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Old August 8, 2014   #1
recruiterg
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Default Garlic

I made a batch of refrigerator pickles and the garlic on the bottom of the glass jars turned blue. Apparently, the enzymes and amino acids react with vinegar causing ths reaction. Needless to say, the blue garlic kind of freaked me out.
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Old August 8, 2014   #2
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I just heard about this the other day. It's apparently harmless but still freaky.
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Old August 8, 2014   #3
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I just recently learned about this as well. Garlic contains Anthocyaninins, water-soluble pigments. With acid conditions, it may turn blue or purple. It also contains sulfur compounds, which may react with copper in water to form copper sulfate, a blue compound. Often occurs in jars of pickle, it is recommended to eat the pickles and discard the garlic.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/jos..._solutions.pdf
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Old August 9, 2014   #4
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I believe it only turns blue when using iodized salt. The pickling salt should not make it turn blue.
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Old August 9, 2014   #5
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I only used pickling salt. I believe the reaction is to acid in the vinegar.
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Old August 9, 2014   #6
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I read it was old garlic that did it.
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Old August 9, 2014   #7
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I don't think that is the case either. It appears pretty fresh. It is a purple garlic variety. Not sure if that has anything to do with it...
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Old August 9, 2014   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by recruiterg View Post
I don't think that is the case either. It appears pretty fresh. It is a purple garlic variety. Not sure if that has anything to do with it...
I look on Google as I am sure you have.
It seems there is a whole new internet just for blue garlic.
I have had it happen a few times and it is safe to eat.

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Old August 10, 2014   #9
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In my experience it usually happens if the garlic has been banged up a bit before pickling. Try rolling a couple of cloves together in your hands to loosen up the skin and those cloves are almost guaranteed to turn blue. I always use/eat these, they taste the same as white ones.
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Old December 29, 2014   #10
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I pickle green tomatoes every year and always use extra garlic as fresh as i can buy.
they turn blue/green almost always. They taste the same as the few cloves that stay white.
It must have something to do with the salt or the vineger but i wouldnt worry about it
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Old December 30, 2014   #11
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My mom makes a ton of jars of pickles every year, it is her specialty, and it happens about 1 out of 10 jars. We still eat the pickles and the blue garlic.
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Old December 31, 2014   #12
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Link and information we use when folks ask our garlic farm about blue garlic.

http://www.csiro.au/resources/preser...in-oil-vinegar
Discolouration of bottled garlic in vinegar

Users of bottled garlic in vinegar are occasionally alarmed to find that the product has turned green or blue-green. These colour changes do not make the product unsafe but are obviously undesirable.
The problem of garlic changing colour is associated with the addition of acid which changes the normal pH of the product. This is precisely what is required to ensure that the garlic remains safe but the change in acidity brings about chemical changes in pigments in the garlic.
All plant materials contain various pigments some of which change colour as the pH of the plant tissue is changed by the addition of vinegar or other acids. The most common of these pigments are the anthocyanins which may be blue, colourless or red depending on the pH.
These pigments may be involved in some colour changes observed in preserved garlic but American scientists have identified another more general explanation.
Certain amino acids, natural components of foods, are responsible for many of the pigment characteristics of the onion family which includes garlic. The American scientists have shown that the outstanding difference in composition between garlic which turns green and garlic which does not is the presence of much higher levels of one particular amino acid in the green garlic.
It is not possible to tell by looking at untreated garlic whether it is likely to become green on crushing and acidification. However the work reported indicates that if garlic bulbs are stored for four weeks at a temperature above 23°C prior to processing, the production of the green pigment is prevented.
This may not be practical at the domestic level, but could be a valuable precaution for commercial producers.
Find out more about Food Quality & Safety.
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Old August 23, 2015   #13
Durgan
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Default 23 August 2015 Mortar and Pestle

http://www.durgan.org/2015/August%20...HTML/index.htm 23 August 2015 Mortar and Pestle
Garlic prior for use should be crushed and allowed to sit for at least 15 minutes or longer. Crushing, or pressing garlic and allowing it to sit for ~15 minutes provides enough time for the alliinase and alliin,released from the process,to interact and form allicin,the beneficial product. My method of crushing is to utilize a tortilla press for the initial crush, then hone the process in a mortar and pestle. This method can easily be adapted to processing large quantities of garlic or down to a single clove. The method is efficient and easy to implement, and clean up is simple.
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Old November 10, 2015   #14
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Very nice thread. Appreciate the input
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Old November 11, 2015   #15
henry
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Cracking garlic, this is a time saver. Hold hardneck garlic upside down in hand and give a good hit on a solid surface.
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