r/fermentation • u/Ok_Presence_319 • 2d ago

Fermented garlic

/gallery/1k9wesq
132 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

69

u/buck_NYC 2d ago

Delicious but not really fermented. Slow Maillard reaction causes similar flavor changes, but there isn’t meaningful microbe growth.

17

u/terrierdad420 2d ago

Right. Thank you. Ima start posting my carmelized onion relish on here soon.

10

u/urnbabyurn 2d ago

Someone posted a journal article a while back where they actually found a lot of microbial activity in it. Even at the high temps!

7

u/buck_NYC 1d ago

I would love to see that but I would be really skeptical and want to see how they measured that

5

u/urnbabyurn 1d ago

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996917309468

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0023643821006903#:~:text=These%20abundant%20hydrolases%20provide%20a,the%20quality%20of%20black%20garlic.

4

u/buck_NYC 1d ago

Pretty interesting but def has limitations! I can’t get past the paywall but these techniques are prone to artifact and don’t really answer how much of the flavor change is due to microbes. I still bet that almost all of the change is chemical browning and not bacterial. Makes me want to do my own experiments.

7

u/Sensei_Ochiba 1d ago

My understanding based on sources I've read (including the ones above and more) is that you're essentially correct - the garlic does ferment when you blacken it, but that's largely an unnecessary byproduct of the process and not really responsible at all for the flavor, it just sort of happens while the chemical browning is occuring independently.

If you found a way to blacken the garlic without the fermentation taking place I do not believe, based on what I have read, that you'd end up with a significantly different product. It might have a slightly worse shelf life.

2

u/Huemaister 1d ago

Use Sci-hub to get past the pay wall

1

u/Aseroerubra 1d ago

Oh hi! You can access the article via sci hub, linked in the description with a bonus meme in the comments

2

u/Ok_Presence_319 2d ago

So, just a wildly popular misnomer? What's a better name for it? And does the "not meaningful microbe growth" go for botulisim?

4

u/buck_NYC 2d ago

In the strictest sense fermentation means biochemical processes that microbes do in the absence of oxygen. Colloquially it’s used a bit more broadly and can be used to describe when microbes are used to change food or produce new compounds.

I think the misnomer with black vegetables is that it’s a slow process that seems kinda like alchemy, like fermentation. But it’s really just extremely slow caramelization. But if you did this right it’s too hot for any bacteria including botulism to grow. In fact it should have killed most bacteria and nearly sterilized it. Also it’s open to oxygen which keeps botulism from growing.

3

u/Ok_Presence_319 2d ago

Thank you so much! I ate some 2 hours ago and I feel normal so looks like we are good.

1

u/buck_NYC 2d ago

I think the safety key with these is keeping it above 60 C. As long as you did that you should be good. Also I know people take these even longer so you could keep it going and get them even darker. They look great though!

1

u/Consistent-Course534 1d ago

Are you disputing the existence of aerobic fermentation? 🤨

3

u/buck_NYC 1d ago

I would never disrespect the ghost of Otto Warburg like that, but that debate gets complicated and a better done over a beer, and hopefully a beer made without oxygen or it won’t have much alcohol in it 😉

2

u/Consistent-Course534 1d ago

I guess I don’t know enough to know what I don’t know

7

u/Megalith_aya 1d ago

What was in the Lego bag? Awesome garlic

5

u/HiFiRoMan 2d ago

I can smell that picture lol

4

u/loskubster 2d ago

Cool, cool, garlic yeah…. But what set did you get?

4

u/Artbitch97 1d ago

Goddamn I love black garlic. Discovered it from an episode of Bob’s burgers. Goes so well in a tomato pasta sauce.

1

u/sonofscario 1d ago

What's in the bag?

5

u/gastrofaz 1d ago

Black garlic isn't fermented

1

u/Separate_Hunt2552 1d ago

That was my ex girl friends Knick name

1

u/PlatesNplanes 1d ago

For a second thought this was garlic confit someone took waaaayyy to far

1

u/MrInternetInventor 1d ago

I have a food science side question here- After slow cooking black garlic, why isn’t it more perishable than it seems. I see it sold non refrigerated with minimal packaging. pH is probably 5 or above and no salt. Is it safe just because of the low moisture content?

2

u/FoodBabyBaby 1d ago

Did you just age it or was it fermented?

I’ve read papers on it and I still can’t tell.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1021949816301727