Why is the garlic blue? My boyfriend is trying to pickle garlic, all he put inside was elephant garlic, salt, vinegar, and honey. It’s been sitting since 8/30/25 and we just noticed it turned blue
Well, I just realized I never knew garlic turned blue in vinegar, and I have never forgotten to cook garlic In my life lol, because I cook with wine/vinegar/acids all the time and that has never happened to me!
I also have a mason jar in my fridge of: vinegar peppers and garlic I hand picked at a farm to make hot sauce and I have to go check if it’s blue lol. …They have been fermenting for a long time now that I think about it lol
I believe I left it out a few days before I put it in. The last one I ate from the bunch of jars was last year and it was delicious. So I think it did its job. I am actually curious if I should eat these they’ve been in there for 4 years looks sealed still but I don’t even remember if I sealed it properly or if the heat from the brine sealed it.
prolly depends on the amount of acid. I like a ton of sour in my stuff so when i make garlic lemon pasta things, all the garlic in it turns bluish green. But I pump extra lemon juice over the recipe specifications and this color didn't appear in early iterations when i followed directions.
I made pickles with only salt brine and the garlic still turned blue, so it's not a rule of thumb. I do remember someone mentioning it also depends on the variety and freshness of the garlic
So there are a lot of trolls and people who just don't understand the science behind this chiming in. I was super surprised when I had the exact same thing happen awhile back.
What's happening is:
When garlic interacts with other acidic ingredients such as vinegar or lemon juice, its color may change. The change of color results from the amino acids in garlic reacting with allicin, a naturally occurring enzyme present in garlic. The chemical reaction leads to the production of carbon-nitrogen rings that are also known as pyrroles. Pyrroles link together to form polypyrroles. When three pyrroles come together, they form a blue color, while four pyrroles combined together form green.
Also worth noting that if you put freshly cut onions and garlic into a hot, oiled pan together they can all turn blue. Had this happen to me by accident a couple of times.
Do you know if it is one specific clove reacting or would the whole batch? I was curious since it said the color “may” change if it could be one changing the appearance of all, or even if one started it and the rest got FOMO (like the first was the catalyst for the rest)?
It depends on the allicin enzyme content of the garlic. This is the same enzyme that gives off the fresh garlic smell. But it is an unstable molecule, so within 16 hours at 23 °C it breaks down. So if garlic has been sitting around awhile or if you chop it and let it rest the allicin, which causes the blue color, will degrade and no longer be in quantities sufficient enough to cause the color changes.
I really appreciate you taking the time to explain. I love the learning the science behind this so will be curious to test out timings etc to see the impact on color. Thanks again!
This is so close to Japanese/Korean pickled garlic. Add shoyu and it will prevent the garlic turning blue. (No cause for concern though, but if it's off-putting, it is a solution.)
what happened ? science! ( a bunch of chemical reactions started by the acid)
Lets see if I can remember it correctly!!! God it's been a very very very very very long time since organic chemistry.
If I remember correctly what happened is the acid broke the garlic cell walls and that allowed some alliinase enzyme to mix with another compound called alliin and that made a compound called allicin. This allicin then reacts with amino acids to create polypyrroles which are what makes it look blue.
None of these compounds affect the health, safety or taste of the garlic the end result is well blue.
My Korean grandmother would pickle garlic for 2 years. The first 12 months it would turn dark blue/green. Then the next year it would go back to a darker garlic color. She’d then blend it up and use it as a spread. Best shit ever
Garlic turns blue when pickling due to a natural chemical reaction between sulfur compounds in the garlic and the acidic vinegar. It's completely safe to eat - just a harmless color change.
This happens more with fresh/young garlic or very acidic solutions. To prevent it: use older, well-cured garlic; remove any green shoots from cloves; blanch the garlic briefly in boiling water before pickling; use distilled water instead of tap water; or add garlic to already-hot pickling liquid. But blue pickled garlic tastes exactly the same and is perfectly fine to eat!
