Why does garlic turn blue in the marinade. Why does garlic turn green and is such a product dangerous?

Knowing how useful garlic is, housewives use it especially generously. But sometimes your favorite seasoning starts to behave “wrong”, changing the pigmentation from light cream to blue or green. What caused this phenomenon and why does the garlic turn blue when cooked?

We hasten to reassure: a change in color does not affect the taste of a spicy vegetable and does not reduce its healing properties. Blue garlic does not become poisonous, so do not throw away canned food or dishes with it - they can be eaten safely.

But from an aesthetic point of view, the change in the shade we are used to is, of course, distressing. And I want to avoid this trouble. It is not difficult to protect yourself from garlic “transformations”, the main thing is to understand their nature.

Reasons Why Garlic Turns Blue or Green

Scientists-biochemists have not yet come to a consensus on this issue. The first studies began to be carried out 60 years ago in the United States, after the leaders of the American canning industry decided to produce a new preparation for housewives - garlic puree. After some time, jars with an intense blue color began to come across in the batches of goods. Of course, they were regarded as a marriage, and the producers began to look for ways to solve the problem.
It turned out that neither the variety of garlic, nor the conditions of its cultivation affect the pigmentation process.

But important:

the region where the plant is cultivated
degree of maturity
storage conditions
product integrity
method and duration of heat treatment

The most plausible at present is the theory that when cutting garlic cloves, the interaction of the enzyme alliinase and the amino acid alliin occurs (it is then that allicin is a natural antibiotic, for which we value garlic so much) with the release of organic sulfates and sulfides. Some of these compounds, as a result of the resulting chemical reactions, stain the plant tissues in blue or green shades.

Note also that freshly cut garlic does not change color immediately. This happens only under certain circumstances and the presence of concomitant factors. Which ones, we look further in the article. And from this material you will learn.

When pickled garlic turns blue

Harvesting a spicy vegetable for the winter, housewives prefer to pickle it. And after a while, they are surprised to find blue slices in their favorite delicacy.

There are several reasons here:

The integrity of the product has been compromised. To prevent this from happening, you need to peel the garlic only with your hands, without cutting tools. You can use the whole heads, with the bottom layer of the husk, after washing well and removing damaged specimens.
Heat treatment. When pickling hot, the breakdown of alliin is accelerated, especially in the slightly acidic environment that the vinegar present in the brine creates, and the likelihood of changes in the pigmentation of the garlic cloves increases. The effect is more pronounced if you additionally wrap the jars with the product after sterilization. Output - use mostly cold marinades. Garlic prepared in this way is also much tastier. It is also recommended to pre-blanch the "teeth" for 3 minutes.
High degree of maturity of garlic heads. A young vegetable contains almost no alliin and few sulfur compounds of essential oils, which is why it is recommended for all types of preservation.
Improper storage of garlic before pickling. If the product has lain in the refrigerator for a long time, the level of alliin in it rises. It is more correct to keep garlic in the pantry, at a temperature of 18 - 25ºС.

Unlike fresh, pickled garlic needs to be stored in a cool place, preferably in a cellar.

The best option is to preserve the spice immediately after collection. Then the likelihood that the garlic in the marinade will turn blue is reduced to almost zero.

Color change when canned with other vegetables or mushrooms

Garlic is an invariable ingredient in homemade preparations. It gives the marinade a piquant taste and acts as an auxiliary preservative, thanks to pronounced antibacterial properties.

Usually, in combination with other vegetables, the product is used not in whole heads, but in slices. And here it is important to clean them very carefully and separate them from each other, not to violate the integrity. Some housewives, in order to save money, cut large "teeth" into several parts. What this leads to, we have already described above.

Attention!

Especially high is the probability of blueing of a store-bought product, which is mainly imported from China. Why this happens - we will tell a little later.

We only warn you that preservation with blue or green garlic is absolutely harmless and a change in the color of the spice does not indicate a high content of nitrates or other harmful chemicals in vegetables.

Special attention should be paid to mushrooms. They are also often preserved with garlic. Seeing an unusually colored spicy vegetable in jars with "gifts of the forest", the housewives immediately draw an analogy with onions, which, as you know, turn blue when in contact with poisonous mushrooms, and rush to throw away the entire workpiece.

It's not worth doing- garlic, unlike its closest relative, does not change color at all because it reacts to poison. Rather, it "responds" to the complex protein composition of mushrooms, combined with the high temperature of their processing. In general, both of these products do not really "get along" with each other during long-term storage.

Solution: do not preserve mushrooms with garlic, but season them immediately before serving.

So that the garlic cloves do not turn blue when salted

The following rules must be observed:

Take only young, unripe heads and do not clean them completely, leaving an elastic skin adjacent directly to the "teeth".
Do not cut off the tips and tails of the slices.
When salting whole young heads without other vegetables, it is better to use the dry method. Garlic is placed in jars (or in oak barrels), sprinkled with salt and spices. The brine is not needed in this case.
In vegetable pickles, it is better to use a cold saline solution. Boiling water not only brings cucumbers and tomatoes “to condition” faster, but can also provoke the appearance of pigmentation in garlic “teeth”.
If lard or pork belly is salted with garlic, it is more correct not to chop the slices, but leave them as a whole and stuff the meat product, and then immediately place it in a cold place.

How to protect garlic when frying

Fried or stewed dishes also do not win when the spice in them suddenly begins to turn into unnatural colors. On the It won't affect the taste of the finished dish., but subconsciously, the blue-green hues of garlic will repel us and spoil our appetite.

There are several options:

Add chopped garlic to the dish a few minutes before cooking so that the heat treatment does not have time to cause the breakdown of alliin.
Use not fresh, but dried spice.
First fry the garlic, and then add it to the rest of the ingredients, such as stew, potatoes or offal for jelly.
If the recipe allows, that is, joint heat treatment of all components is not required, you can serve the spicy vegetable separately to the already prepared dish. For example, garlic donuts are traditionally “attached” to borsch, and spicy croutons are traditionally “attached” to cheese soup.

