Fremented Black Garlic

Black Garlic Cloves

Pizza with Black Garlic

A fellow Chef recently showed me some of his amazing Central Valley organic produce that was in his walk in refrigerator; he held up a plastic bag with what looked like whole garlic bulbs. "Its black garlic, have you ever used it?" I have heard of it but have never used it. These whole bulbs of garlic are fermented at high temperatures which turns the cloves black in color and produces a sweet and syrupy flavor similar to Balsamic vinegar. This unique food product has its roots in Asian cuisine and it is not that easy to find. One resource is the Black Garlic Company in Hayward, California where much of it is produced and be bought by mail order. Hayward is the ideal location for this company because its very close to Gilroy which is known as the garlic capital of the world. Black garlic can be used where ever you would normally use roasted garlic such as with pizza or maybe pastas. I made a simple cheese pizza with these cloves scattered on top; it had a interesting mushroom type of flavor.