This is my attempt at operating the black garlic fermentation oven my friend created. His blog post and actual explanation is here. I’ve had this setup sitting in the corner of the house for a couple months and I’ve even had 4 or 5 different garlics canned up. The first batch he made was quite good and the next batch, using cheaper garlic, was kind of weak, so I got all the different options Albertson’s had, including elephant garlic which isn’t a full clove and might not do as well.

Anyways, I stuck them all in the prepared cooler, which is just as I received it except for a longer power cord, and poked a digital thermometer probe through the side, which is barely visible on the right in this picture.

In the parent project, jars full of rocks and water were used to shield the garlic from direct light and to provide a heat buffer so that the temperature is easier to maintain. I filled a dozen empty beer bottles with water and wired them together in groups of three so they wouldn’t fall over.

I went back after taking this picture and put pieces of foil over the tops of the bottles. I figured having open bottles of water would just create a lot of humidity which shouldn’t hurt the garlic (it’s sealed in canning jars) but it probably wouldn’t do anything good either. I also ordered a bottle capping device and some caps, so the foil (and wire) are just short-term hacks.

The temp is supposed to be 150F and after a few hours it’s up to 106F. I need to swap out the 60W bulb for a 40W tomorrow and then wait a month for magic to happen.

In news you may care more about, work on Teppu ch17 continues. First pass translation is almost done, should be out this week.