Black Garlic - Is it the New Superfood & Why Eat It

Black garlic, a new culinary wonder is making appearances in many high end restaurant menus. Loaded with health benefits & robust flavor, it can be used to make dips, sauces & even blended into pizza toppings. In addition, it can also be used to add flavor to lentil dishes or can be served as an accompaniment with cheese. Many used it to flavour grilled meats & fish too. Celebrated as the culinary "black gold", lets know if black garlic is the new superfood & why should we eat it.

What is Black Garlic?

Many believe that fermenting garlic slowly results in black garlic, but that's not the case!!! A Maillard reaction (chemical reaction between amino acids & sugars) that imparts foods like onions & garlic a peculiar color ranging from dark brown to black is responsible for producing black garlic cloves. Fermentation, on the other hand is a microbial reaction & is unrelated to black garlic.

How To Make Black Garlic At Home?

Making black garlic at home requires a lot of patience. However, the layered & lingering fragrance of this "black gold" is worth the effort. Made by slow heating whole garlic bulbs (with the head intact) over a course of few days, black garlic is making an appearance across many restaurant menus. Popular across Asian kitchens, it can also be made at home in a rice cooker by keeping it on a "warm"setting.

Why Eat Black Garlic?

We became fans of the robust black garlic taste & digged around to find that there are many health benefits too!! The magical natural antibiotic "allicin" present in garlic, imparts it a "superfood" status & is present in black garlic too. In other words, a health benefits minus the pungent odor & taste.

S-allylcysteine present in black garlic helps in better absorption of allicin that in turn offers protection against infections. Above all, the anti oxidants present in black garlic, help protect the cells from diseases & help slow down the aging process too.

Black garlic also has compounds that help combat the risk of cancer & help fight cholesterol problems too. It is also rich in minerals like calcium, selenium & manganese & vitamins like Vitamin B6 & Vitamin C. In conclusion, regular consumption is also beneficial to our overall bone health.

Black garlic also aids in cleansing the body of heavy metals & toxins, boosting health. With a sweet, earthy flavour & robust health benefits, black garlic is making in roads into many kitchens.  


are you trying this wonder ingredient?