OUR GORGE : LOCAVORE
Bulbs of Black
A company in The Dalles brings black garlic to the Gorge STORY BY RUTH BERKOWITZ • PHOTOS BY KELLY TURSO
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D
o you want to smell something amazing?” Cynthia Brunk asks people passing by the Columbia Black Garlic booth at the Hood River Farmers’ Market. Smell her black garlic — it’s smoky and intense like the remnants of your clothes after hours of lingering around the campfire. Touch the black garlic — it’s gooey and squishy like licorice and gummy bears. Taste the clove and it’s sweet, savory and flavorful like balsamic vinegar, molasses and dark chocolate. Black garlic has been consumed for hundreds of years in Asia. In Korea, where many think black garlic originated, people consume the black bulb to boost their immune system and suppress cancer. Yoohyun Park, who moved to Oregon recently from North Korea, says her father drinks a black garlic concoction daily for health reasons and her grandmother used to make her own black garlic in her rice cooker, also for medicinal purposes. In Thailand, people eat black garlic in the belief that it keeps them young.
24 FALL 2018 : THE GORGE MAGAZINE
Japan will host its 3rd annual International Black Garlic Summit this September bringing farmers, chefs and business people together. Black garlic may be the new kale — healthy and versatile. Although prevalent in Asia, black garlic is only beginning to make its debut in the United States. Brunk discovered it in 2014 while suffering from rashes on her body and digestive problems. Instead of seeking help from a traditional doctor, Brunk scoured the internet for natural remedies. She kept seeing a theme of possible cures: kombucha, black garlic and probiotic pills. Anxious to get better, Brunk ordered black garlic online and made small batches in her crockpot. Within a month of eating black garlic and drinking kombucha, she felt considerably better. Today, Brunk consumes black garlic in powder and clove form multiple times a day, sprinkling it on everything from avocados to popcorn. Wanting to share her love for this so-called superfood, Brunk, an entrepreneur, has spent the past few years experimenting with ways to make large quantities of black garlic and has recently perfected her method. Obtaining certification from