Black Garlic, the New Healthy Superfood — And You Thought You Knew Everything About Garlic

[donnay]

Black Garlic, the New Healthy Superfood — And You Thought You Knew Everything About Garlic

by JB Bardot



Though not as well known as its white counterpart, black garlic is enjoying a rise in popularity in gastronomic circles and the alternative health field. Introduced to the health and food markets about 5 years ago by the Koreans, garlic becomes “black garlic” through a month-long process of fermentation under strictly controlled heat and humidity. The health benefits of fermented black garlic are being touted by natural medicine practitioners, herbalists and others.

Cancer and Cholesterol

The month-long fermentation process contributes to creating a kind of super-garlic. The compound S-Allylcysteine, a natural constituent of fresh garlic and a derivative of the amino acid cysteine, was found in much greater concentrations in black garlic, and is thought to help balance cholesterol and decrease the risk of cancer, reports HealthMad.com. Allylcysteine assists with the absorption of garlic’s active medicinal ingredient, allicin, helping it metabolize more easily.

Antioxidants, Free Radicals and Oxidation

White garlic has been used for centuries for it’s medicinal properties. It is well known that all garlic contains anti-microbial, antibiotic and anti-fungal agents in its. Garlic’s active ingredient, allicin is known for possessing high levels of antioxidants; and, black garlic has been found to have twice the antioxidant properties of conventional garlic. Antioxidants protect the cells from disease and are thought to slow down the aging process. Because black garlic has become so potent as a result of the process it has undergone, the heightened levels of antioxidants offering protection from free radical damage make it nearly an ideal food to consume to support the cardiovascular system and thwart chronic disease. Free radicals damage cells leading to heart disease, Alzheimers, circulatory problems, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, autoimmune and other chronic diseases.


Continued...

[dannno]

Have you tried it yet?

Trader Joe's had a sample of it one time on a cracker or something, it had a very deep, earthy flavor, less spicy than fresh garlic. Very interesting flavor.

[donnay]

Have you tried it yet?

Trader Joe's had a sample of it one time on a cracker or something, it had a very deep, earthy flavor, less spicy than fresh garlic. Very interesting flavor.

That's exactly where I first tried it, at Trader Joe's. I like it on water crackers with the Italian truffle cheese. Yum!

[donnay]

Just finished 4 cloves of black garlic and Italian Truffle cheese---Yum. For those not familiar with black garlic, it has the taste and texture of roasted garlic. It's sweeter tasting than roasted garlic, however. It won't give you bad breath either.

[Suzanimal]

Just finished 4 cloves of black garlic and Italian Truffle cheese---Yum. For those not familiar with black garlic, it has the taste and texture of roasted garlic. It's sweeter tasting than roasted garlic, however. It won't give you bad breath either.

That sounds good, I'm hungry. I'm going to have to try that stuff. Geez donnay, you eat good, I'm jealous. All I've had to eat today is a handful of raw sugar snap peas, some watermelon and a spoonful of peanut butter.

[luctor-et-emergo]

I have not yet found black garlic for sale anywhere but I'm willing to try. I really like garlic.. I use a lot of it. I put about 2-3 cloves on my pizza.

Something I really like to do as well is smoke garlic, then you can just squeeze it out of the cloves and use it as a spread. Tasty !

[donnay]

That sounds good, I'm hungry. I'm going to have to try that stuff. Geez donnay, you eat good, I'm jealous. All I've had to eat today is a handful of raw sugar snap peas, some watermelon and a spoonful of peanut butter.

I try...but it wasn't always that way. I only wished that twenty years ago I knew what I know now. It has been a hard road to recovery.

[donnay]

Benefits of black garlic


Black Garlic fights Cancer

Black garlic can block synthesis of carcinogen —– nitrosamines, inhibit the growth of cancer cells, killing effect on cancer cells.

Black garlic contains ethane the thio sulfonic acid ethyl ester and diallyl trisulfide from

many aspects blocking the formation and accumulation of nitrosamines in the stomach,

containing elements of germanium is a strong anti-cancer minerals, can inhibit the

induced carcinogen nitrosamine, played the role of anti-cancer.



