Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] "Black Garlic" -- anyone ever hear of this?

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Shawnee Flowerfarmer <farmingflowers AT hotmail.com>
  • To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] "Black Garlic" -- anyone ever hear of this?
  • Date: Sat, 9 Jan 2010 11:14:05 -0600

Sounds delicious....Would be a great thing at the market, but I can feature the Health Inspector person dropping by with questions....definitely a valued added opportunity if you're ahead of the curve and located in the right market.  Better start fermenting soon....
Shawnee, zone 5

> From: garlicgrower AT green-logic.com
> To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 10:25:52 -0500
> Subject: [Market-farming] "Black Garlic" -- anyone ever hear of this?
>
>
>
> Hi, Folks!
>
> See article from today's Philadelphia Inquirer Food Section. I never heard
> of "black garlic" before today. I wonder if it's going to be a quick fad or
> if there is a value-added opportunity there. . .
>
> Dorene in Southeastern PA
>
> http://www.philly.com/inquirer/food/20100107_Garlic_in_a_new_hue__Black.html
>
> Garlic in a new hue: Black
>
> By Dianna Marder
>
> Inquirer Staff Writer
>
> Black garlic? Yes, indeed.
>
> It is nothing more than garden-variety garlic, Allium sativum, that is
> fermented with heat for 30 days and packaged to sell for twice the price,
> but the taste is entirely different. You can eat it raw or cooked without
> experiencing heartburn or garlic breath.
>
> And while black garlic is not entirely new, it is most likely new to you.
>
> First imported from South Korea by a California-based company,
> BlackGarlic.com, in 2008, black garlic appeared in dishes at Bix in San
> Francisco and Le Bernardin in Manhattan. It showed up among the ingredients
> on the Food Network's Top Chef and Iron Chef America shows. It has appeared
> on some local menus (Fork, Zahav). And you may be inclined to try it at home
> in 2010.
>
> You'll find it at Wegman's in Cherry Hill (a two-ounce bag for $4) or
> Iovine's in the Reading Terminal Market (two bulbs for $5.99).
>
> Such is the price of fame, and, maybe, health.
>
> Brian Han, who works in sales at BlackGarlic.com, says the company's initial
> intent was to market it as a "natural food medicine," which is the other hot
> trend in home foods for 2010.
>
> "It is high in antioxidants," Han says, "but we found out that to get the
> benefit, you have to eat a whole lot of it."
>
> Soon after, Han says, "Bix restaurant used it on a lamb chop and everybody
> heard about it and that's how we changed our marketing."
>
> At Fork restaurant in Old City, chef Terence Feury, who abhors trends, says
> he got samples of black garlic in the summer of 2008 and used it in a sauce
> with roasted corn for his soft-shell crabs. Loved it, he said, but when the
> soft-shell season ended, he somehow never went back to it.
>
> "That's the way it is with some ingredients," Feury says. "Fennel pollen
> came and went."
>
> But black garlic is nothing to ho-hum about, Feury says. "It packs a lot of
> flavor into a small package. I really liked it."
>
> Just as kimchi is fermented cabbage, black garlic is garlic that has been
> fermented with heat.
>
> "Nothing else," says Han. "No soy sauce added, like some people think."
>
> When heated at a fairly high temperature for 30 days, the natural sugar in
> the garlic is drawn out and the result is a bulb with a tan exterior and
> peeled cloves that are black.
>
> (By the way, elephant garlic is a different variety, more closely related to
> a leek. It has a very mild garlic flavor and a texture that's more like a
> potato.)
>
> Han says the company is moving toward buying more of the stuff from
> California growers instead of importing. For now, he sells it online fresh
> in bulbs, peeled in jars, as puree in jars, and as a concentrated juice for
> use in salad dressings and in cooking soups and stews.
>
> Peeling the cloves will leave a bit of residue under your fingernails and on
> your cutting board. But black garlic is nowhere near as messy as salsify.
> (You remember salsify, of course. That was the "in" root vegetable of the
> year in 2006. But salsify left a white, gooey substance on cutting surfaces,
> and added little in the way of flavor to compensate for the mess and
> bother.)
>
> "I love black garlic," Zahav chef Michael Solomonov declared in a recent
