Question: How Do You Make Black Garlic?
By: Alisa Escanlar
Published: January 5, 2010

I'd like to know how black garlic is made and if it's possible to make black garlic at home.

Answers:
Christine

I just read an article about Black Garlic. It's colored black because it's fermented by heat. This article doesn't tell you how to make it, but tells more about it: http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/20100107_Garlic_in_a_new_hue__Black.html  sort of helpful :)
Barnaby Dorfman

I first tasted Black Garlic at the Fancy Food Show in NYC in August of 2009.  The company selling it claims that it's an ancient process of slow fermentation, but that they have a modern and secret technique for producing it in volume: http://blackgarlic.com/how-its-made
Chef Oscar Lippe

You CAN make black garlic at home!.
Fermenting garlic is no secret, much to the anguish of those who sell it, and would make you believe it is a rare and complicated 'patented' process. Although a number of patents exist for the industrial manufacture of black garlic, nobody can sue you for making it. It is rather simple to do so, and all you need is a dedicated oven, patience, dedication and very forgiving neighbors, since your whole immediate neighborhood will smell of garlic for days on end :-).
Set your oven at 130 degrees F, place your garlic on a glass or earthen container with a lid, spray it with enough water moisture as to dampen it (a spray gun works just fine) close the oven door and let it be for about 5 days, check your moisture level, garlic must remain moist through the whole process., temperature and humidity versus time is a trial and error factor, the lower your temperature, the longer the time the garlic will have to remain in the oven. Double fermentation also is used, with drying times in between processes which you will also have to experiment with. Every oven is different, every garlic is different. Plus if I give you correct formulas, I'd be taking all the fun out of it, so grin and bear it, nobody said it is easy, just that it CAN be made at home. Sometimes a wet cloth is placed between the vessel and the top to aid in maintaining humidity, but this is not necessary.
These are basic guidelines to start your adventure. Normal fermentation times range between twenty one and thirty five days.
Good luck
Chef Oscar Lippe
Kathy Tovey

Chef Oscar, do I need to cut the top of the bulb of garlic off to expose the inside like some say, or does it matter?  I grow garlic and just heard of this Black Garlic and would like to try to make it.  Thank you for your help.
Val

Hi
I have just tried to make black garlic for the last 30 days---BIG FAILURE---I started it in the rice cooker-wrapped in foil. After 2 weeks. nothing had happened, so I put it in the oven on 140 degrees and after another 2 weeks it was hard !!!! I have actually ground it and using it as powder---but I would rather have soft black garlic.  I am thinking of putting it in an oven bag in the rice cooker---what do you think??
Daniel

Hello!
I made ​​black garlic for several years, it's really simple. I use 4-liter glass jar with lid tightly. the oven at 70 centigrade. between 30 and 40 days. and it's ready! in my case I let grow old a few months it's much better! when I did I put SEVERAL jars in the oven is the same time and the same cost in energy.
Daniel
Diane Bradley

Being a garlic farmer we have lots of garlic on hand, I have been asked several times for black garlic but never had any idea on how to do it ,did lots of research but your way seems to the best way  , so here we go thank you for your info
Diane Bradley

Chef Oscar what do I do when I take it out of the oven ? Is there another step ?
zach

it is what u need is garlic a glass oven safe container and lid an oven and time the fermenting process takes about 40 days and 40 nights in a 140 to 155 degree oven if you have a heating blanket u can use that to just put  garlic bulbs cut in half into glass container and cover wrap in towel and leave on for the 40 day fermenting process to be over.
owen

yes, black garlic is not a secret now, but if you make them at home , that will be expensive for you, we make them in 20GP contianer, and use solar, that save more energy, and also cut a lot cost, for more, www.black-garlic.net
etim

To save $$ and to also keep it at a constant temp, just put the container on top of your hot water heater tank and cover it with insulation. Do a test jar of water first and check it with a meat thermometer.
peter

hello,  i placed my container in my oven with pilot on which i think is warm enough.  i sealed the container lid with masking tape.  it has been about 8 days now, the color hasn't changed, but i peeled a piece of tape off the lid, and it smells great.  i just put a jar of water in the oven now to add moisture.  anyone tried tightly sealed container or loosely covered container,  which one works better?
hu

here we offer black garlic machine, www.ajonegro.cn
hu

www.ajonegro.cn offer black garlic machine,
Romas

BLACH garlic masine frais.
Naturalremedy

I took fermented black garlic aka aged black garlic from 11/10/12 through 2/20/13 and updated my blood test to see how the fermented black garlic worked. Compared to my blood test from 9/11/12, total cholesterol changed from 214 to 151, TC 57 to 54, HDL 67 to 59, LDL 135 to 81, Glucose 105 to 76. I was very pleased with the change and I want to share how to make this wonderful fermented black garlic at home.
1. Buy 15-20 bulbs of organic garlics (I used organic garlic from California). USE ONLY ORGANIC GARLIC.
2. In a electrical rice cooker that has cooking and warming settings for 10 cups, place the basket vegetable steamer at the bottom of the rice cooker. Place the garlic about 15-20 bulbs in an upright position in the rice cooker.
3. Spray the garlic with draft beer (I used Asahi Japanese beer) lightly.
4. Closed the lid and plug the rice cooker, set it at warming. I recommend keeping the rice cooker outside. It smells really strong. I kept mine on the deck under the patio table to keep the snow and rain out.
5. Leave it alone for 14 days. DO NOT OPEN PRIOR TO 14 DAYS.
6. Take the garlic out and place them on a tray and let it dry for 14 days in a cool dark place. I dried mine in the garage.
7. Put the garlic in a ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator.
8. Peel one bulb at a time and eat 2 cloves with food three times a day.
9. Drink plenty of water.
10. For further info on the fermented black garlic, check http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...