Black garlic ice cream? Garlic, agri-food condiments industry bloom with DOST's NICER program (Sabong News)
Author
Dhel Nazario
Date
APRIL 11 2022
Ever heard a black garlic-flavored ice cream?
This is just one of the paths that the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) looks to take with the prospering garlic and agri-food condiments industry under the Niche Centers in the Regions for Research and Development (NICER) Program at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU).
Under this program, a design and layout for a project that seeks to enhance the usability and profitability of garlic with the development of a black garlic processing machine has already been completed.
The said project included the development of a black garlic-flavored ice cream, which is undergoing consumer acceptability tests. MMSU, in coordination with the Tuklas-Lunas pharmacy team of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, is also looking into developing black garlic-based medicinal products.
This NICER program is funded by the DOST and is being monitored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) of the DOST. The center has five project components, which aim to revitalize the country’s garlic and agri-food condiments industry.
DOST- PCAARRD also shared some of the initial positive results of the NICER program which were increased yields of garlic through higher planting density, improved nutrient management (NM), and application of Carrageenan plant growth promoter (CPGP). Shallot productivity was also improved through NM and CPGP applications. The project team is also working on seed multiplication of collected chilies, turmeric, and ginger.
The Center has collected 63 local accessions of garlic, ginger, kinchay, black pepper, ‘atchuete,’ chili pepper, and roselle for its germplasm collection and has established a field genebank where the said collections are planted for conservation.
Meanwhile, the center is still gathering information on the curing and storage practices of garlic and other agri-food condiments in the Philippines to develop an improved curing and storage structure for garlic.
Surveys and analyses are also being conducted through the project, “Value Chain Analysis of Garlic in the Philippines,” to identify key strategies that will improve the competitiveness of the local garlic in the country.
