sometimes a trigger for attacks.
4. The list of those who should not eat garlic in large quantities, and especially take dietary supplements, includes people who regularly use medications such as anticoagulants, isoniazid, oral contraceptives, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and HIV/AIDS medications.
5. Two weeks before the planned surgical intervention, the vegetable should be abandoned.

At what age can it be given to children?

Garlic can be given to a child from the age of eight months. In small quantities - no more than one small clove per day and preferably not fresh, but heat-treated.

Can pregnant women use it?

Garlic is allowed and beneficial during pregnancy. The fact that Allium sativum protects against viral and bacterial infections, so dangerous for women carrying a child, makes it the right product for pregnant women.

There is no scientifically proven evidence that garlic can cause miscarriage in the early stages, as it increases uterine activity.

However, pregnant women are not advised to “treat” this vegetable, much less take it in the form of dietary supplements. But you can simply include it in your diet as usual without fear.

At the same time, you need to take into account your tolerance to this product. If before pregnancy you noticed a tendency to heartburn after eating fresh cloves, then you should not rely on them during pregnancy.

Can I use it during breastfeeding?

Garlic during breastfeeding can enhance milk production. And therefore useful.

However, it changes the taste of milk, which not all babies like.

In addition, a garlic meal for a nursing mother can cause colic in her baby. Therefore, whether or not to include this vegetable in your diet should be decided independently, based on your child’s behavior and well-being.

The benefits and harms of garlic for the human body: conclusions

The medicinal properties of Allium sativum are due to the presence of more than a hundred different bioactive compounds and extend to a wide range of diseases from a common cold against the background of wet feet to cancer.

In order for the immunomodulatory activity of the vegetable for the human body to be fully demonstrated, the cloves must be crushed before use. And only eat raw.

But to enhance many other healing qualities, they should be subjected to heat treatment.

Since garlic contains so many bioactive compounds, there are many contraindications for its use. These include allergies, taking certain medications, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Pros and cons for humans

Health benefits
Today, black garlic is often used in cooking and folk medicine. It has a beneficial effect on the body, and especially on the circulatory system, as well as on the following organs:

• restores blood pressure;
• improves heart function;
• is a preventive and therapeutic agent for atherosclerosis;
• increases the softness of blood vessels.

In addition, it has positive properties for the digestive system, helps with excess weight and normalizes liver function. Consumption of the vegetable by a person with diabetes will give a positive result, because it completely replaces sugar of natural origin.

The properties of black garlic help in cell restoration by rejuvenating the skin. Vitamins and beneficial elements increase the human body’s immune system and help fight inflammation and infections.

No negative properties have been noticed yet.

Harm

Even such a unique and healthy product as black garlic can cause harm. Firstly, it has contraindications, albeit few: exacerbations of peptic ulcers and gastritis, acute pancreatitis, severe kidney and liver diseases, as well as individual hypersensitivity.

Secondly, if abused, unpleasant side effects are likely: flatulence, belching, nausea, diarrhea, bloating. The daily norm does not exceed 2-3 teeth.

Thirdly, if the production technology was violated and pathogenic microorganisms got into the head, then the exotic dish can provoke poisoning and general intoxication of the body.

Garlic Nutrition Facts

Garlic grows in the soil as a bulb. This bulb has long green shoots that emerge from the top and its roots extend downwards. Garlic (Allium sativum) is a perennial plant of the Amaryllidaceae family, subfamily Allium.

This perennial herbaceous plant is native to Central Asia, but grows in Russia, Italy, and the south of France. The bulb of the plant is what we all call garlic, which is a vegetable. What is a clove of garlic? The garlic bulb is covered with several layers of inedible peel, which, when peeled, reveals up to 20 edible cloves called garlic cloves.

Garlic contains countless vital nutrients such as:

• flavonoids
• oligosaccharides
• amino acids
• allicin
• sulfur (in large quantities)

These are just a few of them. Raw garlic also contains approximately 0.1% essential oil, the main components of which are allylpropyl disulfide, diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide.

A clove of raw garlic (3 grams) contains approximately (% of the recommended daily intake): (1)

• Calorie content: 4 kcal.
• Carbohydrates: 1 g (0%).
• Protein: 0.2 g (0%).
• Fiber: 0.1 g (0%).
• Manganese: 0.1 mg (3%).
• Vitamin C: 0.9 mg (2%).
• Calcium: 5.4 mg (1%).
• Selenium: 0.4 mcg (1%)

These are just some of the nutrients found in garlic. Garlic also contains alliin and allicin, which are health-promoting sulfur compounds.

Brief historical background

In Asian countries, black garlic is not a curiosity. But in the USA and Europe they learned about it at the beginning of the 21st century after it was used in one of the popular culinary shows. This is how the popularization of a spicy vegetable with an unusual inky hue began.

Garlic quickly made its way from gourmet restaurant menus to home kitchens. This happened after the secret of turning ordinary light cloves into a dark variety was revealed.

Whole, unpeeled heads of raw garlic are placed in a controlled temperature (60-77°C) and high humidity environment for 3-5 weeks. During this period of time, a chemical process called the Maillard reaction occurs within the product. It passes between amino acids and sugars when heated. The crispy crust of bread, beloved by many, is also formed due to the above-mentioned reaction. It is also responsible for the taste and color of condensed milk, fried steak, dark beer, coffee, chocolate and maple syrup.

Garlic, in the final stage of chemical transformation, is transformed beyond recognition. The texture acquires marmalade elasticity and light date stickiness. The aroma becomes thick, pleasantly spicy and as if smoky. The taste is complex: for some it resembles prunes, for others it resembles balsamic vinegar, while others even feel the caramel notes of tamarind on the tongue. But, as you know, there is no arguing about tastes. The main thing is that black garlic significantly increases the concentration of nutrients, for which it is valued by adherents of a healthy lifestyle.