The specifics of Chinese garlic

Experienced housewives must have noticed that the spicy vegetable began to change color intensively only in recent years. This is due to the fact that instead of our "native" product, we switched to garlic from China - the world's largest producer today.

But one should not immediately blame the farmers of the Middle Kingdom for dishonesty. Their garlic is not a genetic modification and not the result of excessive use of chemistry. Just a healing vegetable grown in the southern regions, including East Asia, much richer in alliin, than its northern counterpart. It is not surprising that garlic, harvested in our summer cottages or bought from grandmothers in the market, rarely changes color in contrast to the Chinese, which flooded the supermarkets.

In addition, southern garlic is fully ripe when harvested, while we pick it slightly unripe.

However, based on the fact that it is alliin that initiates the formation of allicin, a substance with the strongest anticancer, immunostimulating and bactericidal properties, we can conclude that more benefits of Chinese garlic compared to ours. Although the conditions for growing the product are very important here.

Outcome: you should not be afraid of Chinese garlic, in any case, turning blue or green, it does not become worse or more dangerous.

Times are changing, and with them, products familiar to us from childhood acquire other properties. Luckily, new doesn't mean worse, just like with garlic. But if you want to avoid the pigmentation of this vegetable, it is not difficult to do this, observing the correct storage and handling conditions.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Canning is an art, because preparing vegetables for the future, so that it is tasty and healthy, does not always work out. One of the common reasons for the loss of an attractive appearance of the workpiece and the emergence of doubts about its usefulness is the acquisition of a bluish or greenish tint by the garlic.

Why does garlic change color?

Garlic sometimes after conservation or even in the process of its preparation, for example, in a salad, changes color - turns blue or green. In fact, there is nothing dangerous in such a product, although doubts still arise when looking at it.

The folk version says that only Chinese garlic turns blue or green, but this is absolutely not true. Any fruit can change color, even grown in its own garden, and even if it is preserved correctly.

Another popular version of the canned garlic color change is the copper it contains. She, according to "experts", reacts with vinegar and gives such an unusual color. But this theory is also shattered, because the vegetable turns blue arbitrarily. Even in one batch of blanks at home, some may turn green, and some remain natural.

The scientific world claims

Scientists got to the bottom of this process, copper is involved in it.

Garlic cloves can change color during canning if their integrity is violated:

Essential oil and an enzyme are released from the tissues.
Under the influence of the enzyme, a chemical reaction is started, which leads to the destruction of alliin.
Essential oil particles are released, which immediately react with amino acids.
A characteristic bluish-greenish pigment appears. He paints his teeth.

Factors accelerating the reaction

In what cases is it more likely to get an exotic color:

Blueing and greening occurs more actively at a certain temperature (+45, +80 degrees) and medium (slightly acidic).
The amount of alliin is affected by the zone in which the culture grew. The warmer, the more it is.
A mature fruit contains more alliin than a young one.
The concentration of the compound increases during storage, and the colder it is, the more intensively it is produced.

Copper, iron, aluminum, chromium and other metals do not have any effect on the greening of garlic in preservation.

Canning recipes that won't turn the garlic blue

Proper handling of the product during the cooking process and the correct choice of the ingredient itself, the method of its processing will eliminate the problem of blue or green in canning.

Cucumbers in oil

For the recipe you will need:

cucumbers - 2 kg;
parsley (can be replaced with dill) - a large bunch;
vegetable oil 0.1 l;
0.1 l of vinegar;
granulated sugar - 90 g;
garlic - 6-8 cloves;
salt - 60 g.

Cooking:

Wash cucumbers and cut into pieces lengthwise. If the vegetable is medium in size, you can cut it into 4 pieces, large ones into 6-8. Put in a saucepan or bowl so that there is free space.
Chop parsley and send to cucumbers.
Pour in sunflower oil and vinegar.
Add spices.
Mix everything well.
Cut the garlic cloves into several pieces (also lengthwise), add to the general mixture, mix.
Leave the workpiece for 4-6 hours at a temperature of +24 degrees.
After this period, put the cucumbers in sterilized containers, pour the resulting marinade.
Sterilize for 25 minutes.
Roll up blanks.

In order for the garlic not to turn blue in this preservation, you need to take a young one, preferably straight from the garden.

Pickled peppers with garlic

The recipe includes:

sweet pepper - 5 kg;
water - 200 ml;
sunflower oil - 400 ml;
salt - 90 g;
sugar - 200 g;
vinegar - 200 ml;
black and allspice pepper;
garlic - 3 heads.

Cooking steps:

Peel the pepper and cut into large pieces.
Peel the garlic. Minimal damage to the integrity of the surface of the clove will ensure its normal color in the workpiece.
Boil water in a saucepan, add pepper and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water, put the pepper on plates to cool.
Mix drained water with oil and spices. Bring to a boil, heat the pepper again for 3-5 minutes. Pepper remove and send to cool.
Put the garlic in the resulting marinade and boil for a couple of minutes.
Put garlic (a couple of cloves), allspice and black pepper in a sterilized jar.
Lay sweet pepper on top. Due to blanching, it becomes malleable and is easily rammed into a jar.
Boil the marinade again and pour over the pepper.
Roll up and let cool under a warm blanket.

The use of multi-colored peppers will make the workpiece especially appetizing.

Delicious garlic cloves

Ingredients:

garlic;
honey - 70 g;
lemon juice - 70 ml;
low-fat sour cream - 125 g;
salt and pepper - to taste.

Cooking steps:

Peel the garlic and pour over boiling water.
Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour into a saucepan. Add teeth to it.
Put on a small fire.
Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3 minutes.
Put in a jar and screw on the lid. Keep refrigerated.

The use of a young unripe vegetable will give this preservation juiciness and excellent taste, and eliminate blueness after seaming.

