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You asked so here is the answer! Having just finished three days at the Good Food and Wine Show, this is a common question. Garlic is a versatile ingredient used in cuisines around the world for its pungent flavour and numerous health benefits. However, black garlic has emerged as an intriguing alternative to regular garlic, offering a distinct taste and potential additional advantages. In this blog post, we'll compare black garlic and regular garlic, exploring their differences in flavour, nutritional content, and culinary use.  Flavour Profile: Regular Garlic: Fresh garlic is known for its sharp, pungent, and sometimes spicy flavour. It has a pronounced "bite" that can vary in intensity depending on the variety and freshness of the garlic. When cooked, regular garlic develops a mellow and slightly sweet flavour. Black Garlic: Black garlic undergoes a oxidation process that transforms its flavour profile. We take beautiful hard neck ‘Monaro Purple’ garlic with white flesh through a 30 day low slow “cook” to transform to black garlic. The pungency and spiciness of regular garlic are mellowed, giving way to a unique combination of savoury umami, caramel-like sweetness, and hints of balsamic and molasses. Garlic notes come through the flavour after the initial sweetness. Black garlic offers a more complex and subtle flavour compared to regular garlic.  Nutritional Content: Regular Garlic: Fresh garlic is highly regarded for its nutritional value. It is a good source of vitamins C and B6, manganese, and selenium. Garlic is also known for containing sulphur compounds, such as allicin, which is associated with various health benefits, including potential immune-boosting and cardiovascular effects. Black Garlic: While the transformation of white to black garlic cause some changes in its nutritional composition, it still retains several beneficial compounds found in regular garlic. Black garlic has higher antioxidant levels than fresh garlic, offering enhanced antioxidant benefits. Additionally, black garlic contains S-allyl cysteine, a compound associated with heart health benefits. The reduced allicin levels make black garlic more easily digested.  Culinary Use: Regular Garlic: Fresh garlic is widely used in cooking for its strong flavour and aroma. It is a staple in lots of savoury dishes, including stir-fries, sauces, soups, marinades, and roasted or grilled meats and vegetables. The pungency and spiciness of regular garlic can add depth and character to a wide range of recipes. Black Garlic: Black garlic's unique flavour makes it a versatile ingredient for culinary experimentation. Don’t use it in place of fresh garlic – don’t chop finely and fry off early in a dish. All you will have is little burnt black dots! Add black garlic towards the end of a dish, stirring through pasta or risotto. The warmth will bring out the rich flavour offering that finishing touch to your cooking. Black garlic pairs well with both savoury and sweet ingredients, making it suitable for sauces, dressings, pasta dishes, risottos, and even desserts. Its rich umami notes can enhance the complexity of flavour creating a memorable dish.  Shelf Life:
Regular Garlic: Fresh garlic bulbs have a relatively short shelf life. They can typically be stored for a few weeks to a couple of months when kept in a cool, dry place. However, they may begin to sprout or deteriorate over time. Black Garlic: Black garlic has a significantly longer shelf life compared to regular garlic. The oxidation process contributes to its stability, allowing it to be stored for several years. Proper storage in a cool and dry environment helps maintain the quality and flavour of black garlic. Conclusion: While regular garlic and black garlic both have their unique qualities, they offer distinct flavours and culinary experiences. Regular garlic provides a bold and pungent taste, while black garlic offers a more complex and sweet umami profile. Additionally, black garlic retains beneficial compounds found in regular garlic and provides enhanced antioxidant and heart health benefits. Whether you choose regular garlic for its robust flavour or black garlic for its intriguing taste and potential additional advantages, both varieties can be valuable additions to your culinary repertoire.
