Good morning 👋!
Today I'm going to tell you the story behind a product that seems straight out of a science fiction novel...
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A bulb we know well, especially on the east coast of Spain, but dressed in jet black.
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Do you know what I'm talking about yet? The last hint is, we've been selling it for a couple of weeks now, but no peeking, that's cheating!
I'm talking about Jesús' Black Garlic 🧄.
The first time I saw it, I was also surprised, especially when they told me it wasn't a different variety, but the same white garlic used to make allioli.
Speaking of allioli, better known as ajoaceite, I've always loved it, but my wife never really liked the aftertaste it leaves.
And I have a feeling our situation wasn't isolated, because a group of scientists and nutritionists – I have no proof of this, but I'm convinced it was partly at the behest of their wives 👀🤠– discovered this marvel while looking for a method to reduce this annoying aftertaste just a couple of decades ago.
And boy, did they succeed! Black garlic is a milder version of regular garlic, it's sweeter and leaves almost no aftertaste.
And if that weren't enough, its nutritional values also increased significantly, and if garlic was already good, black garlic has so many properties that nutritionists have given it the honorary title of superfood.
But for all this, what did they do to achieve these results?
Because it looks like it's carbonized, it's a sight to behold in person.
Did they set it on fire with a lighter like a falla 😲🔥?
No, that would be funny, but the solution was simpler than one might think.
No chemicals or weird stuff are needed.
The key was one of those skills we used to have in abundance, but now find difficult: Patience.
Earlier I mentioned burning them with fire directly; well, it's actually the opposite.
To make black garlic, the garlic must be left to rest for at least a month at 60 degrees in a high humidity environment.
Think of this process as cooking them extremely slowly.
In this process, the natural sugars in the garlic caramelize, and the volatile substances that cause bad odors react to generate more pleasant aromas.
This same process occurs, for example, in bread when baked, in meat when grilled, or in caramel production, among many others...
You see, it was so easy and no one thought to take the time... And who knows how many wonders we're missing out on!
And I wonder, if I had discovered it, could I have named it 🤔?
Just in case, I'm going to start ripening some vegetables; I'll keep you informed if I find a new superfood 😜.
If you don't want to miss out on news from Campos del Abuelo, don't forget to check your messages every Thursday morning!
Until the next newsletter 👋!
