## 3 Results and Discussion  
The physicochemical characterizations of fresh, white and black garlic are shown in Table 1. Concerning the results from the conducted research, all garlic samples significantly (\(p<0.05\)) differed in terms of dry matter and moisture content, water activity and pH. Significant differences were also found in the content of soluble solids (\({}^{\circ}\)Brix). The lowest dry matter content (37.1 \(\pm\) 0.13%) with the highest moisture content (62.86 \(\pm\) 0.13%) was found in fresh, white, unprocessed garlic (WG) samples, which was confirmed by other authors' research showing the water content in fresh garlic to be at the level of 57-65% [13; 17; 18; 31; 32; 41]. The average dry matter content in the tested samples of black garlic was significantly higher and depended on the treatment of black garlic used during the production of its various products. Among the various black garlic products, the highest dry matter content was found in powder (BG-P), significantly lower in black garlic in the form of cloves (BG-C), and the lowest content was found in black garlic paste (BG-S). The results obtained in this study are in line with the literature data, in which the authors found a varied dry matter content (30-65%) in garlic cloves, depending, e.g., on the conditions of the garlic aging process such as temperature, relative humidity and the time of heat treatment of the garlic [13; 17; 18; 31; 32; 41]. [PERSON] et al. (2022) [36] showed a significant reduction in moisture content in black garlic samples, similar to [PERSON] et al. (2021) [25], showing a decrease in the moisture content of fresh garlic samples from about 72% to about 56% in black garlic, which is consistent with our research. The available literature lacks information on the comparison of these parameters in clove, powder and black garlic spreading paste. Black garlic's moisture content is an important factor affecting its texture and consistency properties. A water content at the level of 35-40% results in a reduction of flexibility, and a value lower than 35% leads to excessively high hardness and dryness of the product. According to the literature, a product containing about 40-50% water is characterized by adequate flexibility, softness and firmness [13; 17]. Fresh garlic's (WG) water activity averaged 0.98, which is consistent with the results obtained by other authors (0.97-0.98) [16; 31; 32; 41]. Long-term heat treatment leading to the production of black garlic (BG-C) decreased this parameter (0.94). Other authors also found water activity (a\({}_{\rm w}\)) at a level similar (0.91 to 0.98) to the results of the research in this study [31; 32; 42]. The water activity of black garlic, remaining at a fairly high level, is a result of the specific conditions under which black garlic is produced. The high humidity maintained during the black garlic production process makes it difficult to drain water, but it is necessary for the proper course of this process [29; 41]. With a high moisture content, a high a\({}_{\rm w}\) cannot be a determinant of the microbiological safety of the final product, and in order to improve it, it is recommended to dry black garlic to an a\({}_{\rm w}\) below 0.85 [42]. The produced black garlic was subjected to further processing. Black garlic powder (BG-P) was characterized by several times lower water activity (0.20), while garlic spreading paste (BG-S) was additionally pasteurized, which probably improved its microbiological properties. According to the literature, pasteurization, as a fairly mild method of heat treatment of food (below 100 \({}^{\circ}\)C), leads to the reduction or elimination of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms in food, especially that with a high water content [43]. During the production of black garlic, the pH of the product decreased significantly (Table 1).