Why does pickling turn blue garlic? Reasons and Secrets for Proper Handling

Often in an acidic environment, garlic cloves change color. There are many theories and opinions about why this is happening. Among all views there are associated with:

• the nuances of plant breeding;
• GMO;
• harmful ecology or other negative factors when growing.

Not all of them are true. So let's figure out why garlic turns blue when pickled.

Scientists research

Changing the color of garlic is the topic of one of the most serious studies of biologists. Such an unusual question faced the US processing industry in the 50s of the 20th century. When the idea came up to sell mashed fresh garlic, canned in jars. The simplest natural antibiotics, acetic acid and salt, were chosen as preservatives. However, the very first batch released from the assembly line was rejected due to the unusual color of the product. The mashed potatoes in the jars acquired a blue-green color.

Such an unexpected reaction could not but cause discussion. Biological and chemical experiments began in order to get an answer to the question of why garlic turns blue when pickled.

After some time, scientists have identified the following chain of related reactions in garlic tissues:

• tissue damage - occurs when cleaning teeth, washing, cutting or crushing them;
• the release of volatile, enzymes and essential oils - as a result, a smell characteristic of a vegetable appears;
• the interaction of enzymes, volatile and essential oils begins - under the action of alinase, alliin decomposes (the chemical name of the substance is allyl sulfide cysteinesulfoxide) contained in garlic;
• the next stage is the appearance of sulfur and nitrogen, as a result - the decomposition of organic essential oils - sulfides and sulfates;
• the appearance of ammonia, thiol and pyruvic acid;
• then comes the reaction of amino acids and the emergence of potent pigments - they lead to the appearance of a blue and green shade of garlic tissues.

The same thing happens when adding cloves to other vegetable preparations. Why does garlic turn blue when pickling tomatoes? The answer will be the same chain of chemical reactions.

Causes

What are the reasons for such a random reaction? Why does garlic turn blue when pickled?

From the same studies it is known for certain that the content of microelements and macroelements in a vegetable does not affect the degree of staining. That is, in the composition of the plant itself there are no substances that affect the color change. And no gene modification of the DNA structure of a vegetable has anything to do with it.

And the answers to the insidious question will be:

• the degree of botanical maturity of the vegetable;
• growing conditions (not a clean environment, namely, conditions - air temperature, soil and air humidity, changes in these indicators);
• storage conditions.

Do growing methods influence?

Garlic cultivation methods are largely responsible for the increased pigmentation of the vegetable.

Garlic grown in a greenhouse or in a warm (hot) climate has a great chance of changing color to shades of blue and green when harvesting it for the winter. The fact is that with high temperature indicators, the cloves fully ripen. That is, a lot of the alliin substance initial for the reaction arises in them. Consequently, more sulfur-containing particles and various compounds. They are responsible for the amount of volatile production (preservatives) and all the interaction of molecules, leading to a color change.

How to choose garlic?

When buying garlic, pay attention to where it was grown. If in warm and hot areas - during harvesting it will change color. But a vegetable from a cool garden, grown in a temperate climate, is more likely to remain attractively white during storage and after preservation.

How to grow garlic that does not turn blue?

But what if your bed of garlic is in a hot area of ​​the country? Try to form a bed and plant cloves in a place shaded from tall trees. Do not get involved in watering and using nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers. Pull garlic from the ground to the full stage of its botanical ripening. Interestingly, for different varieties of garlic, this period varies.

For harvesting, take young vegetable heads. They have a thin uncoated skin. Such heads do not need to be divided into cloves, just remove the top layer of dry husk.

The influence of spices and seasonings

But it also happens that blue-green or darkened garlic comes out of the "cool garden". This may depend on the composition of the products during harvesting. Grayish-dirty shades of vegetables can take when adding spices and seasonings, such as:

• ground or whole cinnamon;
• whole or ground clove inflorescences;
• ground pepper.

Change the color of vegetables can also special mixtures of spices and seasonings for pickling and other types of harvesting. The cloves of garlic do not become harmful or unfit for use. The chemical process of the interaction of two or more components of a dish just happens. And do not forget that any spices, seasonings or spicy greens are natural food colors.

Blueberry garlic: benefit or harm?

There is no harm from a discolored vegetable. Blue garlic does not affect the taste of snacks and pickles. No specific studies have been found regarding the use of such a vegetable in food. However, it is known that all the beneficial substances inherent in fresh garlic remain in it. But in smaller quantities. This is due to the usual loss of part of the nutrients after heat treatment. The finer the sliced ​​garlic, the greater the loss. The average loss is 40%.

Solution - use fresh garlic - add to salads, prepare dressings with fresh herbs.

How to avoid blueing of garlic?

You can prevent the replacement of a white vegetable with a dark one by the following methods:

• do not keep fresh garlic warm, only cool;
• do not keep preservation with this onion vegetable in a warm or hot room;
• Do not wrap jars of pickled garlic in blankets or bedspreads to prolong natural cooling.

So we figured out why the garlic turns blue when pickled. The reasons and solution to this problem are quite simple and have nothing to do with selection or harmful ecology.

It happens that a vegetable changes color not only in vegetable harvesting, but also:

• during storage;
• when added to hot or cold dishes;
• with salting of lard;
• when pickling mushrooms.

The solution is the same - do not keep it and dishes with it warm, fry or sauté before putting it into soup or a second dish.

Pickling recipe

Many housewives do not know why garlic turns blue when pickling cucumbers, because they did not encounter such changes. Having grown vegetables in the garden in the cool climate of central Russia, they harvest all the preservation with them for the winter. We offer you one of the recipes for harvesting cucumbers with garlic.

Ingredients:

• cucumbers per 1 can of 1 liter;
• 1 tbsp. l coarse grinding extra grade salt;
• 1 tablet of aspirin;
• horseradish leaf;
• dill inflorescence;
• head of young garlic.

How to cook: step by step instructions

1. Sort and rinse vegetables and herbs. Cucumbers choose a small size (gherkins can be). Take the young garlic head - clean it from dry scales, but do not separate it into the cloves. So the beneficial phytoncidal substances of the vegetable will be preserved to a greater extent.
2. Rinse and sterilize the jar and lid with boiling water or boiling steam. You can do this like this - pour a can of boiling water into a jar of warm water, and pour and fill the can after 2-3 minutes. Keep the lid in a pot of boiling water until the snack is clogged.
3. Put garlic and cucumbers tightly in a jar. Place dill and horseradish on top.
4. Add aspirin and salt.
5. Pour the vegetables with prepared boiling water and immediately preserve the lid.
6. Clean to cool at normal room temperature. Then go down to the basement or cellar. Do not keep the workpiece warm.

Do you still wonder why garlic turns blue when pickled? Proper vegetable processing and preservation, its storage in a cool room will not allow this!