## 3 Results and Discussion  
Changes in the appearance of fresh conventional (G) and organic (EG) garlic (bulbs and cloves) during heat treatment (45 days, 70\({}^{\circ}\) C, 80% humidity) are presented in Figure 1, while the physicochemical characterization of fresh and black garlic from conventional and organic cultivation are shown in Table 1.  
All garlic samples were characterized by significant (\(p<0.05\)) variation in dry matter content, with average conventional (G) and organic (EG) white garlic containing approx. \(35.17\pm 4.29\)% and black garlic (BG and EBG) about \(56.43\pm 5.69\)% of dry matter. The lowest dry matter content was found in conventional white garlic (G) and the highest was found in organic black garlic (EBG). Both white (EG) and black (EBG) organic garlic had a higher dry matter content than conventional garlic (by 6% and 8%, respectively, for G and BG). The obtained results are similar to results obtained by other authors, who found the dry  
Figure 1: Changes in the appearance of fresh conventional (G) and organic (EG) garlic (bulbs and cloves) during heat treatment (45 days, 70\({}^{\circ}\)C, 80% humidity). G—fresh conventional garlic; EG—fresh organic garlic; BG—conventional black garlic; EBG—organic black garlic. matter content of fresh (white) garlic at the level of 35.79-38.90% [60; 64; 70] and showed, as in this study, an increase in the dry matter content of garlic during heat treatment processes. At the same time, the aging process of garlic is accompanied by a decrease in humidity, depending on the conditions of heat treatment. According to this study, during the process of producing black garlic, the water content decreased by about 21% (from 64.87% to 43.56%), which corresponds to the studies of other authors, who showed a decrease in water content from 62-68% to 45-54% [64], or from 64.83% to 46.56% [90] in black garlic. Water content is a key factor influencing both the textural parameters of black garlic, as well as the activity of enzymes and the rate of chemical, biochemical and physical transformations, which ultimately determine the nutritional and biological value of black garlic [8]. According to the literature, the optimum water content of black garlic should be in the range of 45-54%. Such a product is characterised by the most favourable texture (elasticity and softness) [71]. Values in the range of 35-40% give a less flexible product and values below 35% give a hard, brittle and battered product [60; 70]. The moisture content of black garlic is affected by heat treatment conditions. At a higher temperature, the moisture in the product decreases more rapidly [70], while the higher relative humidity of the process results in a higher moisture content of black garlic [91]. Initially, the decrease in moisture in the processed product proceeds slowly due to the high relative humidity and then it proceeds very quickly due to evaporation at a high temperature, after which it can again slow down or even stop due to degradation of water-retaining compounds, such as fructans, which, during the aging process of garlic, decompose into simple sugars or disaccharides [67; 70; 92; 93]. As shown in Table 1, all garlic samples had significantly (\(p<0.05\)) different content of reducing sugars. The sum of these compounds was significantly lower in white garlic and averaged 12.26 \(\pm\) 1.08 mg/100 g d.m. (G and EG) as compared with black garlic (BG and EBG), in which it averaged 42.00 \(\pm\) 4.24 mg/100 g d.m., which means that, as a result of the garlic aging process applied, the sum of free reducing sugars increased more than 3.5 times. The results obtained in this study are reflected in the studies by other authors who showed approx. a four-fold [67], 6.7-fold [94], 10-fold [73], 30-fold [93] and even 54-fold [71] increase in the amount of these compounds in black garlic as compared with fresh, unprocessed garlic. Studies have also shown that during thermal processing of black garlic, not only the sum of reducing sugars, but also the carbohydrate profile has changed.