What turned my garlic purple?
I commonly use a technique when caramelizing onions, in which I add the sliced onions to a pan with salt, oil, and water. The water softens the onions and helps cook them evenly such that by the time it all boils away, they caramelize quickly and evenly.
I decided to use this technique on garlic the other day, when making a garlic and oil sauce for pasta, and was surprised to find that the garlic turned a fairly vivid shade of purple!
What happened? Was it some reaction the garlic had to the boiling? Or could it have been a reaction with the cast iron pan I was using?
Best Answer
From UC Davis:
Question: Why did my garlic turn blue? Answer: Garlic contains anthocyanins, water-soluble pigments that can turn blue or purple under acidic conditions. This is a variable phenomenon that is more pronounced for immature garlic but can differ among cloves within a single head of garlic. If you grow your own garlic, be sure to mature it at room temperature for a couple of weeks before using it.
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Quick Answer about "What turned my garlic purple?"
The purple is just the anthocyanins in the garlic reacting to conditions. It's perfectly safe. Some types of garlic actually turn purple before they are picked if they are fertilized close to maturity; I do this now by choice, because I've decided I like the purple.Why Did Our Garlic Turn Blue? Is It Safe To Eat?
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