Cherry tomatoes with garlic

For the recipe you need:

cherry tomatoes - 5 kg;
garlic - a few cloves;
vinegar - 40 ml;
salt - 50 g;
sugar - 90 g;
peppercorns, bay leaf.

Stages:

Wash the tomatoes and separate from the stems.
Place tomatoes in sterilized jars. Each with a couple of garlic cloves.
Boil water and pour over tomatoes. Let stand 5-10 minutes.
Drain the water, boil, add salt and sugar. After removing from the heat, pour in the vinegar.
Put pepper and lavrushka in jars.
Bring the brine to a boil, pour over the tomatoes. Roll up.
Let cool, wrapped in a blanket.

If there is doubt about the quality and degree of ripening of garlic, it can be dried and used in this form in preparations, the dried fruit will not change color.

Eggplant with garlic

A more classic combination is hard to find.

For the recipe you will need:

eggplant - 500 g;
garlic - 2-3 cloves;
salt - 30 g;
parsley - 5 branches;
vegetable oil - 200 ml.

Cooking steps:

Cut eggplant into slices.
Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown.
Peel and crush the garlic, add chopped herbs and salt to it.
Dip the fried eggplant slices into the resulting mixture of salt, parsley and garlic. Pack tightly into sterilized jars.
Boil and cool the vegetable oil beforehand, pour over the eggplants in a jar. Clog.

Store in refrigerator or cellar.

Pickled garlic for the winter (video)

Garlic has its own specifics of cooking. If you take care of its proper use in canning for the winter, you will be able to avoid unsightly color effects. Delicious and beautiful preparations for you!

Causes of blue and green garlic during pickling, salting, frying, stewing vegetables, mushrooms. Is a blue or green onion dangerous?

Very often we encounter a strange phenomenon - when garlic begins to turn green or turn blue in the process of salting, pickling, preservation. The same thing happens with stagnant preservation - through the glass you can see blue-green, floating cloves of garlic. Some housewives prefer to get rid of "damaged cans", and some cautiously take a sample from a strange preservation.

As for pickled or salted mushrooms, if they contain blue or green garlic, everyone comes to only one conclusion - the mushrooms contain poison.

This article will be designed to destroy all existing myths and explain the cause of garlic pigmentation during canning or pickling of various products.

Why did the garlic turn blue and green in pickled tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers: reasons

The problem of changing the color of garlic during conservation has been given a lot of attention and time. Scientists have conducted a number of experiments and studies to explain such a strange phenomenon. In the course of scientific work, it was found that in the process of breaking the integrity of garlic, its components, such as essential oils and enzymes, begin to react.

At the same time, one of the enzymes, alinases, contributes to the destruction of a substance such as allyl sulfide cysteine sulfoxide (alliin). As a result of the decomposition of alliin, some of the essential oils also begin to decompose into sulfates and sulfides. From one part of such organic compounds, thiol, ammonia and pyruvic acid are formed. From the second part, special pigments stand out, which are responsible for such an uncharacteristic, bright color of garlic.

Of course, many of us will immediately wonder why the color does not always change and not every garlic. The answer is simple - the growing conditions, storage conditions and the level of maturity of this vegetable plant affect the likelihood and intensity of staining. In addition, pigmentation occurs faster at certain temperatures and acidity levels. So:

The decomposition of alliin can be accelerated by high temperatures - from 40 to 80 degrees Celsius.
The blue-green pigment is released in a slightly acidic environment in the presence of amino acids.
Garlic grown in southern latitudes contains a greater amount of cystene sulfoxide allyl sulfide than that grown in more northern latitudes. Therefore, the "southern" garlic will stain much faster and more intensely than the "northern".
Young, freshly picked garlic also cannot boast of having a high concentration of alliin, therefore its pigmentation will be much weaker than that of a stale vegetable.
If garlic is stored at room temperature (20-25 degrees), then alliin in garlic will accumulate less than when stored in a cool room (+1-5 degrees).
By moving the garlic from a cold to a warm room, you can thereby reduce the concentration of alliin in it.

In other words, neither the harmful substances used during the cultivation and feeding of vegetables, nor the poisons allegedly present in mushrooms affect the color of garlic during preservation.

Why imported, Chinese garlic turns blue or green when pickling, canning, pickling: reasons

Answering this question, it is necessary to return to the conclusions of scientists given in the previous paragraph. The coloring of garlic in blue or green during salting, pickling vegetables, is not affected by either its variety or the content of various trace elements in itself or the land in which it was grown.
As for Chinese garlic, here it is necessary to pay attention only to the location of the producing country of this type of garlic. The fact is that China is located much to the south of our homeland. That is why garlic in the fields of this state has time to ripen to its maximum. By the time of ripening of Chinese garlic, the concentration of alliin in it reaches a maximum. It is this fact that explains the one hundred percent coloring of Chinese garlic in the process of pickling or pickling our vegetables.

Why garlic turned blue and green during frying, baking: reasons

In the process of frying or baking, in the case of garlic, two factors work at once that can provoke its pigmentation.
The first factor is the violation of the integrity of garlic - as a rule, garlic is used in dishes in crushed or crushed form, and damage to its shell irreversibly leads to the decomposition of alliin.
The second factor can be called high temperature, which dominates in a frying pan or stewpan - this temperature is also one of the conditions for the rapid decomposition of cysteine sulfoxide allyl sulfide.

Why garlic turned blue and green on food, when salting fat: reasons

Often, in the process of salting lard, housewives have to watch how the garlic, used as an indispensable ingredient, begins to turn green. Most often, this phenomenon can be explained by two reasons - the storage condition of salted fat and damage to garlic tissues. To avoid pigmentation of the latter, it is advisable to use large slices of it and store salted lard in the refrigerator.
You can also observe a change in the color of garlic when added to hot dishes. In such cases, the pigmentation of this vegetable plant can be justified by the temperature regime, violation of integrity and the time factor. The longer, finely chopped or squeezed through a press, garlic will be in a hot dish, the more likely it is to become pigmented.

