Why did my fresh garlic turn blue?
Naturally occurring sulfur in the garlic interacts with those enzymes, occasionally turning it slightly green or blue. Sometimes the color change happens, sometimes it doesn't. Shifts in temperature, pH, and the age of the garlic can also come into play, so heating it or mixing it with acid might have some affect.
Is it safe to eat garlic that turns green?
It's perfectly safe to eat blue or green garlic. If you want to avoid it altogether, use the freshest possible garlic you can find and keep it cold until you add it to your pan. Don't chop garlic along with raw onions, as they also contain those characteristics that can create the blue-green color.
Is blue garlic safe to eat?
Blue garlic may look off-putting, but it's perfectly safe to consume and tastes just fine. The color change is caused by a reaction between enzymes and sulfur-containing amino acids in the garlic (the same enzymes are responsible for garlic's flavor).
How can you tell when garlic goes bad?
Spoiled garlic forms brown spots on the cloves and turns from the usual white to a more yellow or brown color. Another thing is the green roots forming in the center of the clove. These are new sprouts forming. Though not harmful these roots taste extremely bitter and should be removed before cooking.
Why did my garlic turn green?
Garlic can turn blue or green if it is exposed for a long time to any acidic ingredient such as lemon juice or vinegar. The acidity causes the reorganization of the molecules in the garlic cloves. This creates polypyrroles, molecules that give garlic cloves a green or blue colour.
How do you keep garlic from turning green?
Cook Onion and Garlic Separately Cooking onion and garlic together can create a color change in the garlic. Try to cook your onions and garlic separately and then combine them. In turn, this will prevent the greening of garlic.
Why did my onions and garlic turn green?
Garlic contains sulfur compounds which can react with copper to form copper sulfate, a blue or blue-green compound. The amount of copper needed for this reaction is very small and is frequently found in normal water supplies.
Why did my garlic turn green in my pickles?
When garlic is combined with an acid (such as vinegar), the allicin reacts with amino acids in the garlic to produce rings of carbon-nitrogen called pyrroles. Pyrroles linked together form polypyrroles, which throw colors. Four pyrroles clustered together create green (this is why chlorophyll is green).
Shockingly Blue Garlic
This garlic turned blue in the home kitchen during a pickling process.
The Blue Garlic Surprise
Perhaps you, as I, have been cooking with garlic for years, expecting garlic to remain a kind of off-white, uninteresting color throughout the cooking process.
My Blue Garlic Experience
This past Thanksgiving I volunteered to bring our family's traditional Polish kielbasa and cabbage dish to the holiday dinner. Ours is a simple recipe consisting of traditional Eastern European ingredients including onion, garlic, cabbage, sausage, black pepper, and apple.
Aged Copper Sulfate
This copper sulfate is about 20 years old and just about a perfect color match to my blue garlic.
Garlic Turning Blue Is Sometimes Called "Greening"
This term is a misnomer because multipyrrole production in garlic, the process that turns garlic shades of blue and green, has nothing to do with restoring freshness, aligning with principles of the Green Movement, or exposing garlic to light.
How Does Garlic Turn Blue?
Studies prompted by the food industry as a result of increasingly occurring batches of accidentally colored garlic have begun to unlock the mystery of why garlic turns blue. These studies have found a number of complicated chemical processes responsible for garlic turning shades of blue, green, and even pink under certain conditions.
Variables Involved in Garlic Turning Blue
Here are some of the factors that have an influence on garlic changing color:
How to Keep Garlic From Changing Color
Garlic is a plant that contains an odorless sulfur compound called alliin. It also contains an enzyme called alliinase, which when mixed with the presence of cutting or crushing creates organophosphate compounds known as allicins. These compounds will build up as the garlic gets older.
Is it Safe to Eat Green or Blue Garlic?
Yes, it is safe to eat garlic that has turned a greenish or bluish color from cooking or pickling. In fact, in China they deliberately turn garlic into a jade green color during the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival. It is considered healthy and beautiful.
Does Green Garlic Mean it is Bad?
Like I said above, if the garlic has turned a greenish or bluish color because it was cooked with an acid, it is ok to eat. It isn’t bad. If your garlic is green because it has sprouted and the little green germ is growing it isn’t bad either and won’t hurt you if you eat it. The germ is just another garlic trying to grow from garlic.
Can I Freeze Garlic?
Yes, you can freeze garlic. Freezing garlic is simple because you can freeze the garlic as raw whole unpeeled bulbs, as individual cloves (peeled or unpeeled) or as chopped or minced. First, if you are freezing whole bulbs or individual cloves put them in airtight containers or freezer bags.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are eating more garlic for the many health benefits or just because garlic makes everything taste better, I hope I have given you some peace of mind when your garlic turns green to blue, don’t worry it’s still edible and in some parts of the world it’s considered beautiful.
Garlic Mojo Sauce
First, crush garlic using a mortar and pestle. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan on medium low heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the juice from the two limes and season to taste with salt. Let sauce cook and combine for two minutes. Remove from heat and serve over yuca or lechon.
Desirable conditions that help Garlic turn Green
Here are some desired environment conditions that make garlic turn green:
What Should Garlic Actually Look Like?
Fresh garlic has a white to yellow colored flesh once the papery skin is removed. Green or blue garlic is not its natural color.
Is it safe to eat Green or Blue Garlic?
Though the color may surprise you and some may find it to be horrible. However, it will not kill you or make you ill!
How to Keep Minced Garlic from Turning Green?
Worried about your garlic turning green? Here are ways that can help to ensure the garlic retains its natural color.
Conclusion
Eating green garlic is safe, and consuming it comes down to your personal choice. You can try various methods as above that can help to prevent garlic paste (or minced garlic) from turning green.
