Cooking with Black Garlic

Black garlic is not used like white garlic.

While white garlic is hard, juicy and pungent, black garlic is soft, sweet, umami, with a very light garlic flavor, a slight acidity and caramelized aromas.

So we have 2 different ingredients, which have different flavor effects on the food. When we cook with white, we want to get its aroma, which even in a strong sauce (e.g. tomato) can be distinguished, by boiling it for a long time. When we cook with black garlic, (since it is already slow-cooked to become black from white), we always add it towards the end of cooking. Essentially we use it as a fresh herb to bring out its aromas.

We can use black garlic in cooking in 2 ways:

One is to highlight it in the recipe and make it our main aromatic ingredient. This way we can finely chop the cloves (or use the paste) on freshly cooked pasta, in salads and dressings, spread it on warm toasted bread, or add it chopped to sauces once we have removed them from the heat, to cause small explosions of flavor every time a piece meets the tooth.

The second way is to use its property of giving depth of flavor (umami). A small amount of black garlic paste in a simple tomato sauce will give a completely different dimension to the flavor, acting as a natural "cube" without preservatives, salt or further processing. The same will happen if you add it to cooked dishes, especially without meat, where it will give the depth that animal protein gives in a natural way.

However, beyond using it in its original form (clove or paste), you can follow our suggestions for tasty surprises using the other Black Garlic Downvillage products (honey, caviar, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise) which further open up the possibilities for imaginative recipes. Suggestions and ideas can be found at our recipes .