Soft and mildly sweet with savory, rich undertones, black garlic is an umami-packed ingredient that sets itself apart from normal, sharp and pungent garlic. Still not found in most grocery stores, black garlic has grown in popularity in recent years as a simple way to add a complex, earthy-sweet boost to dishes. Using California-grown fresh garlic, The Black Garlic Company, based in Texas, ages their cloves for 60 days to achieve a nearly caramelized depth. The allium is then gently dried to preserve its funky flavor before being made into a powder for an easier and more approachable way to incorporate it while cooking. Rather than tackling a few sticky whole cloves, which can be hard to peel and chop, we love being able to grab it from the spice cabinet instead. Add into sauces, aiolis, eggs, noodles, rice, marinades, meats and more for umami-bomb flavor. A little goes a long way.

Over the course of weeks, the garlic loses its raw harshness and develops caramelized notes, a molasses-y sweetness and a deep umami flavor reminiscent of truffles. These whole cloves are tender enough to smear on meat, potatoes or bread, but it can also be chopped or sliced into dishes. Use it in any recipe in place of raw garlic for sweet-savory, pungent yet rounded garlic flavor.

We love the deep savoriness and subtle fermented funk of this infused black garlic salt, whose every component is made in-house by Jacobsen Salt Co. near Portland, Oregon. Aged for two to three months in controlled heat and humidity until it undergoes the Maillard reaction (the same phenomenon that gives seared meats their umami flavor), black garlic is more mellow than raw garlic, with caramelized notes and a delicate balance between sweet and savory. Jacobsen Salt Co. grounds black garlic into a powder and mixes with the company's flaky, hand-harvested Pacific sea salt.

Haku Black Garlic Shoyu is a sweet, salty, and umami soy sauce with complex aromas of earthy must. Brewed with wheat, shoyu has a sweeter, rounder flavor than other types of soy sauce, and black garlic imparts hints of fig, raisin, molasses that complement this shoyu’s subtle sweetness. Black garlic shoyu is often used in Japan as a finishing shoyu or as a stand-alone ingredient.

This traditional Japanese chili condiment—made from red chilis, tart yuzu peel and koji (rice mold best known for its role in producing sake and miso)—is citrusy, bright and a little funky. And it gets a balanced boost from sweet and earthy black garlic. On the palate, that sweetness is what leads, followed by a rich, musty fermented flavor; it finishes with a lingering kiss of heat.