Black Garlic, Allium Sativum

Orlandosidee
80843
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  • Description

  • Black garlic cloves taste like licorice and plums and are a Spanish specialty.
  • It has a sweet, aromatic, creamy flavor with notes of caramel.
  • Used for seasoning in Coq au vin, on warm bread.


What is Black Garlic - Ajo Negro?

Here you can find out everything about it, its unexpected taste, and why you should try it.

What are Black Garlic Cloves?

Black garlic cloves not only look different, but they also have a unique taste. They are more expensive than regular garlic from the supermarket, but they offer many advantages.

From the outside, black garlic looks like a regular garlic bulb. However, when you cut it open, you'll see its unusually black cloves. They may appear charred, but they are actually soft and firm. You can crush them between your fingers. Trying them may require some courage because they look so different from what we expect, but it's worth it.

How Does Black Garlic Taste?

Black garlic has a surprisingly sweet and fruity taste, unlike the spiciness of white garlic. It has hints of licorice, plums, and a slight garlic aroma with notes of caramel. Simply delicious.

How to Use Black Garlic

Black garlic is sweet, aromatic, creamy, and soft. It adds a subtle and delicate touch to your dishes. You can use it like white garlic in any dish. Try spreading black garlic with olive oil and salt on ciabatta or toast. It complements stews, braised meat dishes, salads, and vegetables when added to dressings or vinaigrettes.

Benefits of Black Garlic

Unlike white garlic, black garlic is not spicy and doesn't leave a strong garlic odor on your breath or skin. It offers a unique flavor without the usual garlic after-effects. Black garlic is also believed to have health benefits, acting as a natural antibiotic and reducing stress.

About Garlic and Its Origins

Garlic (Allium sativum) is believed to have originated in Central Asia. It belongs to the Alliaceae family and is a perennial plant with a bulb that can reach a thickness of up to 10 cm. The Allium genus includes over 600 known species, including leek, onion, and chives.

Garlic is now used as a spice worldwide, but it wasn't always popular. Some cultures avoided using garlic due to its potential to cause bad breath. In ancient Rome, it was mainly used by peasants and proletarians, not the upper class. In ancient Egypt, garlic was highly valued for its antibacterial properties and was included in the daily rations of pyramid workers to prevent illnesses.

There is ongoing discussion about the potential health benefits of garlic, although they have not been 100% proven by medical studies.

Composition of Garlic:

Garlic consists of approximately 65% water. The remaining composition includes carbohydrates (with fructose), sulfur compounds, proteins, fiber, and free amino acids. It is also rich in saponins, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc, selenium, vitamins A and C, and small amounts of B-complex vitamins, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and manganese. 97% of the listed compounds are soluble in water, while only a small portion is oil-soluble.

How is Black Garlic (Ajo Negro) Made?

Black garlic is created through natural ripening at temperatures of approximately 40-60°C and high humidity. In Spain, fresh garlic undergoes this ripening process in dedicated chambers for 45 days.

Black Ripened Garlic - A Spanish Specialty

Black garlic cloves are a Spanish specialty. Allium sativum is a perennial plant of the Alliaceae family, growing between 0.5 to 1.5 meters in height. It is an undemanding plant that can thrive in various climates, as long as the soil is nutrient-rich. Garlic is cultivated worldwide, with an annual harvest of approximately 3 million tons.

Garlic is widely used as a flavoring agent and is recognized in traditional medicine for its potential to promote mental health.

What is Black Garlic?

Black garlic is the result of the natural ripening of fresh white garlic bulbs. The garlic is exposed to intense heat and moisture for a month, causing amino acids, proteins, and peptides to combine and form new compounds through chemical processes. As a result, the originally white garlic turns black. This slow transformation also changes the smell and taste properties of the garlic, leaving a sweet taste with notes of licorice, plums, and caramel.

Black garlic products have become one of the fastest-growing health-oriented food products in the Korean market, with growing awareness of the health benefits of garlic.

What Ingredients Does It Consist Of?

Black garlic is mainly composed of water (approximately 65%). In its dried form, it contains mostly carbohydrates with fructose, followed by sulfur compounds, proteins, fibers, and free amino acids. It also has significant amounts of saponins, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc, moderate selenium, and vitamins A and C. It contains small amounts of magnesium, iron, sodium, calcium, manganese, and B-complex vitamins. Approximately 97% of the compounds in black garlic are soluble in water, while only a small portion is oil-soluble.

Black garlic gets its characteristic taste and smell from its unique organosulfur compounds, such as alliin and glutamyl cysteine. These compounds contribute to its intense biological activity. When garlic is chopped or crushed, alliin is converted into allicin by the enzyme alliinase. Allicin is a reactive intermediate that can be transformed into various compounds depending on environmental conditions and extraction methods. Allicin is responsible for the typical smell of freshly cut or crushed garlic. Garlic also contains enzymes (e.g., alliinase, catalase), carbohydrates (e.g., fructans), proteins, free amino acids (e.g., arginine), lipids, phytosterols, and polyphenols.

It pairs well with:sumac, isot biber Turkish chili,wild thyme, tarragon, black Sarawak pepper, chili pods bird eyes,

white muntok pepper

Buy Black Garlic Online

At Orlandosidee, you can buy black garlic online in various packaging options. We offer high-quality spices, including black garlic, with no artificial additives. It is a pure natural product.

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