What started as a fun challenge in their home kitchens has turned into an award-winning product for Braidwood farmers Jenny Daniher and Cathy Owen.
The pair run Garlicious Grown, specialising in black garlic, and have just won a gold medal at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Awards for their black garlic paste. They are Australia's largest producer of black garlic and it's all done in a shed on Daniher's farm.
"We were both growing garlic and we read about black garlic and wondered whether we could make it and to our amazement it actually tasted pretty good," says Owen.
"When we first started experimenting eight years ago there weren't many people doing it, and it was all very secret squirrel, but once we worked out what we were doing, it all fell into place.
"We made it for fun for a while and then we realised it had become more than a hobby."
Many people believe that black garlic is a type of garlic, but it's the oxidisation process that turns the regular garlic black, kept at a low temperature and high humidity for 30 days.
The process changes the garlic, going from a beige colour, to caramel and then chocolate, and it also changes the taste and smell.
The garlic "pong" is no longer there, there's a rich umami smell and taste to it, and they're able to use it across a range of products.
"When we take the product to food shows there's a bit of education to it," says Daniher.
"You've got to go, now remember this is not fresh garlic, your brain's already thinking you're about to eat big bitey garlic.
"But it's not at all, it's actually quite soft, it's very sweet, it has a real umami flavor, it doesn't give you garlic breath, you don't use it like fresh garlic, so everything about it is different.
"It starts as garlic but that's the only similarity."
The garlic paste is the current award winner, but you can purchase jars of whole cloves; powdered garlic, some pimped with such things as lemon myrtle and rosemary; a to-die-for aioli which takes hot chips to the next level; a caesar salad dressing; and a white balsamic dressing, which is turned black due to the cloves.
"It's really for anyone looking for big flavour in their food," says Owen.
"But you don't use it like regular garlic. Chopping up black garlic like you would fresh cloves and adding them to the frypan, say with the onion, leads to little black dots of bitter disappointment.
"You might stir it through a risotto at the end, or slice it over pizza, or dust some pumpkin soup with black garlic powder."
One of their most supportive Canberra clients is The Boathouse, where chef John Leverink uses it regularly on the menu. A recent local producers dinner at Ginger Catering also featured a slow-roasted lamb shoulder with black garlic and a Ingelara Farm potato mash.
Owen said it's also a great addition to plant-based diets.
"It's actually really hard to get that brothy, umami flavor into purely plant-based dishes so this is our absolute bonus for them."
The pair no longer grow their own garlic, relying on other local farmers for supply. Owen said it's been a lean season due to all the rain but they've plenty of stock
They are regular exhibitors at the Handmade Markets at EPIC. The products are also available at several stores, including Deli Planet at Fyshwick Markets and Ainslie IGA. There's a list of stockists on the website.
They ship all over Australia and have an increasing export demand. In 2019 they were chosen as one of 12 NSW businesses to feature at the Fine Food Australia trade show. This year they're heading to Melbourne from September 5-8 for the show.
Five ways to use black garlic paste
- Added to a cheeseboard ready to spread on a cracker with cheese
- As a fabulous black garlic butter ready to add flavour on a cob of corn
- Under your eggs on toast for the best breakfast (be calm, remember black garlic does not give you garlic breath!)
- Topped on grilled salmon adding a rich piquancy
- Swirled into malted ice cream for that sweet savoury combo