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Black garlic, with its unique flavour profile and rich umami notes, offers a wonderful opportunity to enhance your culinary creations. In this blog post, we'll explore some delicious recipes and flavour pairings that can help you make the most of this exceptional ingredient.  Black Garlic Butter: Black garlic butter is a versatile and delicious condiment that can be used in various dishes. To make it, simply blend softened butter with mashed black garlic cloves until well combined. This flavourful butter can be spread on bread, used to sauté vegetables, melted over grilled steak, or added to pasta dishes for a burst of savoury richness. Our black garlic butter image (on Pinterest) is our most popular pinned image! Black Garlic Aioli: Upgrade your traditional aioli with the addition of black garlic. Mix mayonnaise, crushed black garlic cloves, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt until smooth and creamy. This black garlic aioli can be served as a dipping sauce for fries, a spread for sandwiches, or a tasty accompaniment to seafood and roasted vegetables. We offer a ready to go black garlic aioli if that tempts you. Black Garlic Salad Dressing: Create a unique and tangy salad dressing by combining black garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, and a touch of salt and pepper. This dressing pairs well with mixed greens, roasted beets, goat cheese, and toasted nuts, adding depth and complexity to your salads. Start with our White Balsamic Black Garlic dressing as your base.  Black Garlic Marinade: Black garlic can be used to make a flavourful marinade for meats and vegetables. Combine minced black garlic, soy sauce, honey, ginger, sesame oil, and a splash of rice wine vinegar. Marinate your choice of protein or vegetables for a few hours or overnight before grilling, roasting, or stir-frying. The result is a tender and well-seasoned dish with a unique twist. Black Garlic Pasta: Incorporate black garlic into your pasta dishes for a burst of flavour. Sauté minced black garlic in olive oil until fragrant, then toss it with cooked pasta, grated Parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. For an extra touch, add roasted cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, and a drizzle of black garlic-infused olive oil. Go all out and add black garlic to your pasta dough. Black Garlic Soup: Add depth and richness to your soups with black garlic. Sauté diced onions, carrots, and celery in a pot, then add vegetable or chicken broth, black garlic, and your choice of herbs and spices. Simmer until the flavours meld together, then blend until smooth for a velvety black garlic soup. Garnish with a swirl of cream or a sprinkle of fresh herbs.  Flavour Pairings: Black garlic pairs well with a range of ingredients, enhancing their flavours. Some excellent combinations include:
Cooking with black garlic opens up a world of possibilities, allowing you to create dishes that are both delicious and unique. Whether you're making sauces, marinades, dressings, or incorporating it into pasta dishes or soups, black garlic's deep umami flavour and caramelized sweetness can elevate your culinary creations to new heights. So, get creative, you can let your imagination run wild.  Introduction: Black garlic, often referred to as "black gold," is a unique culinary ingredient that undergoes a fascinating transformation through a process known as ageing. This article delves into the art of ageing garlic and explores how time and controlled conditions turn ordinary garlic cloves into a prized delicacy. Getting Started: A key first step is to grown beautiful white garlic. We use a purple hard neck Monaro garlic that grows well in our area. It is that beautiful garlic with white skins and fine purple veins that you see in quality fruit stores. This variety has an ideal sugar content producing beautiful full flavoured black garlic.
Understanding the Process: The transformation of garlic into black garlic involves a slow, natural oxidation process. Although often described as fermentation, which typically involves the action of microorganisms, black garlic is made through a controlled enzymatic reaction. Whole bulbs of garlic are placed in a humid, temperature-controlled environment, typically around 60°C, for an extended period, typically ranging from two to six weeks. This low and consistent heat triggers enzymatic reactions within the garlic, resulting in the gradual caramelization of natural sugars and Maillard reactions that give black garlic its characteristic dark colour, soft texture, and complex flavour profile. Flavour and Aroma Profile: One of the most intriguing aspects of black garlic is its flavour and aroma. During the ageing process, the pungent and sharp flavours commonly associated with raw garlic mellow and transform into something entirely different. Black garlic offers a unique umami taste with hints of sweetness, tanginess, and even notes of balsamic vinegar and molasses. Its aroma is often described as earthy, with hints of garlic, caramel, and fermented fruits. These flavour and aroma profiles make black garlic a versatile ingredient that can enhance a wide range of dishes.  Culinary Uses: Black garlic's unique flavour profile makes it a prized ingredient in culinary creations. Its sweet, tangy, and umami taste can enhance both savoury and sweet dishes. Black garlic can add flavour in sauces, dressings, marinades, and soups. It can also be mashed and spread onto bread or incorporated into dips and spreads. Additionally, black garlic pairs well with meats, seafood, roasted vegetables, cheese and even desserts like chocolate or ice cream, adding depth and complexity to the overall dish.  Availability and Storage: While black garlic was once relatively uncommon and difficult to find, its popularity has grown, and it can now be purchased in specialty food stores, gourmet markets, or online. When purchasing black garlic, look for plump and soft cloves with a glossy, black exterior. Proper storage is essential to maintain its quality. It is best stored in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight, and can typically be kept for several years.
