Canning is a separate type of culinary art. Harvesting vegetables for the future is a complex and responsible process. Often, as cooking products for the winter, housewives encounter problems, the most common of which is the purchase of garlic in a marinade with blue-green vinegar. How to explain this phenomenon from a chemical point of view? How to use this knowledge to prevent the unpleasant process of staining a vegetable? Find out from our article!
Why does garlic turn blue when canning: historical information
Mass industrial processing of garlic, which arose in American factories in the 50s of the last century, added concern to biochemists. The fact is that the standard scheme for turning the garlic crop into canned puree (grinding - mixing with salt and vinegar - packaging by containers - sterilization and rolling) once failed: huge volumes of the finished product were written off and not allowed for sale as a result of turning blue.
The gastronomic incident launched a series of biochemical research activities, during which scientists found out why the garlic turns blue in the marinade.
Biochemists say ...
The scientific rationale for turning the garlic blue in the vinegar marinade is as follows: the color transformations of garlic during the preservation process are due to the release of essential oil and enzyme components as a result of the destruction of the vegetable tissue. A representative of the latter, alinases, leads to the decomposition of alliin, which entails the process of dividing the essential oils into sulfates and sulfides.
Organic compounds form:
- thiol, ammonia and pyruvic acid - as a result, garlic gets an unpleasant odor;
- pigments that give garlic a blue-green color.
What does this mean for the ordinary cook?
We prevent blueing of garlic in marinade
Have you tried a dozen recipes for canning tomatoes for the winter, and the garlic is still turning blue? The main reasons for this phenomenon are not hidden at all in the preparation recipe - the staining process is determined by such factors as the maturity of the product and the conditions in which the garlic was grown and stored.
An important factor is the conditions in which he underwent heat treatment.
No more questions about why garlic turns blue in a marinade: canning secrets
So, the release of blue-green pigment is due to a slightly acidic environment in which amino acids are present. Our culinary goal is to reduce the effects of alliin. What actions should be taken to prevent garlic from turning blue?
Give preference to garlic, the origin of which is the northern latitudes. The fact is that vegetables grown in the southern latitudes are distinguished by a high content of allyl sulfide, an enzyme responsible for the intense coloring of garlic.
If you are wondering why the garlic turns blue when canning, then it is likely that when choosing products for the preparation of winter preparations, you did not choose young and freshly picked, but old and stale garlic. And since the latter is characterized by a high concentration of alliin, its pigmentation is stronger than the coloring of a fresh vegetable.
To prevent the blueing of garlic will allow its storage in the right conditions. So, the vegetable must be stored at room temperature (from 20 to 25 degrees) - observing this rule, you can prevent the active accumulation of alliin that occurs during storage at a low temperature (1-5 degrees heat).
Nevertheless, it is important to note that preservation should be kept at low temperatures - so garlic does not exactly turn blue by the time it needs to be opened.
The intensity of pigmentation of alliin depends on the temperature at which pickling or canning of vegetables occurs. So, in order to maintain a pleasant appearance of pickles, culinary experts recommend harvesting food for the winter in a cold way.
When cleaning the heads of garlic from the husk, try to be as careful as possible: the less damage to the surface of the vegetable, the lower the risk of ultimately getting blue-green garlic.
A universal tip to forget about the question: “Why does garlic turn blue in a marinade?”
Culinary experts recommend: regardless of the conditions in which the garlic has grown, stored or processed, soaking for three hours in cold water prevents any kind of garlic from turning blue!
Is it possible to eat blueberry garlic as food
Winter evening, the whole family sits down at the table, dad opens a can of canned tomatoes carefully prepared in the summer season ... and here is the misfortune! Blue garlic spoiled not only the appearance of beautiful red tomatoes, but also the appetite of the participants in the meal. Housewives instantly have a series of questions: “Why does garlic turn blue when canning tomatoes?” and "Is it dangerous to eat it?"
Blue Garlic - Safe!
Indeed, the blueberry garlic "do not take attractiveness." However, scientists found that alliin is a harmless substance, so the use of a pigmented product will not affect human health negatively. Moreover, in the southern countries where garlic with a high concentration of the coloring enzyme grows, no one pays attention to staining the vegetable and the question of why the garlic turns blue in the marinade is not asked.
Thus, eating blueberry garlic as food is absolutely safe! First of all, enjoy the taste and not the appearance of the dish.
How to marinate garlic
In the world of cooking, there are countless recipes for canning tomatoes for the winter with garlic, but jars of pickled garlic according to the classic recipe will bring real benefits among the fierce winter.
First of all, you need to prepare all the ingredients:
11 large garlic heads;
a few pods of chili pepper;
black pepper (peas);
2-3 bay leaves;
salt, sugar, spices and vinegar (to taste).
The cooking process is extremely simple!
Prepare garlic and pepper pods: peel, rinse thoroughly. Chop the pepper.
Dilute 700 ml of water with a tablespoon of vinegar, add 5-10 peas of black pepper, a couple of bay leaves, 30 g of salt and sugar, spices - bring the mixture to a boil and allow to cool.
Separately, boil 2 liters of water, which must be salted with two tablespoons of salt. Pour garlic over it.
Put garlic and slices of pepper in prepared jars. Pour marinade.
Leave the cans tightly closed with their lids upside down until they have completely cooled.
You can get the dish on the table after 2 weeks of storage in a cool place. Bon Appetit! As noted above, the recipe does not have much effect on the process of garlic pigmentation, but cold pickling helps to avoid blueing.