That's exciting!

Jim

WOW! !
That is fantastic!

Katiec, you are a very generous person.
(With very nice handwriting)

Dcarch, you will have so much fun trying
and comparing
the different kinds.
And reporting back to us what you learn.

I had no idea there were so many varieties of garlic.
The stores here just sell 'garlic',
No names or anything.

Definitely a good thing that you are not a vampire!

Rusty

Fantastic is the word that also came to my mind. Katiec is totally cool!

I never knew there were so many garlic varieties and here I am next to Gilroy, garlic growing capital of the world (or so they say). LOL

BTW, what is "Black Garlic"?
Clare

Clare, isn't it amazing? I understand there are actually a few hundred varieties of garlic.

What is black garlic?

Here is from the WEB:

Just want to add that, Black Garlic will not give you garlic breath or upset stomach. And the making is not fermentation, it is heat transformation.

dcarch
-----------------------------
What Is Black Garlic?

Black garlic is not a special variety of garlic, rather it results from a special method of preparation. A slow fermentation process results in a product consisting of dark, somewhat sticky cloves.

As with traditional roast garlic, the black cloves have a sweet flavour rather than the stridency usually associated with the stinking rose. Some people detect a note of almost balsamic vinegar in the taste. The blackened cloves can be used as an ingredient of sauces, dips and salads as well as being used for cooking in a variety of recipes.

Where to Buy

Black garlic is associated with Korea in particular, however Korean black garlic is no longer the only variety for sale today. There are also producers in other countries such as the US and Japan and you can buy it at many specialist stores as well as online grocery stores. (ebay, Amazon, and others)

Making

So how is black garlic made? In a word: slowly.
It's produced by taking ordinary garlic bulbs and fermenting them at a high temperature over a period of days or even weeks. Making black garlic thus takes time, and this is usually reflected in its price. It's still something of a luxury today, this might change if production increases.

Any ordinary variety of garlic can be used in the fermentation process, although obviously the best results come from starting with the best ingredients. Quality begets quality.

Health Claims

Since black garlic is a relatively new product on the market there are less anecdotal stories or scientific studies on its possible health benefits. Solid facts are rather difficult to come by. However it is said that the fermented black cloves contain very high antioxidant levels, up to twice the level of those prepared normally.
This high antioxidant level combined with other potentially desirable compounds leads some people to believe it may help maintain a healthy system. Personally I treat any health benefits as a bonus rather than a reason for eating it. For me the taste is what counts.

dcarch - Thanks for the information. You learn something new every day!
Clare

Wow,
that's a great gift.
Enjoy,
Linda

You're welcome, and it will be interesting to see if there's a difference in the final products.

Nice photo...talk about plain brown wrappers, lol.

Katiec, you do have lovely penmanship. (grin) And what a nice gesture, I'm sure dcarch is going to enjoy that experiment.

Yes, there are lots of different garlic varieties, I tend to grow hardnecks because they do well here and store easily. This year I planted Music and a purple stripe called Persian Star. One of my favorites is a hot garlic called Ajo Rojo, but I couldn't find any this year. So, I'll have garlic about July, next year.

It'll be interesting to see which of these makes the best black garlic, if any of them stand out.

Annie