What Is Black Garlic? How It's Made and How to Use It

Black garlic looks alarming the first time you see it. The cloves are jet black and soft, like a dried fig. Then you taste it, and it is nothing like raw garlic at all: sweet, mellow and savoury, with notes of balsamic, tamarind and molasses.

What is black garlic?

Black garlic is ordinary garlic that has been held at a low, steady heat and high humidity for several weeks. Nothing is added. Over that time the sugars and amino acids in the cloves slowly react, in the same browning reaction that colours toast and seared steak. The cloves darken to black, soften to the texture of a soft date, and lose almost all of garlic's raw bite.

It is often called fermented garlic, although strictly it is aged rather than fermented. Either way, the result is one of the most useful flavour boosters in the pantry.

What does black garlic taste like?

Sweet first, then deeply savoury. Think balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and caramelised onion, with a gentle garlic warmth in the background. It has none of the sharp heat of fresh garlic, and it will not leave garlic on your breath in the same way.

That savoury depth is umami, the same quality you get from parmesan, miso and mushrooms. Black garlic adds it without salt.

How to use black garlic

• Mash it into butter. Black garlic butter on steak, corn or a baked potato is the best place to start.
• Stir it through pasta. Mashed cloves loosened with pasta water, olive oil and parmesan.
• Add it to dressings. Whisk a clove into a vinaigrette with olive oil and a little balsamic.
• Put it on a cheese board. Whole cloves next to a hard cheese or blue cheese, where they act like a fruit paste.
• Fold it into mayonnaise. For burgers, chips and prawns.
• Season risotto, gravy and stews. Stirred in near the end for depth.

Use it gently. Black garlic is rich, and a little goes a long way.

The Noosa Black Garlic range

Noosa Black Garlic make black garlic in several forms, so you can choose how much work you want to do.

• Black Garlic Cloves are soft and ready to use. Slice, mash or eat them whole.
• Pure Black Garlic Paste is smooth and concentrated, ready to stir into sauces, marinades and dressings.
• Caramelised Black Garlic Paste is sweeter, for cheese boards and steak.
• Black Garlic Salt is a finishing salt for eggs, steak and vegetables.
• Black Garlic Aioli is creamy and ready to go, for burgers, chips, seafood and dips.

Black garlic and chilli

Black garlic's sweetness is a natural partner for chilli heat. Ottolenghi Black Garlic and Scotch Bonnet Marinade puts the two together: the garlic softens the chilli's kick into a gentle, sweet warmth. Brush it over aubergine before grilling, or coat chicken thighs before roasting. We have more ideas in nine ways to use Ottolenghi black garlic and scotch bonnet marinade.

How to store black garlic

Whole cloves keep well in a sealed jar in the fridge for several weeks. Pastes and aioli should be refrigerated once opened. Check each jar's label for its use-by after opening.

More umami for the pantry

If you like what black garlic does, try miso next. Our guide on how to use miso paste covers the basics. Or see our gourmet condiments and specialty ingredients.