High selenium’s antioxidant capacity, can prevent excessive cell oxidation, protects cell

membranes to increase immunity, inhibit cancer. The the black garlic dietary fiber

absorbent promote intestinal peristalsis, the intestinal absorption of carcinogens, can

reduce the incidence of rectal cancer. Amino acid phenylalanine can inhibit cancerous

tumor growth. Vitamin A, vitamin C has anti-cancer effect, on the one hand, can improve

the immune system, on the other hand can capture singlet oxygen and free radicals.



black garlic prevention conditioning diabetes

Diabetes is caused by genetic factors, immune disorders, microbial infections and their

toxins, free radical toxins, psychological factors, and so on by agents acting on the body

cause islet dysfunction, insulin resistance induced sugar, protein, fat, water a series of

metabolic and electrolyte disturbance syndrome, the clinical symptoms of high blood

sugar as the main features of typical cases, there may be polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia,

weight loss, such as performance, that is ”a little”.

Continued...

[donnay]

Antioxidant effect of garlic and aged black garlic in animal model of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Hyperglycemia in the diabetic state increases oxidative stress and antioxidant therapy can be strongly correlated with decreased risks for diabetic complications. The purpose of this study is to determine antioxidant effect of garlic and aged black garlic in animal model of type 2 diabetes. The antioxidant activity of garlic and aged black garlic was measured as the activity in scavenging free radicals by the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay. Three week-old db/db mice were fed AIN-93G diet or diet containing 5% freeze-dried garlic or aged black garlic for 7 weeks after 1 week of adaptation. Hepatic levels of lipid peroxides and activities of antioxidant enzymes were measured. TEAC values of garlic and aged black garlic were 13.3 ± 0.5 and 59.2 ± 0.8 µmol/g wet weight, respectively. Consumption of aged black garlic significantly decreased hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) level compared with the garlic group which showed lower TBARS level than control group (p<0.05). Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) of garlic and aged black garlic group were significantly elevated compared to the control group. Catalase (CAT) activity of aged black garlic group was increased compared with the control group. These results show that aged black garlic exerts stronger antioxidant activity than garlic in vitro and in vivo, suggesting garlic and aged black garlic, to a greater extent, could be useful in preventing diabetic complications.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2788179/

[donnay]

Black Garlic Health Benefits, How to Use and Buy Black Garlic, with Delicious Black Garlic Recipe

Differences between regular and black garlic


Black garlic is not just another type of garlic. It is regular garlic that turned into black by going through the process of fermentation. Fermentation is natural process, which is done on high temperatures and lasts for about a month. There are no additives or preservatives used in this process, which makes black garlic very healthy food, even a superfood.

By going through a process of enzymatic fermentation, sugars and amino acids, present in fresh garlic, turn into substance called melanoidin, which gives it a black color.

Fermentation also changes the ingredients of black garlic and its taste. Generally, it tastes much sweeter than fresh garlic. It can be put in all kinds of food, so it has become very popular in restaurants and households.

Besides many health benefits, black garlic doesn’t cause bad breath. The compounds responsible for bad breath (alliin and allicin) are destroyed by the enzymatic fermentation.


Black garlic health benefits


There has been many studies that show black garlic health benefits.

Here is a list of the most important benefits of black garlic:


Black garlic has twice as more antioxidants as fresh garlic. This makes it powerful enough to decrease the risk of chronic diseases. Antioxidants act against free radicals, which damage cells leading to all kinds of diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, circulatory problems, heart disease, Alzheimer's and other chronic diseases.

Antioxidants from black garlic also have many cardiovascular benefits. Black garlic helps lower the cholesterol and high blood pressure.

It decreases the risk of cancer, thanks to its ingredient S-Allcysteine.

Black garlic has anti-bacterial properties; it helps fight the infections and improves immunity.


Continued...

[Suzanimal]

That's exactly where I first tried it, at Trader Joe's. I like it on water crackers with the Italian truffle cheese. Yum!

I'm going to Trader Joes's ASAP! I've looked all over for black garlic around here and haven't had any luck.

[Suzanimal]

I'm dying to try this recipe...

Black Garlic Vinaigrette
makes about 3/4 cup
5 to 6 cloves black garlic
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
pinch cayenne pepper

Place all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until very smooth.

http://www.wildgreensandsardines.blo...naigrette.html

[CPUd]

I shall try some on my black bun black cheese burger.

[Suzanimal]

I shall try some on my black bun black cheese burger.

Once you go black, you never go back.

[donnay]

I'm dying to try this recipe...

Yum! Me too.

[Suzanimal]

Yum! Me too.

I'm trying to find a homemade salad dressing I love. I'm addicted to Good Seasons Italian - aka, salad crack - but it's packed with MSG. I'm trying to eat clean and finding a good salad dressing recipe has been a stumbling block for me. If I only ate salad occasionally, it probably wouldn't be a big deal but I eat it everyday, sometimes for every meal. I eat so much of that dressing I make 4 packets at a time, it's a sickness.