Is it possible to eat blue or green garlic?

In none of the southern countries of the world, where garlic is used quite widely, no one pays attention to its pigmentation. This process is considered normal. That's why we don't have to worry. Neither blue nor green garlic in dishes, preserves and pickles is something poisonous or dangerous. So do not bother yourself with various fictions, but enjoy your favorite dish!

You can often find information that the garlic in the marinade turns blue or turns green. Such an incident happens in various cases that relate to salting or fermenting other vegetables. Garlic is also able to change color in the case of pickling, when a certain amount of vinegar is added to the products.

Canned garlic may or may not change color

There are many versions and ideas of why garlic turns blue, but many authors of ideas agree on only one thing - a root crop that has changed color has absolutely no direct effect on the taste and quality of the final product.

You can safely use garlic, which has changed its shade, in different dishes and foods, as it will not harm you.

Blue garlic in a jar with canned tomatoes

Common Theory

Why does homemade garlic turn blue during preservation and processing? The version considered by everyone is that there is a certain amount of ordinary copper in this product. In certain cases, copper enters an acidic environment, which gives an acute reaction. After that, a fairly global change in the shade of garlic occurs. Such a reaction can be expected with ordinary vinegar, which is present in almost all recipes for pickling and preserving food.

Blue-cured garlic with pickled cucumbers

But there is another question about why pickled slices do not always turn blue or green, and the reaction itself is spontaneous and unpredictable.

There is a theory that the amount of copper in garlic directly depends on certain factors: variety, cultivation, soil, the degree of ripening of the bulb, the use of fertilizer, and the area of growth.

Scientists version

What do experts say on this issue? There is a whole theory that was put forward by chemists, and also confirmed by a variety of studies and experiments. When the integrity of the lobules is violated, from the tissues damaged by the treatment, they gradually begin to stand out:

essential thick oil;
enzymes.

Under the influence of a special enzyme, an active chemical aggravated reaction immediately begins, which gradually leads to the destruction of alliin, which provokes the formation of essential oil particles. Then the new element begins to react to the amino acids of the product and creates certain shades - blue, green, green-blue. Then the lobules are stained evenly or partially.

Shades of garlic can range from yellow to green to dark blue.

Why else does the garlic turn blue? There are several factors that indicate a direct influence on the course of all reactions: the process is significantly accelerated and reacts to the presence of amino acids in the case of an ambient temperature of 45-80 degrees.

The degree of brightness of the pigment shade and the intensity of its formation almost does not depend on the selected garlic variety. But it directly depends on the growing conditions, the stage of ripening at the time of the harvest itself, and its further storage. Because garlic turns blue unpredictably - the process cannot be predicted.

Garlic can also turn blue during storage

The amount of alliin and other sulfur-containing elements in the product also depends on climatic conditions. The warmer the climate, the greater the concentration of compounds.

Scientists were able to establish that all minerals that each lobule includes: copper, iron, manganese, aluminum, zinc or chromium, do not affect this chemical reaction. It can be concluded that all the elements from the chemical table are not able to directly affect the degree of blueness of garlic in the marinade.

Blue garlic in a jar with canned cucumbers

We can conclude that absolutely any garlic can change its color, which does not depend on the country of origin or the variety itself.

The main task is proper storage, use, use and preparation.

Why garlic begins to change color has become more clear. How to avoid such an effect in order to reduce the likelihood of blue cloves of garlic?

Blueness just in the air for 24 hours - experiment

rules

It is required to process the product correctly, then you reduce the risk of changing the shade of this product:

Canned garlic does not always turn blue

If you follow all the rules and tips, you can avoid changes in the color changes of the slices. The judicious use of garlic will help transform the dish and its taste. It may also happen that the fruit eventually turns blue or green, since no one is safe from this, but you will minimize the risk of changing canned or fermented garlic in your original and delicious recipes.

Another popular version of the change in color of garlic in preservation is the copper it contains. She, according to "experts", reacts with vinegar and gives such an unusual color. But this theory is also shattered, because the garlic turns blue arbitrarily. Even in one batch of blanks at home, some may turn green, and some remain natural.

The scientific world claims

Scientists got to the bottom of this process, copper is involved in it.

Garlic cloves can change color during canning if their integrity is violated:

Essential oil and an enzyme are released from the tissues.
Under the influence of the enzyme, a chemical reaction is started, which leads to the destruction of alliin.
Essential oil particles are released, which immediately react with amino acids.
A characteristic bluish-greenish pigment appears. He paints his teeth.

Factors accelerating the reaction

In what cases is it more likely to get an exotic color:

Blueing and greening occurs more actively at a certain temperature (+45, +80 degrees) and medium (slightly acidic).
The amount of alliin is affected by the zone in which the garlic grew. The warmer, the more it is.
Mature garlic contains more alliin than young garlic.
The concentration of the compound increases during storage, and the colder it is, the more intensively it is produced.

Copper, iron, aluminum, chromium and other metals do not have any effect on the greening of garlic in preservation.

Canning recipes that won't turn the garlic blue

Proper handling of garlic during the cooking process and the correct choice of the ingredient itself, the method of processing it, will eliminate the problem of blue or green in canning.

Cucumbers in oil

For the recipe you will need:

cucumbers - 2 kg;
parsley (can be replaced with dill) - a large bunch;
vegetable oil 0.1 l;
0.1 l of vinegar;
granulated sugar - 90 g;
garlic - 6-8 cloves;
salt - 60 g.

Cooking:

Wash cucumbers and cut into pieces lengthwise. If the vegetable is medium in size, you can cut it into 4 pieces, large ones into 6-8. Put in a saucepan or bowl so that there is free space.
Chop parsley and send to cucumbers.
Pour in sunflower oil and vinegar.
Add spices.
Mix everything well.
Cut the garlic into several pieces (also lengthwise), add to the general mixture, mix.
Leave the workpiece for 4-6 hours at a temperature of +24 degrees.
After this period, put the cucumbers in sterilized containers, pour the resulting marinade.
Sterilize for 25 minutes.
Roll up blanks.