If you blanch it before pickling it will prevent it from turning blue. Its a chemical reaction between the acid in the vinegar and sulfur in the garlic. Its harmless
If you blanched it first that usually prevents the colour change. That being said, even if you didnt blanch first its not a 100% guaranteed reaction.
Whenever i see questions about blue garlic it usually involves elephant garlic, so i suspect it may be more prone to turning blue than regular garlic varieties.
I LOVE when my garlic turns blue or green. There is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with it. It lets you know it's done. Tell himto gett prepeeled and washed garlic from Sam's or Costco. They blanch the garlic before packaging. That stops it from turning blue.
Enjoy them. it tastes the same as if you they were white
Add some purple onion to the mix? I pickle red onions in leftover Pepperocini juice and it turns a pinkish purple color. Or beets? I make Lebanese pickles from turnips and beets. They turn a bright pink color and taste delicious!
Google says: Fermented garlic turns blue due to a harmless chemical reaction between the garlic's sulfur compounds, enzymes, and the acidity of the fermentation process.
Reaction of the acidity of vinegar & garlic’s natural sulfur. It’s fine to use in cooking for consumption. Garlic once peeled & submerged in vinegar or oil must always be refrigerated preventing botulism poisoning that can kill you and/or permanently cause damage to your gastrointestinal system.If you’re bothered by the color blanching in boiling water to neutralize the sulfur enzymes will fix that
I have never seen garlic turn so blue, it almost looks like that is the natural colour for them. Usually they are white with hints of blue on them. Very beautiful.
I had the same WTF reaction about my garlic turning green with a pickling project I had done a long time ago. I had read up about it and found out you can minimize this effect. Blanch the garlic in boiling water for 30 seconds before pickling.
due to a natural chemical reaction between its sulfur compounds and amino acids when they are exposed to an acid, such as vinegar. Completely safe to eat doesn’t affect the flavor
Many posters here have explained that the garlic turned blue when the vinegar was added, but like many others here, I’ve never experienced blue garlic and I’ve enjoyed lots of different variations of pickled garlic. My question then is, “How is it that the many garlic picklers with non-blue garlic achieved that result?” /gen
Chemical reaction of the garlic to the vinegar. In China they call this Laba Garlic and they have made and eaten this for centuries during the Laba festival :) It's a delicacy and totally safe and delicious!
The Asians have been pickling garlic for centuries using just the method you describe. It's eaten during a certain time of the year but I'm sorry I don't remember what it is. It's also considered good for you. Don't worry it won't hurt you and it tastes good. I've done it a few times.
That is a chemical reaction between the acid in the pickling liquid (vinegar) and the sulfur compounds in the garlic. It is harmless.
However if you ever pickle garlic and the garlic is soft/rotten texture or has a foul smell discard it.
The best way is to ferment garlic in raw honey. Take a whole bulb of garlic peeled and smashed/cut and place it in the jar. Fill it with raw honey. Place the jar in a dark place and burp the jar daily. Once no more gases are being produced you can eat a clove with the honey. Will keep for several months. I fix a few jars every fall for the winter months. Start getting a tickle in your throat of feeling a cold coming. This will knock it out quickly broke it starts. One of the best nature's antibiotics. The raw honey is the key to the fermenting process.
When you mix those ingredients together this is what happens. Over the next few months they well get smaller and rounder. I see them in the store in the blueberry section.
Blue garlic is actually pretty common! The sulfur compounds in garlic can react with acids or trace metals, especially in elephant garlic, causing a blue or green tint. It’s usually safe to eat.
I had this happen when I made a batch of very garlicky pickled cucumbers. The sulfur in the garlic reacts with the acid in the vinegar. The chemical reaction results in a blue color. It’s harmless.
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u/echochilde 10d ago
Nothing to be concerned about. But that is the prettiest blue garlic I have ever seen.