Making the
finest artisanal
black garlic
Building the Swiss black garlic culture with a Spanish taste
Maria Elena von Zedtwitz
Passionate about fermentation, brewing, distilling, cooking, baking, food applications and of course black garlic.
I produce black garlic & black garlic gourmet treats artisanally by exploring different methods and developing my own recipes.
I am a Spanish human and environmental scientist passionate about cooking, baking and fermenting, that moved to Switzerland in 2013. After my daughter was born, I decided to change direction and connect life and career with my real passions.
I started this transition and exciting still ongoing journey, by going back to the University to study Brewing Sciences. I grew up in Granada under the wing of a great chef (my grandfather) and this is why I built a great passion about food and flavors from my childhood.
I tried black garlic in my home country some years ago and I fell immediately under its spell, so I started producing it myself at an artisanal scale by using different technologies and methods in the search of unique flavors.
Authentic
Every single black garlic gourmet bulb is brought throughout the process with my own hands.
Flavor
Artisanal black garlic offers something beyond: continuous flavour development.
Healthy
All the benefits from regular garlic enhanced to the highest level with outstanding organoleptic properties.
Gourmet potential and recipes
Black garlic stands out by its complex and rich flavor. Sweet, sour, bitter and umami merge all at once in a flavor explosion in the palate. Chefs and food lovers are attracted to it due to its syrupy layered taste: truffle, balsamic, liquorice and chewy caramel notes are usually dominant.
However, many people might report a different experience: honey, tamarind, dark chocolate, bitter caramel… On baked applications, caramelised onion and winter spices (nutmeg or cinnamon) are frequently perceived. In combination with a fat, a new flavor palette emerges: raisins and fortified wine scents are possible when combining this black gold with butter.
Nowadays, black garlic is already worldwide used from home cooking to high end cuisine. Applications range from raw, to use on fish, meats, sauces, pasta, dressings and cheese plates. My special interest is to unlocking the sweet applications potential that I believe inherent to this versatile culinary gem.
What they say?
What fascinates me from Maria Elena’s black garlic is its flavor development. This character is unique in her product. I have tried many commercial non artisanal black garlic brands. Their flavor is very good but there is no flavor development beyond that. Maria Elena adds the continuous flavor development dimension and concept. The flavor notes are a complete color palette and the texture is easier to incorporate in recipes or simply spread on bread
Mavi AybarFoodie and Neurological
Physiotherapy Expert. Spain.
First of all, I would like to say that it was a pleasure taking part at the Maria’s black garlic workshop from gastronomy conference “Fermentista” 2021 in Zürich. As a Chef, I have been working with black garlic for a while but nothing spectacular. Everything changed when I met Maria. The black garlic fudge was eye opener for me; but that was not all. Also Maria’s black garlic chutney was like discovering the 6th taste; it was mind blowing. Thank you Maria for the inspiration. I wish you all the best and keep inspire people with your good work.
Chef BC Narcis
When I first tried a black garlic cookie I remember I had the impulse to send a comment to Maria Elena right away to express my surprise: a black garlic cookie is odd, but what I am tasting right now is the nirvana in my palate!!!
I had to ration this culinary exquisite oddity to extend the enjoyment.
An amazing taste, an exquisite mix and a perfect texture in my mouth…
We got to taste Maria Elena’s products at Zurich’s Fermentista Festival. The Whole Black Garlic had a sweet, caramelised and liquorice aroma when opening it, beautifully balanced and the texture was much more rich and soft than other black garlic’s we have worked with. A quality artisanal product which really delivers on taste, aroma and texture. As for the Black Garlic Chutney, we liked the balance of this chutney as the flavour of the garlic was dominant, the spices were balanced perfectly to lift the flavour whilst not overpowering. A perfect introduction to any black garlic first timers.
Although I love garlic and I am familiar to all the goodness it makes, I can’t eat it raw due to intolerance issues. When I first was introduced to Maria Elena’s black garlic madness, I felt a bit reluctant to try it, not only because of my I intolerance to garlic, but also because of her innovative approach to using garlic in sweets such as fudge and cookies. My first bite to one of her sweet treats couldn’t be more revealing. I no longer need to worry about an upset stomach and what’s more I just discovered a new dimension for my culinary creations. Maria Elena’s black garlic isn’t like many of the dull commercial products I tried before. Maria Elena’s black garlic is like an elixir, brimming of character, umaminess, with sharp touches of sweet licorice and tingly peppery citruses. It’s a feast for the taste buds and my best ally when it comes to enhancing the flavour of my favourite dishes. Long things short, Maria Elena’s black garlic is simply mind blowing.
Hodei
The aphrodisiac power of white garlic stops when the bad breath begins.
With black garlic, the latter, doesn’t happen.