In order for the garlic not to turn blue in this conservation, you need to take a young one, preferably straight from the garden.

Pickled peppers with garlic

The recipe includes:

sweet pepper - 5 kg;
water - 200 ml;
sunflower oil - 400 ml;
salt - 90 g;
sugar - 200 g;
vinegar - 200 ml;
black and allspice pepper;
garlic - 3 heads.

Cooking steps:

Peel the pepper and cut into large pieces.
Peel the garlic. Minimal damage to the integrity of the surface of the garlic clove will ensure its normal color in the workpiece.
Boil water in a saucepan, add pepper and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water, put the pepper on plates to cool.
Mix drained water with oil and spices. Bring to a boil, heat the pepper again for 3-5 minutes. Pepper remove and send to cool.
Put the garlic in the resulting marinade and boil for a couple of minutes.
Put garlic (a couple of cloves), allspice and black pepper in a sterilized jar.
Lay sweet pepper on top. Due to blanching, it becomes malleable and is easily rammed into a jar.
Boil the marinade again and pour over the pepper.
Roll up and let cool under a warm blanket.

The use of multi-colored peppers will make the workpiece especially appetizing.

Delicious garlic cloves

Ingredients:

garlic;
honey - 70 g;
lemon juice - 70 ml;
low-fat sour cream - 125 g;
salt and pepper - to taste.

Cooking steps:

Peel the garlic and pour over with boiling water.
Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour into a saucepan. Add teeth to it.
Put on a small fire.
Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3 minutes.
Put the garlic in a jar and screw on the lid. Keep refrigerated.

The use of young unripe garlic will give this preservation juiciness and excellent taste, and eliminate blueness after seaming.

Cherry tomatoes with garlic

For the recipe you need:

cherry tomatoes - 5 kg;
garlic - a few cloves;
vinegar - 40 ml;
salt - 50 g;
sugar - 90 g;
peppercorns, bay leaf.

Stages:

Wash the tomatoes and separate from the stems.
Place tomatoes in sterilized jars. Each with a couple of cloves of garlic.
Boil water and pour over tomatoes. Let stand 5-10 minutes.
Drain the water, boil, add salt and sugar. After removing from the heat, pour in the vinegar.
Put pepper and lavrushka in jars.
Bring the brine to a boil, pour over the tomatoes. Roll up.
Let cool, wrapped in a blanket.

If there is doubt about the quality and degree of ripening of garlic, it can be dried and used in this form in preparations, dried garlic will not change color.

Eggplant with garlic

For the recipe you will need:

eggplant - 500 g;
garlic - 2-3 cloves;
salt - 30 g;
parsley - 5 branches;
vegetable oil - 200 ml.

Cooking steps:

Cut eggplant into slices.
Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown.
Peel and crush the garlic, add chopped herbs and salt to it.
Dip the fried eggplant slices into the resulting mixture of salt, parsley and garlic. Pack tightly into sterilized jars.
Boil and cool the vegetable oil beforehand, pour over the eggplants in a jar. Clog.

Store in refrigerator or cellar.

Pickled garlic for the winter (video)

Garlic has its own specifics of cooking. If you take care of its proper use in canning for the winter, you will be able to avoid unsightly color effects. Delicious and beautiful preparations for you!

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07 April 2016

Surely you have noticed that garlic (pickled or chopped fresh) over time can acquire a greenish, blue or even emerald hue. It does not become poisonous from this, but it does not become more appetizing either. the site explains why garlic turns green or blue and how to deal with it.

Photo: Garliccloves/dlickr

The question was asked more than half a century ago in the United States. Garlic was used on an industrial scale, processed into puree. However, after grinding, packaging and sterilization of the cans, some of the blanks changed color, which did not suit the manufacturers at all. Subsequently, the chemical transformations occurring with the root crop were studied in detail, therefore now it is possible to explain the reaction with firm certainty and present a couple of facts.

There is a "greening" that's why. In the tissues of garlic there is a substance - allin - which, after several reaction steps, forms sulfates and sulfides. Some of them decompose to ammonia and thiols with an unpleasant odor, while the other reacts with amino acids and forms pigments that color the garlic. The reaction occurs when the integrity of the garlic tissues is violated, that is, after incisions or chopping.

There are a couple more terms and conditions:

1. Staining and its speed does not depend on the variety of garlic.

2. Unripe garlic contains less allin, so it will stain more slowly.

3. Garlic from warm countries contains more allin than garlic grown in colder climates.

4. Allin continues to build up when harvested garlic is stored. Thus, the "stale" product will be colored faster and stronger.

5. More allin is formed during cold storage of garlic (not yet processed, only collected from the beds), less - with heat.

And this is absolutely normal! Garlic that turns blue when cooked should not be considered the tricks of aliens or the machinations of manufacturers-suppliers trying to poison us with GMOs. Green garlic just doesn't look too aesthetically pleasing - this is the main disadvantage. Therefore, we remember what needs to be done in order to prevent or slow down its “transformation”.

1. When pickling or salting, carefully peel the slices from the husk to prevent cuts and cracks.

2. Use young garlic for cooking.

3. Salt and pickle only in a cold way.

4. Store blanks at low temperatures.

5. When adding garlic to hot dishes (porridge, potatoes), pre-fry it or put it in the very last place.

6. Serve garlic separately from hot, if the dish will just stand on the table for some time.

More proven recipes, interesting and useful information about food and cooking in our group

I salted the lard yesterday, and today the garlic turned green on it, this has never happened before, and what should I do, throw it away or is it normal?

There are a lot of questions like this. Consider which garlic turns green and why. And most importantly, is it dangerous? Will the products in which the garlic turn green be spoiled.

