Garlic turned to black powder?
Today I cut open a garlic bulb only to discover that the core was mostly black powder. What on earth was that? I've never seen it before in my life. From the outside the bulb seemed to be fine. It wasn't obviously rotten or dark or anything like that.
Best Answer
Your garlic was moldy within it's peel, then dried out, leaving you with a "garlic mummy". This happens occasionally, sometimes with a single clove, sometimes with the entire head.
According to the OSU Plant Clinic, there are different types of mold commmon on garlic, but most seem to be visible from the outside. In your case, the infamous Aspergillus niger seems to be the likely culprit, because it can enter though small wounds or even the neck when the leaves dry out, leaving the outer layers of the skin intact. It produces a large(ish) amount of black spores that look like a powder.
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Your garlic was moldy within it's peel, then dried out, leaving you with a "garlic mummy". This happens occasionally, sometimes with a single cloveWhy is my garlic turning black?
Garlic turns black when cooked for a long time at a low temp because of the Maillard Reaction. The Maillard Reaction occurs when sugars and amino acids in food react with heat and produce complex molecules (which then produce more complex molecules) until hundreds of various molecules are present.Can I eat garlic with black mold?
Throw the lot away. Mold is not always visible but when it is, the mycelium may be present in the entire substance, especially in foods with high moisture content. Eating the mycelium can make you sick and it can continue to develop mold after you've cut the moldy parts away.How do I know if garlic is 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 is my garlic GREY?
The sulfur compounds in garlic (thiols of some type) can be broken up by active enzymes in the garlic allowing the sulfur to react with any copper in the solution. This results in copper sulfides which is what you see as the "blue" discoloration.How To Make Black Garlic At Home, Easily
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