Homemade Black Garlic

[DCRIII]

Anyone here make their own black garlic?
I've personally never tried black garlic before and have wanted to for awhile. I really enjoy eating garlic to the point that I pretty much eat it everyday in one form or another. Fresh, roasted, pickled, smoked, patse, and powdered.
So two days ago I accidentally stubbed across a YouTube video showing how to make your own black garlic in a slow cooker. Apparently for this gentleman it takes up to 60 to complete. Talk about a commitment. I don't have a slow cooker despite being gifted with 6 of them when my wife and I got married nearly 14 years ago, but he did mention that a rice cooker can also be used, something I have two of.
So I searched for making black garlic in a rice cooker. Quite a few people seem to gi this route, one guy in particular had 5 or 6 rice cooker fired up making black garlic at the same time.
So after watching a bunch of theses videos, the consensus being that at 140 degrees for 14 days is the leangth of time needed from start to finish.
So yesterday I went out and bought 16 bulbs of hard stem garlic. To minimize the aroma, I vacuum sealed the garlic. It's been nearly 24 hours since I started the process and can already smell the garlic, but it isn't very strong. Neither my wife or daughter can really smell it yet.
I really look forward to the end results and trying black garlic for the first time and will share the the final results once finished.

 

[TexLaw]

That sounds mighty cool. I look forward to hearing how it turns out.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

I don't understand. If you vacuum sealed the garlic how is the smell able to penetrate the plastic?

 

[MntnMan62]

I've never heard of or even tried black garlic before. Rather than spend all that time involved in makign black garlic I would just go out and buy some so I can see if I like it before investing hours on making it myself. I absolutely love garlic in all its forms so I imagine I'll love this too, but you never know. Thanks for mentioning. You can learn something new every day.

 

[DCRIII]

I don't understand. If you vacuum sealed the garlic how is the smell able to penetrate the plastic?

That's a good question that I've been pondering about all day as well.
I have a feeling that the hard stem of one of the bulbs may have punctured the bag once it heated up and the plastic soften. Also I didn't do a full vacuum on a few bulbs for result comparison purposes. So a pore seal could be the reason why I can smell the garlic.
Thankfully I love the smell of garlic, and to be honest, I don't even smell it now.

 

[DCRIII]

I've never heard of or even tried black garlic before. Rather than spend all that time involved in makign black garlic I would just go out and buy some so I can see if I like it before investing hours on making it myself. I absolutely love garlic in all its forms so I imagine I'll love this too, but you never know. Thanks for mentioning. You can learn something new every day.

I completely agree and I'd normally do just that and go out and buy some to try before spending the on to make it, but I know of only one place in my area that sells it and if memory serves me right, it was ridiculously priced.
In any event, I'm willing to wait and I enjoy making stuff myself especially if I can make a bunch for a mere fraction of buying ready made.
One of these days I want to learn how to make my own cheddar cheese. Since I prefer aged cheddar at minimum age of 2 years old, 14 days doesn't seem too long to wait.

 

[extinctary]

Im a big fan of garlic in all its forms. Especially black garlic. Its delicious, an you eat it up like candy. The closest Id compare it to was roasted garlic, but without the crunchy edge bits. All caramelized and gooey. Yummm!!!!

 

[MntnMan62]

I completely agree and I'd normally do just that and go out and buy some to try before spending the on to make it, but I know of only one place in my area that sells it and if memory serves me right, it was ridiculously priced.
In any event, I'm willing to wait and I enjoy making stuff myself especially if I can make a bunch for a mere fraction of buying ready made.
One of these days I want to learn how to make my own cheddar cheese. Since I prefer aged cheddar at minimum age of 2 years old, 14 days doesn't seem too long to wait.

I have never tried it and have not seen it in any supermarkets near me, but admittedly I have never looked for it either. But your post got me thinking so I went to Amazon and lo and behold, what should I find but black garlic. Several options. The one that I may give a try is MW Polar Black Garlic. It's a small jar that has about 5 oz. in it for $5.44. If you have Amazon Prime, shipping is free. It also appears to be the cheapest option. I'll probably buy some with my next order from Amazon. Sometimes we forget that not everything needs to be found locally. Thought I'd share what I found.

 

[TexLaw]

Thought I'd share what I found.

Thanks for the heads-up on that. I popped a jar into my cart for the next time I place an order. If I like it that much and can make it make sense, I might try my hand at making more. With a little planning, I can rope off my electric smoker for a 14-day run at 140.

