Yum? Philippines Science Department developing black garlic-flavored ice cream

Ice cream in a parfait glass. For illustration purposes only. Photo by Nick Collins
Ice cream in a parfait glass. For illustration purposes only. Photo by Nick Collins

Dracula had best stay away from the Philippines Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The government agency is currently developing a new ice cream flavor that we’re not quite sure how to feel about: black garlic.

It’s one of the projects that the government agency is undertaking to help grow the country’s garlic and agri-food condiments industries, under the banner of the Niche Centers in the Regions for Research and Development (NICER) Program.

The program is based at the Mariano Marcos State University in Ilocos Norte, a province known for its garlic production.

Other black garlic projects in development include medicinal products, with the program aiming to increase the ingredient’s yield and nutritional content.

Black garlic is regular garlic that has been aged and fermented, with many describing its taste as milder and sweeter than the standard sort. 

As for the garlic-flavored ice cream, DOST said that it is currently conducting consumer acceptability tests — the results of which we’re genuinely interested in knowing how that’s going. 

While the idea of mixing black garlic into ice cream may seem bizarre, DOST is far from the first to come up with it. You can find recipes for black garlic ice cream online and a few boutique ice cream makers even mass-produce the stuff, such as Pumphouse Creamery in the U.S. which sells a black garlic ice cream with chocolate chips



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