Conclusion: The art of ageing garlic into black gold is a remarkable process that transforms the ordinary into something extraordinary. Black garlic's unique flavour, aroma, and potential health benefits make it a sought-after ingredient for culinary enthusiasts and health-conscious individuals alike. Whether you use it to elevate your home-cooked meals or experiment with new and exciting recipes, black garlic is a culinary treasure that showcases the magic of time and transformation. For us, 2023 is the year of reaching out to fantastic chefs to share our black garlic product range. As part of this, we plan on sending out sample gift packs to whet their appetite. We have been delighted to work with OzStickerPrinting Company to produce an enticing sticker to encourage opening up the box as soon as it arrives. We went with a byline "Great Taste is in Your Hands" and our gloss paper stickers have arrived today. Professional service and a terrific quality product - very happy with the result. Now let's get these sample packs out and get 2023 underway!  Black garlic is a beautiful ingredient and easy to use BUT there are a few key mistakes to avoid!  1. Believing (incorrectly) black garlic is a replacement for fresh garlic It is fantastic that we are all keen to use Australian grown fresh garlic. We only use local Australian garlic in all our black garlic products. It can be tempting to turn to black garlic when the fresh Australian seasonal garlic is over. However, chopping up black garlic like fresh cloves, and cremating them in the fry pan leads to little black dots of bitter disappointment! You can add black garlic to hot dishes - just stir through the pasta at the last moment. 2. Adding black garlic on pizza before baking producing volcanic rocks Black garlic is fabulous on pizza - remember it is already cooked so adding it before baking, leaves black lumps on top. Slice it over as the pizza comes out of the oven, just like adding rocket. 3. Eating black garlic straight from the fridge reducing flavour Black garlic can be stored in a cool pantry - in hot humid climates perhaps the fridge is the best choice. Get your cloves out to come to room temperature before serving. The flavour is full and luscious. 4. Saving black garlic for best Be adventurous - don't just serve black garlic to your best friends as a special cheeseboard treat. Have it on hand for your eggs every morning, with a cracker for healthy morning tea or slapped on tonight's steak. Add some to your next batch of dark chocolate brownies - delicious! We make our black garlic with love and care, and want to send it out to good homes to be treated with love and care! Hope you find these tips useful. If you have other tips please let us know  Great read in today's SMH by Callan Boys, highlighting the growth in condiments and pastes showcasing strong umami flavours. Umami is the 5th taste, a savoury flavour typical of mushrooms, soy, tomatoes and some meats. Foods high in umami have that lovely mouth watering flavour - historically delivered often by MSG, now natural flavours are popular. You can get your umami fix in several ways: slow fermented miso in "Oomite" (looking dark and thick like Vegemite), chilli sesame and fermented black beans with fried garlic in a crispy chilli oil, a combination of tamari and tahini or "Tumami" a match of tomato paste with black garlic from Alice Zaslavsky. Increasingly customers seem to be turning from highly processed foods and appreciating the clean flavours of real food like Garlicious Grown Black Garlic Paste - pure umami in a jar! Great to restock in June as the free post deal for orders over $100 expires at the end of the month.   This is a wonderful authentic recipe from our friend and colleague, Fiona Aveyard of Outback Lamb - thanks Fiona!
