Like quinoa, black garlic was once relegated to the shelves of health-food stores. The tender cloves–which are black due to a month-long, heat-curing process–are chock-full of antioxidants. (The dark bulb has about twice as many cancer-preventing compounds as raw garlic.)

Recently, though, black garlic has appeared in the professional kitchen. The midnight allium–tender and chewy from the heat, and much more mellow in its bite than traditional garlic–has a pleasant anise accent that adds a twist to potato salad or even scrambled eggs. As Tasting Table reports, chefs like Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin in New York and Elizabeth Falkner of Orson in San Francisco have added the healthy ingredient to pan-roasted monkfish and steak tartare, respectively.

In Denver, black garlic has yet to pique the curiosity of local chefs. But don’t worry. Until it does, you can order the savory treat through Tony’s Market (one of the ingredient’s few U.S. retailers) and mix it into your homemade tapenades or aïoli.