Black garlic is a type of caramelized garlic first used as a food ingredient in Asian cuisine. It is made by heating whole bulbs of garlic over the course of several weeks, a process that results in black cloves. The taste is sweet and syrupy with hints of balsamic vinegaror tamarind.Black garlic"s popularity has spread to the United States as it has become a sought-after ingredient used in high-end cuisine. The ornamental plant Allium nigrum is commonly called black garlic, as also is a six-clove garlic grown in Taean and Seosan in South Korea[citation needed].

The process of producing black garlic is sometimes incorrectly referred to as fermentation, but it does not in fact involve microbial action.