Black garlic is made when heads of garlic are matured under specialized conditions of heat and humidity. Bulbs are kept in a humidity-controlled environment at temperatures that range from 60 to 77 °C for 5 weeks. There are no substances, preservatives, or burning of any kind. The enzymes that give fresh garlic its sharpness break down. Those conditions are thought to facilitate the Maillard reaction, the chemical process that produces new flavor mixes in charge of the profound taste of singed meat and fricasseed onions. The cloves turn dark and build up a sticky date-like surface.