Russia has long been famous for its abundance of myths. This type of "folklore" has not bypassed the attention of the so-called Chinese garlic. Not the one whose second name is fragrant onion, scientifically - Allium chinens, with heads like small onion sets, but the one that has flooded today all the stores in Russia and a significant part of the planet. For China now controls about 77% of the world's exports of this spicy plant.

However, all over the world the name - "Chinese selection garlic" has taken root. For example, in Spain, the leading country in Europe in the production of this spicy product, 15–20% of the area is allocated for the Chinese variety. Under the Spanish zoned variety of the same Chinese selection, called "white variety" - about 20-25%, and under the local dark purple, called "Morado", more than half of all garlic plantations are allocated.

What kind of rumors and gossip does not go about the Chinese variety. A Russian inhabitant, having once bought Chinese sneakers at a bargain price, made in China according to the specifications of a Russian entrepreneur, takes offense at everything produced in this country. At the same time, he forgets the simple truth that cheap quality cannot be, and half of the planet uses Chinese goods and products without any complaints. For all these goods comply with the strictest international standards (which is confirmed by laboratory tests), or ... the technical specifications of the customer, which are dictated by the demand of the same Russian offended layman.

Why is he green?

The main criticism and ground for myths about Chinese garlic was its ability to turn green and even turn blue. From here came the myths about the use of "chemistry" or GMOs, which Russians are paranoidly afraid of. About GMOs, you can "please" those who did not study biology at school. By the end of 2014, not a single GM species of this plant has been created on planet Earth. This is a fairly stable and healthy crop with a very wide variety of varieties, able to protect itself from most diseases and insects without additional measures to protect those grafted with GM. And from the rest of the misfortunes, there are more familiar and "safe", according to opponents of GMOs, fungicides and insecticides.

In fact, the problem of pigmentation of this useful plant during its processing did not arise in Russia. Back in the 50s of the last century in the United States, garlic began to be processed on an industrial scale into canned puree. The process was extremely simple. The heads and teeth were cleaned and ground, then acetic acid and salt were added to the paste, sealed in jars and pasteurized. However, the contents in some banks acquired a blue-green color, and therefore, due to the non-marketable appearance, such products went into marriage. This effect laid the foundation for research, which, of course, the Russian consumer does not know and does not want to know, because it is much easier to stick a GMO label, “chemistry”, or even worse, “the Chinese are poisoning us” on a normal product.

At present, the following scientific data have been obtained. It is known that when garlic tissue is damaged, its components such as enzymes and essential oils are released and mixed. Under the influence of an enzyme called alinase, the decomposition of alliin, a substance containing sulfur and nitrogen (the full scientific name is allyl sulfide cysteine sulfoxide), is stimulated. The result of the reaction are partially decomposed essential oils - organic derivatives of sulfides and sulfates. Some of these compounds decompose into pyruvic acid, ammonia and thiol. The other part, having reacted with amino acids, forms very strong pigments, which create a color from green to blue.

It is obvious that there is a certain limit in terms of the ratio of the amount of the enzyme alinase, on the one hand, and alliin with other sulfur-containing compounds, on the other. If not all of them decompose into pyruvic acid, ammonia and thiol, then as a result such a paste becomes green. Moreover, the boundary of these concentrations is so thin that, in terms of the degree of pigmentation, plants, even from neighboring beds, can behave in completely different ways. This reaction is more active in the presence of amino acids, at a temperature of +40–80 °C in a slightly acidic medium. However, the synthesis of the pigment practically does not depend on the variety, the presence of metals or their salts, as well as the amount of various microelements in the composition of the plant. To the greatest extent, the tendency to pigmentation depends on the degree of maturity, growing conditions and storage of garlic.

It has long been known that the most useful garlic grown in a warm climate. Under these conditions, the plant matures completely. However, it is these plants that contain the largest amount of alliin and other sulfur-containing compounds, which are considered natural substitutes for antibiotics. They also give intense pigmentation during processing. That is why southern garlic, in particular, Chinese, turns green or blue almost always, unlike its northern counterpart. It's just that in our latitudes it does not have time to ripen, because its homeland is India, and in the cool Central Russian climate it does not form very many such substances. As a result, a conclusion that contradicts Russian mythology: garlic grown in southern countries, including China or Uzbekistan, almost always turns green, but it contains more useful substances than ... Russian. Interestingly, plants grown in Spain have the same pigmentation ability.

What to do?

The first is not to fantasize and not listen to myths. And remember that the formula “leaves should be green, and teeth should be white, and vice versa cannot be” is just a stereotype of aesthetic perception. Garlic that can turn green is not a poison, and it is even more useful than ordinary ... unripe. But if you want to avoid this effect, it should be remembered that the substances responsible for pigmentation are less in freshly harvested and young heads and more in mature ones. During storage, the amount of these substances increases. More of them accumulate during cold - from +1 to +5 ° C storage and much less at room temperature. Moreover, their number can even decrease when the storage temperature changes from cold to room mode.

The reaction of pigmentation slows down significantly at low temperatures, which speaks in favor of storing ready-made products with garlic of southern origin in the refrigerator or in a cold cellar. As a result of a series of experiments, it was found that almost any variety of any origin turns green, if appropriate conditions are created for it. For example, when pickling or salting, peeled teeth with mechanical damage and cuts turn green, from a long-harvested and “ripened” crop during drying, cooked by a hot method and cooled for a long time under a blanket. In some cases, it is possible to slow down, or even completely eliminate pigmentation, by preliminary blanching such teeth in hot water for 3 minutes.

In recipes for pickling and salting, they often write "take young freshly picked garlic" - this is one of the conditions for it not to turn green. In Russia, young, recently harvested garlic has always been used for pickling and pickling, and it was used mainly for harvesting by the cold method. They cleaned them with their hands so as not to damage the teeth and used them as a whole when pickling and pickling other vegetables, such as cucumbers.