 

[DCRIII]

I have never tried it and have not seen it in any supermarkets near me, but admittedly I have never looked for it either. But your post got me thinking so I went to Amazon and lo and behold, what should I find but black garlic. Several options. The one that I may give a try is MW Polar Black Garlic. It's a small jar that has about 5 oz. in it for $5.44. If you have Amazon Prime, shipping is free. It also appears to be the cheapest option. I'll probably buy some with my next order from Amazon. Sometimes we forget that not everything needs to be found locally. Thought I'd share what I found.

Thanks for sharing this, I may have to order some to try until mine is done.

 

[Jayboz]

Never made my own, but Trader Joe’s did have it at one point. Hope they get some back in stock soon. Stuff is great.

 

[MntnMan62]

Never made my own, but Trader Joe’s did have it at one point. Hope they get some back in stock soon. Stuff is great.

How do you use it?

 

[DCRIII]

I have never tried it and have not seen it in any supermarkets near me, but admittedly I have never looked for it either. But your post got me thinking so I went to Amazon and lo and behold, what should I find but black garlic. Several options. The one that I may give a try is MW Polar Black Garlic. It's a small jar that has about 5 oz. in it for $5.44. If you have Amazon Prime, shipping is free. It also appears to be the cheapest option. I'll probably buy some with my next order from Amazon. Sometimes we forget that not everything needs to be found locally. Thought I'd share what I found.

I went ahead and ordered some from Amazon. I ordered two different types. One is a Solo garlic, the one priced at $5.44, and jar containing a more traditional multi clove bulbs like I'm using to make mine.
Since I'm a prime member, they'll both be delivered tomorrow.

 

[DCRIII]

Thanks for the heads-up on that. I popped a jar into my cart for the next time I place an order. If I like it that much and can make it make sense, I might try my hand at making more. With a little planning, I can rope off my electric smoker for a 14-day run at 140.

If you are going to go through the trouble of firing up your smoker, you should smoke of garlic as well. It's absolutely amazing!
Here's a picture of my last 2 ounce from a 5 pound batch I made. I dried it out with my dehydrator after smoking it and use it in a pepper mill.

 

[TexLaw]

If you are going to go through the trouble of firing up your smoker, you should smoke of garlic as well. It's absolutely amazing!

I may do that, but I'd probably do that with my pellet cooker or offset. The electric is great for low temperatures, different setpoints, and lighter smoking. I can turn it on without adding any sawdust, and it's pretty much a large, outdoor oven with a very steady temperature--perfect for something like this garlic. I can just keep it going outside for a couple weeks.

Now, that's not to say I couldn't add something like a handful or two of sawdust to the bowl and, perhaps, get the best of both worlds.

 

[Jayboz]

How do you use it?

Ill use it anytime something calls for garlic. Has a little different taste.

 

[DCRIII]

Ill use it anytime something calls for garlic. Has a little different taste.

The one's I ordered from Amazon yesterday, while waiting on to finish, arrived earlier today. I gave it a try by itself. Taste pretty good. Kind of like a jellied candy with a flavor of raisins crossed with tamarind and a very faint hint of garlic. It could easily be mistaken for fruit and could possibly be pared well with peanutbutter for a sandwich.
To me it's a bit rich, so a little bit will go a long way.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

I saw black garlic in my local market a few months ago. This week I'll try and see if it is still available.

 

[Scarry Knight]

I’ve seen it at farmers markets sold by an Afghan family. They mentioned that it is aged seven years and given as wedding gifts to brind good fortune or blessings to the marriage, or some
such.
Wouldn’t sous vid work great for this? I have about sixty some in the ground. I’ve wanted to try some since hearing of it’s Afghanistan use/connection. If my bulbs are growing as prolifically as they seem to be based on their greenery, I reckon I will.

I think it’s great, the spread of and rise in availabilty of all sorts of apples and garlics, and more, all easier to get post ‘89.

 

[DCRIII]

I’ve seen it at farmers markets sold by an Afghan family. They mentioned that it is aged seven years and given as wedding gifts to brind good fortune or blessings to the marriage, or some
such.
Wouldn’t sous vid work great for this? I have about sixty some in the ground. I’ve wanted to try some since hearing of it’s Afghanistan use/connection. If my bulbs are growing as prolifically as they seem to be based on their greenery, I reckon I will.

I think it’s great, the spread of and rise in availabilty of all sorts of apples and garlics, and more, all easier to get post ‘89.

Yeah, I think sous vid would be a perfect way to make your own black garlic!
If I had a sous vid setup, I'd certainly give it a go, but unfortunately I haven't been able to convince my wife into allowing me to get one.