Black garlic is new to me, but it has kind of become my "go-to" addition to basically everything, as it adds a real depth of flavour that can't be replicated by any other spice. You don't have to worry about garlic breath either, because it doesn't have that element. You can use pure black garlic powder (you won't need much of this!) or the black garlic cloves. Both can be used interchangeably for this recipe. I get my black garlic from @garliciousgrown and cannot recommend their products more highly. I have made this casserole or stew many times. I sometimes will swap out diced shoulder for shanks depending on what I have available, both are equally delicious. Nigella Lawson recommends allowing 1 shank per person, then shredding the meat from the bones to make it go further. This is messy and you absolutely have to extract every bit of marrow from the bones, but always worth the effort. Six shanks would feed 10 using this method. This casserole can be made up to 3 days ahead. Always cover and then refrigerate within 2 hours of making. You can also freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Always defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating. To reheat, take it out of the fridge, remove any fat from the surface and leave to come to room temperature, and preheat the oven to 170°C. Cook for around an hour and serve piping hot. SERVES 8 -10 2 large onions, finely diced 2 tablespoons black garlic powder (plus 2 black garlic cloves if desired) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons cumin seeds 2 teaspoons ground allspice 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 250ml red wine 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes 750gm -1kg diced lamb 2 tablespoons cornflour METHOD Preheat the oven to 150°C. Combine the cornflour and black garlic powder in a bowl, toss in the lamb and lightly coat. Heat the oil and brown the floured lamb on the stovetop in batches. I do this in the casserole dish I'm using so the flavour remains. Remove the lamb and set aside. Put the onions and (if you're using them, the black garlic cloves) in the same pan and cook for just a few minutes, or until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the cumin seeds, ground allspice and cinnamon. Turn the heat up to high, and then pour in the red wine. Let this bubble up again, making sure to scrape the bottom of the dish to lift any yummy crispy bits up. Add the 2 cans of tomatoes. Then fill each can with cold water from the tap and pour that in. Stir in the salt and add the lamb back in, bring it again to a bubble, then place the lid on firmly and transfer to the oven. Cook for 4 hours. Season to taste. Top with chopped parsley to serve. Its ready now to serve to your guests, or you can let it cool, refrigerate and then freeze as required. Creamy mashed potatoes or else couscous would be an obvious accompaniment, or a chickpea and spinach salad is also nice. Whatever your preference, be sure to pile a plate high with lots of good, crusty, bread. You can now try Garlicious Grown black garlic at Ritchies Fine Food Stores - such beautiful award winning gourmet food retailers offering fantastic customer service in beautiful surroundings. We are delighted to be ranged there and look forward to adding our stock to more of Ritchies fabulous emporiums! See our leading products Black garlic peeled 50g Black Garlic powder 25g Black Garlic paste 100g Black Garlic White Balsamic dressing 250mL Black Garlic Aioli 220g See them at Ritchies Mosman, Ritchies Dromana, Ritchies Mount Waverley, Ritchies Mount Eliza and Ritchies Maclean  Looking for new flavours in 2021?
The Global Taste Trends report maps out the key tastes linked to trends across the world, by nutrition company Kerry. The 2021 report shows the impact of our 2020 year on our flavour choices. Apparently we are searching for solace in our food choices:
 The great news is Australians are strong supporters of small businesses. According to a recent Fiverr report, six of ten Australians report they would support a small business over a larger company for the same purchase. The disruption of 2020 has pushed buying local, with 97% of respondents saying they will continue this habit into 2021. It seems connections to local neighbourhoods have strengthened. We have certainly been grateful for a huge lift in online sales, our version of "buying local"!
Talking of support, we are asking for a favour - we need your VOTE! We are thrilled to be a finalist in the Back to Business initiative with Kochie Business Builders (in partnership with Yellow Online and eBay). There are some great businesses sharing their tips for getting back to business in 2021. We hope you will vote for the Garlicious Grown tip, as the prize is a fantastic opportunity to be featured on KBB TV aired nationally on Channel 7. Please go to https://www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/back-to-business/ You can see the Garlicious Grown back to business tip and then further down the page vote for us. Just a little tip, click the circle above the Garlicious Grown image then enter your email address to validate your vote. Thanks in advance for your support! |
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