Black Garlic - Probably the Easiest Way to Make It at Home!

Boys and Girls, I'm back...

I was really busy for the last few months... But I'm back.

Those who know me, know that I love to eat weird stuff.

Black garlic is a wonderful treat, a sweet black paste that tastes a little bit like a fig mixed with Port wine and a drop of Worchestershire sauce. Wonderful.

And wonderfully expensive if you want to buy some (and manage to find it!).

Others like Akulinary have described clever ways to build custom boxes to make your own black magic. But what if you don't have the space or the interest of building one?

The easiest solution is usually the best one... So without further wait, behold what is probably the easiest way to make your own black garlic...with 3 elements and 3 easy steps...

Step 1: You Will Need :

You really don't need much...

1. A rice cooker. The cheaper the better. No electronics... Just find the model with a single "cook rice button" on the front.
2. Garlic, obviously.
3. Patience.

Step 2: Put the Garlic in the Rice Cooker...

How difficult is this?

Don't overdo it... No water, no flavoring, no anything.

Just put the garlic in the cooker ok? Nothing more.

And while at it, say goodbye to your garlic and close the lid!

Step 3: Plug the The Rice Cooker

Again, don't overdo it.

Do not touch the "cook rice" button. Ever. Just plug the cooker in a socket. The "Keep warm" will turn on right away.

Double check... "Keep warm" light should be on. "Rice cooking" should be off.

As a security, take the time to put some tape over the big inviting button in the front, ensuring no one will be tempted to touch it.

Write down the date on a piece of tape and put it on the cover, just to remember when you started your black garlic.

Step 4: Wait : Three Weeks

Yes, that is the difficult part.

You have to wait.

A full three weeks.

Yep, 21 full days.

504 hours.

30 240 minutes.

1 814 400 seconds.

You get the idea.

Don't put an alarm. It's not and exact science.

Don't open the lid. Don't check. Trust the magic.

The Maillard reaction is slowly working its magic...

Then, wake up one morning to open the lid and see the parchment-like garlic heads smiling back at you.

Addendum : After trying different cooking times, I would now say that 17 days is probably enough if you want a fig-like texture. The full 21 days gives a texture resembling gummy bears. Both are viable options, and around me, some prefer the 14 days and other the 21... A friend who tried this recipe on a larger scale needs more time for the same results. Something to consider before buying the biggest rice cooker on the market!

Step 5: Conclusion

It is very easy to remove the black cloves from their skins as their size will have reduced during the "cooking".

You can probably keep them in the fridge for a long time, freeze them or dry them. But with so much taste and so many recipes just waiting for your garlic, don't worry too much about conservation.

I've tried comparing locally grown garlic to cheap Chinese garlic available at my local grocery. The locally grown was tastier and sweeter. But it is probably only because the purple stripe garlic is better tasting than the porcelain variety in the first place.

Don't worry if you only have access to the "usual" porcelain garlic. It will still be delicious.

A few words of caution...

During the process, it will smell garlic. A LOT.

Your house, your clothes... everything will smell garlic. This is why the rice cooker is happy in my shed. My shed doesn't care.

Also, I'm not sure how different models of rice cooker will deal with being kept on "Warm" for three weeks. Mine worked perfectly. Be careful.

Comments

[INFJu]

'ible?
Anyway, I don't know where the OP is based but I see that he has a Tiger brand rice cooker so that's from Japan and has just the basic 1-button cooker so I think it's fine to leave it for 2-3 weeks without opening. My father is doing just that. Thing is I happened to be here because I was trying to see if there is any other method to make black garlic without stinking up the whole house. The moment I get to my dad's apartment, I smell it the moment the lift doors open up at his floor. I have to stay there for over 8 hours at times and I don't want to smell like that. It's embarassing, not to mention rude (to let others smell me like that). My father can't smell anything (lost his sense of smell) so he doesn't care. Any alternatives? Otherwise I can't see him anymore. Plus he's cross-contaminating me with mold that makes me sick. Thanks.

In case someone finds this useful, many rice cookers in Asia have just one button (though the fancier ones nowadays have more function). That single button is for you to press down and cook the rice. When the rice is ready, that button will pop up (like a lever jumping up) and that is the "Keep Warm" state. I think this kind of rice cookers originated from Japan. When I was young, they were all Japanese brands, Zojirushi probably dominated a large part of the market in the early times.

[evashelton71]

I'm making black garlic in my aroma rice cooker and it's on the keep warm setting, but it keeps going off, will this ruin my black garlic .

[corradini]

Before hitting a Goodwill, buying a rice cooker, etc., thought I'd do the "An Hour In The Library Is Worth A Week In the Lab" - and hope this is helpful to y'all as well. The "Keep Warm" setting on most rice cookers seems to be 60-65°C (140-150°F). (The fact that I know how to do a ° symbol and convert C→F should reassure y'all a little about my technical competence; also, I do fermented salami, and cheeses in a temp-controlled converted fridge, so I'm not a noob here :-)). (Btw, a few of the comments/questions above were in the category of "just enough knowledge to be dangerous" (I'm particularly freaked out by someone saying they "made the house hot" (!) with their crock pot/dimmer-switch hack - wow - speaking from the California fire zone right now... :-(...) ANYhow. People - please read carefully - and try to UNDERSTAND: the point of the OP is this: you want your garlic to be sitting gently at a temp of (see the temps I put above), for a time of (see what the OP said).

