Black Garlic - the new wonder!

Black garlic is a new and exciting product that has finally found its way around the world. Once only used in high-end cuisine it is now readily available if you know where to find it. I bought mine on the web through Oliveria.com in Melbourne but there are plenty of stockists, worldwide.  Sometimes referred to as fermented garlic it has a taste reminiscent of sweet balsamic vinegar and tamarind. Uniquely individual and setting itself apart but nothing at all like the garlic we all know and love. It has a multitude of uses and would no doubt be a very lucrative thing to produce if you are a garlic grower with plenty of time on your hands! Growers should read this link to ehow  if they are interested in fermenting their own ‘Black Gold’.

For me it is very exciting as I love to make terrines and I love truffles but rarely get my hands on one. In a funny way sort of way, it is almost a substitute (for me) - imagine black garlic running through a pink salmon terrine, It would look stunning. I have my one and only remaining bulb under lock and key but had great fun trying the first one with scrambled eggs and fresh salmon as you can see in the two photographs. The recipe I used for the salmon came from the  blackgarlic web site - check it out!

Some great new products!

Maggie Beer's Burnt Fig Jam, Honeycomb & Caramel Ice Cream
http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/

Far Meadow's Wild Baby Figs in syrup
http://farmeadowlodge.com.au/

Patrice Newell's home grown garlic
http://www.patricenewellgarlic.com.au/

Pastilla Nash Prune and Walnut log is not new to Oz but is now available in the UK, USA, Russia, Dubai, Japan and Asia
http://www.pastillanash.com/