A homely head of garlic sells for less than NT$3 (US$0.1), but the black garlic grown by the Luntung Cooperative of Kouhu Township fetches a hundred times that.
The cooperative uses Japanese technology to make black garlic tea with fermented black garlic membrane. To make it easier to drink, the coop also developed a way to produce a packet made out of the garlic membrane itself, so that the whole thing can be steeped and enjoyed immediately.
The tea, mostly exported to Japan, is healthy and does not have the pungent taste of garlic. It has also helped resolve garlic oversupply in Yunlin’s coastal areas, bringing great benefit local farmers.
Coop general manager Wang Yi-feng said amino acid-enriched black garlic is made out of regular garlic that has been fermented with microbes in a sealed container for about 30 to 40 days.
The garlic, prized by the Japanese as a health food, is a strong anti-oxidant that helps takers regain physical vitality quickly, according to Wang.
Wang said Yunlin County has over 5,000 hectares of land growing garlic, about 85 percent of the total land under garlic in Taiwan. He added that from October to November of each year, the crop is sowed, with the harvest taking place in March or April of the following year.
The variety used for making black garlic is planted mostly along the coastal area, Wang said. It produces large bulbs and cloves of adequate size. After fermentation, the resulting black garlic can be kept for a year, he added.
The development of black garlic essence and garlic teabags has added value to the garlic crop. Apart from exports to Japan, the product is gradually drawing the attention of Taiwanese consumers.
(This article originally appeared in The Liberty Times Dec. 23.)