Black Garlic Bulbs

Black garlic joins the long list of good-for-your-gut probiotic-rich products like kimchi, sauerkraut, and lacto-fermented pickles. The earliest "recipe" dates back 4,000 years to Korea, where it was created as a cure-all for everything from upset stomachs to aging. Unlike sauerkraut and kimchi, black garlic is not fermented. Taking a fresh white bulb to black involves "incubating" the garlic at around 150 degrees in a controlled environment for several weeks. Over time, the cloves turn black — the technical term is "non-enzymatic browning" — and when it's ready, black garlic can be used in any recipe that calls for fresh or roasted garlic. Instead of adding the bracing bite of fresh garlic, the black version imparts a rich, sweet quality. It tastes like an aged balsamic vinegar.

Suggested Uses: Mix with mayo for a sweet-savory aioli, whisk into a vinaigrette, combine with cream cheese and herbs for a tasty dip, puree and spread on the skin of a bird before roasting, chop it up and mix it with ground meat burger patties, add to grilled cheese sandwiches, include whole cloves as part of a cheeseboard.