YOU NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO FIGURE OUT, AND PERIODICALLY CHECK, THAT YOUR GARLIC IS ****ACTUALLY***** ====>AT<==== A TEMPERATURE LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I'm just kind of blown away by people who would undertake a 3-week project without a little more understanding of, like, it should be at this temp. Yeah, the OP said "oh, do NOT open the lid for 3 weeks! just TRUST things! - which is...OK, that's where the problem also happens, because ....sigh. Nobody bothered to check the actual temp, in this 'ible. So: "oh, just throw it in for 3 weeks and trust the settings" - yeah, you might end up with a carbon lump. Because: not all rice cookers, etc. etc.)

OK, I'm just sighing at this point. I don't know how to fix it. People - use common sense. OP, fix the 'ible maybe? I'm gonna go make some black garlic - AND I'M GONNA CHECK STUFF ALONG THE WAY. :-) 'Cause that's just smart.

[pkoda]

Eek ! So read different online articles re settings and it’s true, you can not use slow cooker on low, mine didn’t have a keep warm setting so used low and now I have 7 bulbs of charcoal. Have anyone blitzed them in their food processor? Heartbroken that I wasted all that garlic. Has anyone used low setting on slow cooker for like a few days with any success ? Really don’t want to purchase another kitchen item.

[w8508c]

I'm now making just second batch of garlic in rice cooker on warm setting maintaing 65C via custom controller. I was very pleasure with my first batch I made in 3 week. I wrap each bulb in one layer of plastic wrap and two layer of kitchen alluminum foil. So I think wraping is the key condition of success.

[KellyCraig]

CRAP Now I have to go find a cheap rice cooker.

In other words, I'm torn between the "Great ible" thing and getting my neighborhood to rise up with me, against you (I'll use the, "[w]ell, he's a pusher, so...." approach.

However, I'll stay my hand, in case this turns out as good as you say.....

The foregoing aside, and having read through the various comments about over drying, I have to wonder what would come about if the cloves were sealed in foil, forcing them to retain moisture better.

Garlic is cheap, so it's worth a try. Especially if this turns out as well as baked garlic.

[If it does, I'll apologize for thinking about getting the neighbors to rise up against you.]

[Keeley33]

Hi There...
I made black garlic with an actual black garlic maker from amazon and it said 7-12 days. I did it for 7 days and the consistency was of a raisin. I would like to make it into a buttery or jam consistency... how would I do that, do you know? My other question is, apparently if you leave the garlic for another 7 days in a towel it will sweeten and improve flavor, do you know if that is true?

[fmarquis]

I'm quite satisfied with the results I'm getting so I stopped experimenting. I never got a buttery consistency. The way to get that is to confit the garlic (cooking in oil at low temperature) in the oven. I never tried the towel but it is true that leaving it longer in the cooker will increase the sweetness but at one point, it will dry out.

[chess1306]

Hi, and thanks soooo much for this article, I know the first person to respond asked the same question I'm going to ask, but no one really gave an answer then (4 months ago) so I will ask again, can you peel the garlic bulb and just put in the cloves to turn black, or do they HAVE to be blubs? A definitive answer from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

[charger38rt]

Bulbs not cloves

[Keeley33]

The black garlic maker I bought from amazon has a setting for single unpeeled cloves...

[fmarquis]

I actually only tried this way. I only know people who tried this way. And traditionally, it is done this way. You'll have to try... but by experience, the skin protects the garlic against dehydration. I think you would end up with a very dry product. But maybe this could be a good thing?

[judynron]

Like DianeM168 mine were charcoal after 17 days. Will try 10.
Can I soften my charcoal pieces? Ron

[fmarquis]

I never tried to rehydrate them. However, I did pulverised them I a mixer and grate old hard ones into a powder that you can mix with hamburger meat and get something quite delicious. Maybe in a red wine sauce or in a mushroom risotto?

[DianeM168]

I got a rice cooker with a 'Keep Warm' function. I checked the temp with my over thermometer and it was less than 150 degrees. I put my garlic cloves in. After 1 week, they were black, but I left them in a little longer, 5 days. When I took one out it was hard as a rock. They were all hard as a rock. I did check them once or twice during the process. But what did I do wrong? Everyone raves about the success they've had with rice cookers. This one does not seem to be getting too hot. Suggestions?

[fmarquis]

While I don't know for sure, the most likely reason is that your cooker is too advanced. It must have some kind of fan that criticaly reduces the amount of humidity in the cooker. You actually dehydrated the garlic while "cooking" it. Don't trash it. Grind it and and add the powdered garlic to your hamburger meat it should be fabulous. Keep me posted non the results!

[DianeM168]

There doesn't seem to be an 'edit' function. I meant bulbs, not cloves. I put in whole bulbs.

[RiZ3]

does the garlic have to be whole with he skin on? I have dehydrator that I would like to use however there isn't enough space between the shelves for a whole garlic ( let alone one wrapped in foil).

[fmarquis]

I only tried the whole thing. A dehydrator wouldn't my first choice as the water content in the garlic is a very variable in the reaction.

[Drake411]

Thank you. I was testing out my crock pot yesterday afternoon with a thermometer on low. Sadly it jumped to 180° fairly quickly. In the past I made an extension cord with a dimmer switch in it and was able to use that to lower the temperature to the into the target range of 140 to 165. It made the house hot and I wasn't able to test it long term.

I expect that anyone who uses your tutorial could do the same thing with a dimmer switch and get additional control of the temperature. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.