> interview. He describes the sweet but savory taste as between tamarinds and
> dates.
>
> Steep it in warm water for three to four days, he says, then puree before
> adding it to a recipe. That way, the flavor is not as pungent and won't
> overwhelm the dish.
>
> Solomonov adds black garlic to the seasonings in ground veal for his grape
> leaves, but says it also works in soups. And he imagines making a black
> garlic ice cream when the weather warms up.
>
> "Or steep in vodka for a Bloody Mary," he says dreamily.
>
> I tried it at home several ways: spread on a cracker and topped with a bit
> of smoked salmon (great); sliced thin and baked into the crust of white
> pizza (very yummy); mashed and cooked briefly with balsamic vinegar and
> white wine as a sauce for seared scallops (see recipe) and blended with
> Amaretto and sherry as a poaching sauce for fresh nectarines (see recipe).
>
> My guests agreed that eating a sliver raw on a cracker is the best way to
> get to know the flavor of this ingredient before cooking with it.
>
> Black garlic is not a substitute for white garlic. I didn't try it in the
> classic Italian recipe Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic, but my bet is that
> you'd want to use far fewer than 40 cloves, and the result would be an
> Asian, not an Italian, dish.
>
> Dan Vena, the fourth generation in the family at Vena Produce in the Food
> Distribution Center, is a local distributor.
>
> "I took some home and messed around with it," Vena said. "People are scared
> of it at first, but it's pretty cool stuff."
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
>
> Poached Tangerines in Black Garlic Syrup
> Makes 4 servings
>
>
> 4 ripe tangerines
>
> 2 cloves peeled black garlic, very finely chopped
>
> 3 ounces dry sherry
>
> 3 ounces almond liqueur (e.g. Amaretto)
>
> 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
>
>
> 1. Peel the tangerines, separate into segments and remove the seeds.
>
> 2. Put the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until
> simmering.
>
> 3. Add the tangerine segments and poach for 8 minutes.
>
> 4. Remove the tangerines and place them in a glass serving bowl.
>
> 5. Reduce the juices in the pan until a syrupy consistency is reached.
>
> 6. Pour the juices over the tangerines.
>
> 7. Chill until ready to serve.
>
> - From www.blackgarlic.com
> Per serving: 157 calories, 1 gram protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, 17 grams
> sugar, trace fat, no cholesterol, 3 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
>
> Scallops With Black Garlic Sauce
> Makes 4 servings
>
>
> 16 extra-large scallops (about 1 1/2 pounds), patted very dry
>
> Coarse salt
>
> Freshly ground black pepper
>
> 3 tablespoons butter
>
> 3 cloves black garlic, thinly sliced
>
> 1/4 cup white wine
>
> 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
>
> 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
>
>
> 1. Season the dry scallops with salt and pepper.
>
> 2. Heat two tablespoons of the butter in a large frying pan over high heat;
> when the butter bubbles, gently lay the scallops in the pan, allowing enough
> room so that they do not touch.
>
> 3. Sear the scallops, cooking about 4 minutes, turning once. They should be
> golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a serving platter.
>
> 4. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the hot pan, plus the garlic
> slices, and fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour the white wine and
> the balsamic vinegar into the pan and turn down the heat. Simmer for one
> minute, seasoning with more salt and pepper and the fresh parsley.
>
> 5. Pour the sauce over the scallops. Or serve on a bed of linguine, tossed
> with extra virgin olive oil and chopped fresh herbs.
>
> - From www.blackgarlic.com
> Per serving: 264 calories, 26 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, trace
> sugar, 13 grams fat, 74 milligrams cholesterol, 456 milligrams sodium, trace
> dietary fiber
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
>
> Contact staff writer Dianna Marder at 215-854-4211 or
> dmarder AT phillynews.com. Read her recent work at
> http://go.philly.com/diannamarder.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Market-farming mailing list
> Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
>


Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now.



Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page