[Working Poor]

Easy salad dressing:
1tbs per salad mayo
1clove garlic per salad
1tbs olive oil per salad

Mix well and apply to salad
*you can also add your favorite herb: oregano, parsley,pepper,pickles ect.

[donnay]

I'm trying to find a homemade salad dressing I love. I'm addicted to Good Seasons Italian - aka, salad crack - but it's packed with MSG. I'm trying to eat clean and finding a good salad dressing recipe has been a stumbling block for me. If I only ate salad occasionally, it probably wouldn't be a big deal but I eat it everyday, sometimes for every meal. I eat so much of that dressing I make 4 packets at a time, it's a sickness.

I love blue cheese and I bought the Marie's but the first freakin' ingredient is SOY. It's so hard to get away from the Soy...it's in everything. So I guess I will have to make my own blue cheese dressing. I make my own mayonnaise. I wonder what some black garlic would taste like in a blue cheese dressing? Hmm...

[Suzanimal]

I love blue cheese and I bought the Marie's but the first freakin' ingredient is SOY. It's so hard to get away from the Soy...it's in everything. So I guess I will have to make my own blue cheese dressing. I make my own mayonnaise. I wonder what some black garlic would taste like in a blue cheese dressing? Hmm...

I have a great and easy Blue Cheese recipe:

1 1/2 cup Mayo
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Blue Cheese - I put a lot in mine, I like it blue cheesy.

Let it sit overnight.

You can use more mayo if you want it runnier or more sour cream, if you want it thicker for dipping.

[donnay]

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Suzanimal again."

Thanks, that sounds yummy. Maybe I will add a little black garlic to it too.

[Suzanimal]

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Suzanimal again."

Thanks, that sounds yummy. Maybe I will add a little black garlic to it too.

I don't like it on salad, I just use it for dipping veggies and chicken wings, so play around with the sour cream/mayo ratio. I usually go 1 cup sour cream but that makes it too thick for dressing so I just guessed in the recipe I gave you. It's way better than Marie's, I used to buy Marie's Super Blue Cheese until I found this recipe.

Adding the black garlic sounds like a pretty awesome idea - I can't wait to get over to Trader Joes and pick some up.

[donnay]

I have a great and easy Blue Cheese recipe:

1 1/2 cup Mayo
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Blue Cheese - I put a lot in mine, I like it blue cheesy.

Let it sit overnight.

You can use more mayo if you want it runnier or more sour cream, if you want it thicker for dipping.

I tweeted it a bit and added 1/4 cup of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar for some zing. It is delicious. I put black garlic in my salad instead of the dressing.

[Suzanimal]

Black Garlic and Sprouted Garlic Have Enhanced Health Benefits

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...ic_facebookdoc

[Suzanimal]

They didn't have black garlic at Trader Joes. The man working there said he thinks it's seasonal.

[donnay]

They didn't have black garlic at Trader Joes. The man working there said he thinks it's seasonal.

Aww...

http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Black-Ga...A6TV35G65JA13K


I am trying my hand on making my own. I started on the 2nd of March and put some in my yogurt maker--one recipe said 10 days, but it hasn't turned black. Another said 30 to 40 days. So I will continued and see if in that time span it turns black.

[donnay]

Aww...

http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Black-Ga...A6TV35G65JA13K


I am trying my hand on making my own. I started on the 2nd of March and put some in my yogurt maker--one recipe said 10 days, but it hasn't turned black. Another said 30 to 40 days. So I will continued and see if in that time span it turns black.

I did not have much luck with the yogurt maker so I switched them to a rice cooker on warm--I was told 14 days is a good amount of time. So I have until April 3rd. I added some beer to help the fermentation process. My house smells like roasting garlic. LOL! I did look at them today and they are starting to turn black. Whoo Hoo!

[donnay]

Here are some of the garlic that I have pulled today. The texture is good, now I need to dry them a bit. For some reason I cannot crop the photos?

[donnay]

Update:

I dried them out over night in my oven and they came out great! I am quite surprised how good they did. I still have more coming out April 3.

[Suzanimal]

Would you mind posting a link to your recipe? We love that BG salad dressing and I'm trying to get off the Good Seasons salad crack. The BG dressing is the only thing I've found that I like more.

[Anti Federalist]

Upload the photos to www.imgur.com first.

The site software will fit them to size.