Black Garlic

Smooth and sweet, black garlic is packed with antioxidants and is the perfect addition to a healthy diet.

Cuisine Asian

Keyword garlic

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 28

Total Time 28 10

Servings cloves

Calories 3kcal

If the garlic is fresh from your garden, make sure to clean and trim all garlic heads. If bought from the supermarket, it is likely clean and ready to go.
Wrap the garlic heads in parchment or freezer paper. Then, to help keep them sealed, you can wrap them again with aluminum foil over the paper.

Place the wrapped garlic heads inside a stainless steel pot (if using the proofer method), or into your slow cooker or rice cooker. If using a black garlic fermenter, follow the instructions that came with your particular fermenter.
If using a proofer, place the stainless steel pot into the proofer and set it to 60ºC/140ºF. If using a rice cooker or slow cooker, cover with the lid and set to "keep warm" setting.

Place garlic directly inside the pot (wrapped or unwrapped) and cover with the lid. Use the “keep warm” setting. Since some models run hotter than others, check progress after 3 weeks. Total time is usually 3–5 weeks.

Follow the instructions for your fermenter. Most machines complete a batch in 12–14 days.

It's a good idea to mark your starting date somewhere on the outside of your cooking appliance.
After a few weeks, you can begin checking on the garlic. Open a clove to check on the color and texture. You want to keep cooking until the cloves are dark brown to black.
If yours are still lighter than that, re-wrap the garlic and cook for several more days/weeks. If you feel that it isn't cooking fast enough, you can slightly increase the temperature, keeping it within the range of 60-75ºC/140-170ºF

Once finished, you can remove the garlic and store wrapped, or you can peel the cloves and store them peeled in a sealed container.

Storage: Black garlic keeps about 1 month at room temperature, 3–6 months in the fridge, and up to 1 year in the freezer. Wrap bulbs or peel cloves before storing.
Yield: Twelve heads usually give about 140–150 cloves, depending on their size.
Best garlic to use: Larger, firm bulbs with tight skins work best. Organic garlic is a good option since you’ll be eating the cloves whole.
Wrapping tip: Wrapping each head in parchment (plus a loose layer of foil) helps prevent the cloves from drying out.
Doneness: Don’t be afraid to taste a clove when you check. The garlic should be very dark, soft, chewy, and sweet. If it still seems firm or light brown, it needs more time.
Patience pays off: The difference between “almost there” and “perfect” black garlic can be just a few days, so give it a little extra time if needed.