Hey doing some black garlic for the first time and was wondering if anyone else out there has done this in the past?
What I have done is get my old cooler and added a cooling rack with a clip light. The lamp is a 60watt and using the dual relay temp controller that was formerly mounted in my grow tent where I grow hot peppers.
My plan is to run it for 4-6 weeks at 70°c, I will adjust the kick on temp to something like 69.5°c so there is less of a saw tooth on the measured value. I also added a jar of water sealed on the top just as a thermal mass to help even out or dampen changes in temperature. I Was also thinking that it might be useful to have it fluctuate? Maybe get a different flavor profile if you let it drop down to say 40°c and then stay on till it hits 70°c for the duration of its life all tho it will probably add quite a bit of time needed to turn them black.
There are some experiments in the different bags as well. there are
- 12 bulbs that are just the garlic.
- 3 bulbs + 1tbs of caraway seeds.
- 2 bulbs + 2 lemon leaves.
- 2 bulbs + 3 dehydrated ghost peppers.
If any of these work out i will laser cut a frame so i can have 2 or 3 layers of cooling racks to fit more garlic. I also have other ideas like having garlic and honey, garlic and saffron, garlic and cardamon and cinnamon and a few others involving my hot peppers but need to know if they would be “safe” like outside the zones to allow for the growth of botulism by adjusting PH and salinity and other factors so it can’t survive.
I’m not sure how to store this once it is done, not sure if I need to put it in the fridge. All I know for now is my room smells amazing hope I don’t grow tired of the light garlic smell. maybe i should put some baking soda in the bottom of the cooler to remove some of those smells or double bag the bulbs.
the package says they don’t need to be refrigerated, so I stash them in a cabinet. (The husks are very dry, the garlic inside chewy like a prune)
all tho i would not call myself a chef, but i did fill in for my chef all the time as he was always trying to find the hidden prize at the bottom of the bottle of whiskey. Black onions are something i thought might be possible but black apple is new ground for me. would love to know the process if you were willing to share. I believe i have heard of Koji but have not fallen down that rabbit hole yet. Excited to try more blackend versions of things like different mixes of spices and black garlic. What i really want to try tho is to find a way to make it safe but to use my hot peppers in with black garlic (might need to add salt) and put the bag through the same black garlic process to have the peppers hang out with the peppers as the garlic turns black imo should add some interesting flavors.
I actually do my black garlic etc. at a lower temperature. I blacken at 135* (57*C) this is the minimum temperature to be out of the temperature danger zone, with the idea being the slower the better, the more flavor development you’ll get. Think of it like a braise, you set your temp too high, it cooks fast, but it’s going to be dry, and flavorless. You cook it low and slow, you get deeper flavor development from the slow extraction of sugars and glutamates(along with the fork tenderness you expect from a good braise of course!).