The teeth, cut into slices with a knife, could turn blue in both cucumbers and tomatoes during the hot method of preservation in a slightly acidic marinade, and especially during room storage.

If ground, crushed or chopped garlic turns green in hot dishes, then temperature and time factors play a role here. The longer he stays in these dishes, the more likely he is to turn green. In this case, it makes sense to use dried or lightly fried garlic. Do not forget the folk wisdom that says that garlic is served separately. For example, in Russian traditional cuisine they rub a bread crust or serve something like a sandwich in the form of a loaf of bread, poured with sunflower oil with cloves laid on top, cut into thin slices. In Ukrainian cuisine, donuts and a separate container with garlic dressing are served.

The same factors also work when cooking mushrooms, where, in addition, their complex protein composition plays a significant role. Greened garlic in mushrooms especially frightens suspicious Russians. However, this does not correlate in any way with their toxicity. In order to avoid such a “terrible” pigmentation, it is recommended to take obviously young garlic, add it only with a cold harvesting method, or fill the dish with it immediately before serving.

Now about the fat. There are times when even ordinary Russian garlic with lard turns green. In this case, the fat should be stuffed with coarsely chopped cloves and stored in the cold. At low temperatures, pigmentation is much slower.

And once again about the "danger" of green garlic. In hotter regions of the planet, this phenomenon is observed much more often than in Russia, which encountered it only when it became too lazy to grow its own, and it switched to imported, cultivated in southern countries. However, in none of these countries in the entire history of its consumption, not a single case of poisoning with green garlic was recorded. So bon appetit and ignore the somewhat psychedelic look of such a product.

Causes of blue and green garlic during pickling, salting, frying, stewing vegetables, mushrooms. Is a blue or green onion dangerous?

As for pickled or salted mushrooms, if they contain blue or green garlic, everyone comes to only one conclusion - the mushrooms contain poison.

This article will be designed to destroy all existing myths and explain the cause of garlic pigmentation during canning or pickling of various products.

Why did the garlic turn blue and green in pickled tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers: reasons

The decomposition of alliin can be accelerated by high temperatures - from 40 to 80 degrees Celsius.
The blue-green pigment is released in a slightly acidic environment in the presence of amino acids.
Garlic grown in southern latitudes contains a greater amount of cystene sulfoxide allyl sulfide than that grown in more northern latitudes. Therefore, the "southern" garlic will stain much faster and more intensely than the "northern".
Young, freshly picked garlic also cannot boast of having a high concentration of alliin, therefore its pigmentation will be much weaker than that of a stale vegetable.
If garlic is stored at room temperature (20-25 degrees), then alliin in garlic will accumulate less than when stored in a cool room (+1-5 degrees).
By moving the garlic from a cold to a warm room, you can thereby reduce the concentration of alliin in it.

In other words, neither the harmful substances used during the cultivation and feeding of vegetables, nor the poisons allegedly present in mushrooms affect the color of garlic during preservation.

Why imported, Chinese garlic turns blue or green when pickling, canning, pickling: reasons

Answering this question, it is necessary to return to the conclusions of scientists given in the previous paragraph. The coloring of garlic in blue or green during salting, pickling vegetables, is not affected by either its variety or the content of various trace elements in itself or the land in which it was grown.
As for Chinese garlic, here it is necessary to pay attention only to the location of the producing country of this type of garlic. The fact is that China is located much to the south of our homeland. That is why garlic in the fields of this state has time to ripen to its maximum. By the time of ripening of Chinese garlic, the concentration of alliin in it reaches a maximum. It is this fact that explains the one hundred percent coloring of Chinese garlic in the process of pickling or pickling our vegetables.

Why garlic turned blue and green during frying, baking: reasons

In the process of frying or baking, in the case of garlic, two factors work at once that can provoke its pigmentation.
The first factor is the violation of the integrity of garlic - as a rule, garlic is used in dishes in crushed or crushed form, and damage to its shell irreversibly leads to the decomposition of alliin.
The second factor can be called the high temperature that prevails in a frying pan or saucepan - this temperature is also one of the conditions for the rapid decomposition of cysteine sulfoxide allyl sulfide.

Why garlic turned blue and green on food, when salting fat: reasons

Often, in the process of salting lard, housewives have to watch how the garlic, used as an indispensable ingredient, begins to turn green. Most often, this phenomenon can be explained by two reasons - the storage condition of salted fat and damage to garlic tissues. To avoid pigmentation of the latter, it is advisable to use large slices of it and store salted lard in the refrigerator.
You can also observe a change in the color of garlic when added to hot dishes. In such cases, the pigmentation of this vegetable plant can be justified by the temperature regime, the violation of integrity and the time factor. The longer, finely chopped or squeezed through a press, garlic will be in a hot dish, the more likely it is to become pigmented.

Is it possible to eat blue or green garlic?

The whole truth about garlic: Video

Causes of greening or blueing of imported garlic during preservation.

Often, many housewives are faced with a similar problem. For some reason, garlic begins to turn blue or green after conservation. This incident can occur in a variety of cases.

Garlic also changes color when vinegar is added to jars of canned vegetables. How to act in such a situation? Let's take a closer look together.

Why imported, Chinese garlic turns blue or green when pickling, pickling, canning: reasons

Cooking canned vegetables is a real art, because preparing vegetables for the winter, and even so that it turns out tasty and healthy, is not always possible, and not for everyone. One of the most common reasons why preservation loses its attractiveness and useful qualities is green or blue garlic.

In fact, such garlic does not carry any danger with it. But some people may have some doubts at the sight of such ingredients.

Folk wisdom says that garlic, which was brought from China, acquires a bluish and greenish color. But this is not so at all. Changes the color of any garlic, regardless of where it was grown and by what method it was preserved.

Another version, due to which garlic changes color during preservation, is copper, which is part of this product. Experts say that copper, when in contact with vinegar, begins to release a blue or green pigment.

