Hi everyone, In light of the current situation, I would like to share my thoughts on how fermentation can be of practical use to you. These are strange times indeed: the world seems to be in the middle of a wave of fear and pandemonium that appears not to have a definite end, and our lives as we know it have been compromised to protect our overall well-being. Statistics are unclear, and the media has misinformed the public through their alarmist rhetoric declaring national emergency and flashing headlines of death and misery. What does all of this mean for you and me? As you might have noticed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy certain foods at your supermarket, as they are out or have been limited for people to a certain amount of items. Fermentation can be of great use to you all right now, as you may want to extend the shelf life of certain foods or preserve them for future use. Before anything else, fermentation was initially a survival strategy, used during periods of famine, disease and war, which is exactly what we seem to be going through. Although the previous description refers to a more extreme scenario, it would be wise to consider how to store some of your ingredients, i.e ferment them, so you can use produce or any other ingredient for longer and waste less. With that being said, I would like to continue posting regularly on the blog, with the understanding that some of you may be less inclined to try these recipes, which is perfectly ok. However, I do suggest that you at least attempt some of the easier ones, as you may be surprised how much you enjoy having it in the house. **** Back to regular scheduled programming: on the agenda today is black garlic. Black garlic is a bit of an anomaly: it's not technically a fermented product, because no micro-organisms are present in its transformation, but it is preserved in similar ways and transforms the original ingredient into a shelf-stable item. So you might ask, then what is black garlic? It's basically garlic that has been held at a very low temperature for a long period of time, sufficient to catalyze the Maillard reaction and dehydration. In other words, it caramelizes very slowly, over the course of 3 weeks or so. Black garlic gets its color partly from chemical reactions such as pyrolysis, caramelization and Maillard, which are non-enzymatic, but some of the browning is caused by natural enzymes in the garlic. Polyphenol oxidase in particular is responsible, a compound key in maintaining a plant's health: once the flesh is exposed to oxygen, the enzyme alters phenolic compounds and produces melanins which turn the plant brown. While these products serve as antibacterial agents, in this case they darken the garlic. These enzymes are also responsible in part for lowering the pH of the garlic, which decreases from around 6.33 to 3.74 over the course of 30 days. In addition, the Maillard reaction, an enzymatic process of reducing sugars and amino acids is responsible for part of the transformation; thermal decomposition of organic compounds in the absence of oxygen, or pyrolysis produces a wide range of flavor compounds . Unlike fermented foods, black garlic is held at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature unsuitable for any microbes but high enough to catalyze reagents reacting with one another. Contrary to popular belief, the Maillard reaction can still occur at such a low temperature, because temperature is define as the average motion of billions of molecules, and even if a few molecules move fast enough to cause a Maillard reaction, they eventually add up and cascade. The Maillard reaction is classified as a redox reaction, short for reduction-oxidation, where electrons from the compound are donated back to their original owners (see Figure 1). It was discovered by Louis Camille Maillard in the early 20th century, who found that when food is heated, sugars like fructose and glucose or those bound in starch take place in redox reactions with other free amino acids or those bound in polypeptide chains. This process causes highly unstable intermediary products to form, as shown above in Figure 2 that further break down, creating volatile flavor compounds and a certain “browned” characteristic. The reaction is also coupled with dehydration, where more free water is released to the environment when amino acids and sugars hydrolyze. Different flavors develop depending on the type of amino acids present, and most Maillard reactions take place at temperatures above 239 F where there is enough kinetic energy to force the reagents to react. Dehydration promotes the Maillard reaction, because water prevents the formation of certain compounds and due to its high specific heat capacity absorbs a lot of heat energy, keeping the temperature at its boiling point. However, given enough time Maillard can occur in hydrated environments as aforementioned, because reactions will eventually cascade. Garlic is particularly suited for blackening for the following reasons:
“Extensive in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that ABG has a variety of biological functions such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, anti-allergic, cardioprotective, and hepatoprotective effects. Recent studies have compared the biological activity and function of ABG to those of raw garlic. ABG shows lower anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulation, immunomodulatory, and anti-allergic effects compared to raw garlic.” Because certain compounds are preserved through lower temperature exposure, black garlic retains much of its beneficial nutrients, without the pungency of consuming it raw. I would describe the taste as almost sweet like candy, with caramelized onion notes and a subtle roasted garlic finish. I often use it in braises to up the umami factor, or blend it to make a puree or paste for a dish, but there are really so many uses! It is becoming more available in stores (although I don't know now with the Coronavirus), but many Chinese stores carry the Chinese variety of garlic with one bulb that has been blackened. I highly recommend you try it! Hopefully when all of this madness is over, we will be able to return to some semblance of normalcy in our routines. However, we have to be positive and look for things that we can to do occupy our time, and fermentation fulfills this need while helping you stay healthy. Maybe you can't find black garlic right now, but please consider making your own ferments!!
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May 2020
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