A British farmer managed to unearth a Korean technique, some 4,000 years old, for curing garlic.
Mark Botwright was seeking ideas for preserving some of the 900,000 bulbs of garlic he grows for year-round consumption. His internet searches eventually threw up a recipe written in Korean for “black garlic”.
It called for garlic to be stored exposed to heat and humidity for longer than one month.
Mr Botwright tossed his into an old biscuit tin and placed it at the bottom of an Aga
"When I took it out the bulbs had turned black and the cloves had turned into sweet, jelly-like consistency with a taste of really refined balsamic vinegar”, he said.
"The smell was intense and the taste was incredible - it was a real eureka moment”.
He then invested 18 months into refining his process which sets off a chemical reaction between the sugars and amino acids. Eventually he created a special heating room on his Dorset farm to produce 2,500 bulbs every month.
The resulting soft cloves are said to have a texture like dried apricots and a hint of balsamic vinegar in taste.
Some of Britain’s top restaurants are now Mr Botwright’s customers, including The Ritz and The Ivy.
