Why did my green tea muffins turn black?
I made green tea muffins following the recipe here. I like my muffins moist and fluffy, so I added banana as suggested by the recipe and replaced half of the baking powder with baking soda. I also added a teaspoon of rice vinegar to activate the baking soda.
Right before baking the mix was vibrantly green, but after 13 minutes in the oven the muffins had turned very dark — and this morning they were even darker.
What happened, and how can I prevent it?
Best Answer
Your first step would be to stick to the recipe. pH changes are well known to interfere with plant pigments. Adding baking soda and vinegar can very well have interfered with something in the muffins, be it the tea or something else. I am not 100% sure this must have been it, but it is the likeliest reason.
Also, I would recommend against making changes to a recipe before you have tried it as-written. You cannot know how changes affect it, and what unintended consequences they have, until you have established a reference. For example, you cannot know if your addition of baking soda made the muffins both fluffier and darker, or if it only made them dark without any change in fluffiness.
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Quick Answer about "Why did my green tea muffins turn black?"
An acidic environment helps preventing this, so the high temperature + banana + not very acidic environment is a fair chance for the reason your muffins turned out so dark.Why is my matcha Cake Brown?
Matcha does not like heat. Prolonged baking time will cause Matcha turns brown. Do control the oven temperature, setting temperature too high will cause matcha turn brown too. Enzymatic browning that was occurring during the matcha's exposure to heat during baking.Why did my muffins turn green?
Why does this happen? This happens when the muffin mix contains a lot of baking soda or also when the baking soda is not mixed properly in the batter. This could result in formation of some alkaline pockets throughout the batter which gets in contact with the fruits.Why is my Matcha powder Brown?
When it comes to matcha, assessing the color plays an important part in determining the quality level. Yellow matcha: If your matcha has a yellowish or brownish hue, this typically means that mature leaves (less optimal) were used to make your matcha, and the more bitter and astringent it will taste.Can I use matcha latte powder for baking?
Tea made with this powder has a very smooth taste. The powder itself also has a very vibrant green color. Ceremonial grade matcha powder is the most expensive but it is my top choice for baking. Because of the vibrant green color of the powder, even after baking, the green color still comes through in baked goods.Green Tea Muffin | CakeLandx
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Answer 2
Reviewing HaroldMcGee and thanks to rumtscho's test, it seems to be more complex than just changing the pH environment.
The culprit is still likely the banana content though. According to Harold McGee, high temperatures can result in the phenolic components of the banana to create a brown discolorization, even if the enzymes who are usually responsible for the browning process of bananas together with oxygen, are no longer active.
An acidic environment helps preventing this, so the high temperature + banana + not very acidic environment is a fair chance for the reason your muffins turned out so dark.
Answer 3
If you take a look at the results of.. why does my tea turn dark dark darker when I add baking soda. The results indicate that the chemistry changes. Acids create lighter colors. Bases remove some acid ions and allow darker base ions to color the product. Use the baking powder and add a squish of lemon juice, the muffins should be lighter..
Answer 4
I blame the banana. Always blaming the banana. Bananas get black, they do.
Go again but this time sub in smashed canned pears and a spoon or 2 of mascarpone cheese instead of banana.
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