What is black garlic?

Black garlic has been used as a health product in Korea for decades, but it’s now a common addition to menus across Australia.

To make it, whole garlic bulbs are heat-cured over a period of weeks until the sugars and amino acids produce a substance called melanoidin, which renders the cloves dark, soft and almost chocolatey.

“It has a sweetness and natural acidity that’s not too dissimilar to balsamic vinegar, but it also has quite a pronounced and strong savoury flavour,” says chef Andrew McConnell of Melbourne’s Cumulus Inc and Supernormal.

The team at Sydney’s now-closed Moon Park paired it on their seed biscuit with spanner crab to lend an umami hit. “It’s sort of like Vegemite on a Vita-Weat,” said co-owner Ned Brooks. As for us, we think the cloves smell distinctly like Burger Rings.

Try black garlic in our recipe for slow-roasted lamb rack with white beans and black garlic aïoli, or this tomato and mixed-grain salad with black garlic dressing.

You can find black garlic at theorganicblackgarlic.com.au

The Gourmet Traveller Team

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