Why A Rice Cooker Is All You Need To Make Your Own Black Garlic At Home

Black garlic has an air of mystery and begs many questions, including: How does it become such a deeply rich, almost purple-ish color? And how can it be so impossibly aromatic and delicious? One thing without a doubt, though, is that this stuff is a culinary secret weapon. But is it possible to make it at home? In short, the answer to that question is yes. However, it does require some serious patience and — in the best case scenario — a rice cooker.

There are a number of different methods that can help you achieve these cloves of black gold, but this particular device has the superpower to cook the garlic at the super low and slow level required to concentrate all that natural goodness and achieve the ideal result. Maybe you've discovered other foods you can make in your rice cooker beyond rice, but here, armed with nothing more than this appliance, some aluminum foil, and a little patience, you can have your own homemade black garlic on hand to satisfy your most intense umami cravings.

While it may seem intimidating, making black garlic in a rice cooker is a fairly straightforward process. Start by wrapping a few heads of garlic in foil and setting the temperature of your appliance (120 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal, but you can get away with up to about 190 degrees).

Other methods can take up to a month or even more, but with the rice cooker, you can achieve that jammy texture and blackened state in around eight days or so. You can check on the progress of your garlic periodically, but it's critical to preserve moisture as your alliums slowly cook, so try not to open the cooker too frequently or it'll escape. (Some people even wrap the top of their cooker in more foil for an extra layer of moisture protection).

Once you've pulled your perfectly blackened cloves from the cooker, you can follow an expert guide to cooking with garlic. Use this stuff in sauces and dressings, combine black cloves with other types of garlic and double down on deliciousness for ultra flavorful garlic bread. But no matter how you put it to use, your rice cooker can help you demystify the magic that is black garlic — and provide you with a deeply satisfying, super versatile ingredient.