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
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Everything you should know about Passata to unlock its full potential