But this theory is not always plausible, since garlic tends to turn blue and green randomly. Sometimes it happens that in one jar, part of the garlic turns green, and part leaves its own natural shade. Scientists were able to get to the bottom of this process and proved that copper is indeed involved in such a process.

Garlic cloves change color during preservation after a violation of the integrity of this ingredient occurs:

During canning, a large number of enzymes and oils are released.
The enzymes that have been released start a chemical reaction during which alliin is destroyed.
Essential oil particles are released. They instantly begin to enter into an active reaction with amino acids.
An unusual greenish-blue pigment appears, which gives color to the garlic.

If you want the color of garlic to remain unchanged during preservation and cooking, try to adhere to the following rules:

During pickling and salting, carefully peel the garlic cloves from the skin so that cracks and cuts do not form.
Use only young garlic for cooking.
Marinate and salt the garlic using the cold method.
Store preservation only in a cool place.
If you will add garlic to hot food, then sauté it a little beforehand and put it in before the end of cooking.
Try to serve garlic cloves separately from cooked hot food if it will be on the table for some time.

Why did the garlic turn blue and green in pickled tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers: reasons

The problem, which concerns the change in the shade of garlic cloves during pickling, has been given a huge amount of attention and no less time. Scientists were able to conduct studies that explained such an unusual phenomenon.

During scientific work, they found out that when the integrity of garlic is violated, its components react. So, for example, alinase begins to destroy allyl sulfide cysteine sulfoxide. As a result, the essential oil decomposes, which is the impetus for the formation of sulfates and sulfides.

From one part of these compounds a large amount of thiol, ammonia, pyruvic acid is formed. The second part begins to release special pigments that are responsible for such an interesting color of garlic.

You may be wondering why not every garlic changes. The answer to this question is very simple - many factors can affect the chance of staining and its intensity.

For example, where garlic was grown, how it was stored, how ripe it was at the time of harvest. In addition, pigment paint begins to appear more actively at a certain temperature and acidity.

Alliin decomposes much faster when the component is exposed to high temperatures, ranging from 40 degrees to 80.
Blue and green pigment begins to stand out in a slightly acidic environment if amino acids are present.
Garlic, which was grown in southern countries, has a lot of cystene sulfoxide allyl sulfide in its composition. What can not be said about garlic, which is grown in northern countries. Therefore, the "southern" garlic is colored much more actively than the "northern" product.
Young garlic that has only recently been harvested may also contain alliin. But despite this, its coloring will be slower than that of yellowed garlic.
If garlic is stored in a room at a temperature of 19-24 degrees, then less alliin will accumulate in the teeth than when stored in a cool place.
If garlic is first stored in a cool room and then in a warm one, the amount of alliin in the teeth can be significantly reduced.

Why garlic turned blue and green when salting fat, on products: reasons

Very often, many hostesses observe such an interesting process - the garlic begins to change color very intensively. This often happens for the following reasons:

Due to improper storage of the main product - salted fat.
Due to the fact that there is damage to the tissues of garlic cloves.

In order to avoid that garlic does not change its natural color, it is advisable to use only large cloves, and store salted lard only in a cool place.

Garlic also often changes color when added to hot food. In such situations, the pigmentation of this vegetable product can be justified as follows - the high temperature that affects the garlic, violates its integrity, plus is a temporary indicator. The longer crushed or chopped garlic is in hot food, the more likely it is to stain.

Why garlic turned blue and green during baking, frying: reasons

During frying or during baking, two main factors begin to influence the garlic, which cause pigmentation of all or some of the cloves.
The first influencing factor is that the same violation of the integrity of this vegetable crop occurs. As a rule, we use minced garlic with a knife or squeezed on a press in the preparation of a particular dish. Due to the fact that the shell of the teeth is damaged, the rapid decomposition of alliin begins.
The second influencing factor is the elevated temperature, which, as a rule, is present in a heated frying pan or in a saucepan. High temperature during cooking (baking, frying) is also considered one of the conditions due to which the rapid decomposition of allyl sulfide cysteine sulfoxide occurs.

Is it possible to eat blue or green garlic?

In those southern countries where garlic is grown in huge quantities, people do not even notice that it changes color. This process is normal. Therefore, you don't have to worry about this either.

Neither the garlic that has turned green, nor the blue teeth when cooking, preserving and salting will bring harm or danger to the human body. Therefore, never fill your own head with such fictions. Try with great pleasure to enjoy those dishes that you love so much!

We offer you preservation recipes during which garlic never changes color:

Recipe 1:

For cooking stock up:

Cucumbers - 4 kg
Parsley - 2 bunch
Vegetable oil - 200 ml
Vinegar - 200 ml
Sugar - 180 g
Garlic - 16 tooth
Salt - 120 g

Cooking process:

Rinse cucumbers, cut into slices. Put in a saucepan.
Chop the parsley. Send to cucumbers.
Pour oil, vinegar. Put in the spices.
Separate the garlic lengthwise to make cloves. Add to the rest of the ingredients.
Leave the components for 6 hours.
Then put in jars, fill with marinade.
Sterilize 25 min.
Roll up.

Recipe 2:

Stock up on the recipe:

Sweet pepper - 2.5 kg
Water - 100 ml
Oil - 200 ml
Salt - 45 g
Sugar - 100 g
Vinegar - 100 ml
Black pepper, allspice
Garlic - 2 goals

Cooking process:

Peel the pepper, cut into pieces.
Clean the garlic. Make sure it is not damaged.
Boil water in a saucepan, add pepper, boil for 4 minutes. Drain the water, put the pepper on a plate to cool.
Add oil and spices to the water. Boil, put the pepper again and boil for 4 minutes. Take the pepper out and let it cool down.
Put the garlic in the marinade, boil for 2 minutes.
In a clean jar, put the garlic, bitter pepper, allspice.
Put sweet pepper.
Boil the marinade, pour it into jars of pepper.
Roll up.

Video: Garlic for preservation

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