Yusra3
VIP Contributor
There's been a lot of buzz over the last few years about "black foods," and with good reason they're delicious. But what are they, exactly? And whence do they originate? I got the scoop so you can impress your foodie friends at your next dinner party.
Black foods get their color from ingredients that have been charred, burned, or roasted to a very dark level, such as black garlic, black sesame seeds, or squid ink. Often these ingredients are used to give color to a dish without adding flavor for example, squid ink is often used in pasta dishes because it adds a deep flavorless purple-black hue. Other times the dark color is used to add a smoky or charred flavor to white foods for example, black garlic may be used in risotto to give it a rich, slightly smoky taste that regular garlic would not.
Black foods are especially popular in Asia and Europe. In Japan, for example, black sesame ice cream is common and even has its own emoji. In other countries you might find squid ink pasta dishes in Italy, for example, black spaghetti is sometimes served at weddings as a symbol of good luck.
Black foods get their color from ingredients that have been charred, burned, or roasted to a very dark level, such as black garlic, black sesame seeds, or squid ink. Often these ingredients are used to give color to a dish without adding flavor for example, squid ink is often used in pasta dishes because it adds a deep flavorless purple-black hue. Other times the dark color is used to add a smoky or charred flavor to white foods for example, black garlic may be used in risotto to give it a rich, slightly smoky taste that regular garlic would not.
Black foods are especially popular in Asia and Europe. In Japan, for example, black sesame ice cream is common and even has its own emoji. In other countries you might find squid ink pasta dishes in Italy, for example, black spaghetti is sometimes served at weddings as a symbol of good luck.
