Ginger garlic paste is considered to be the most important part of cooking. Besides giving a pleasant smell to the food, it also helps in digestion and softens the meat. Mostly it is made fresh by many homes before cooking the food.
1- Garlic Paste Turns Green Is It Safe
- It is perfectly alright to use garlic paste when it turns green. The color change happens due to the change in temperature of the place where it is stored.
- pH also determines that the solution is acidic or alkaline. So the substances that change the color like vinegar, and lemon, show the acidic pH and change the color of the paste to green.
- Chopped or minced garlic is more liable to change the color to green because it is in paste form, so the enzymes are directly exposed to the normal temperature.
- Garlic paste that is cooked completely or partially at a low temperature is liable to change color because the chemical substances and the enzymes are left exposed in the process. So they react to each other and change the color to green.
- Garlic age also matters in the color change because the older garlic enzymes react quickly to sulfur compounds that gradually lead to turning the green color.
It is good to use but I prefer not to use it again and again, always keep it in small packs in the refrigerator and take it out when you need it for cooking.
When chopped garlic combined with acidic ingredients like vinegar, salt, lemon, etc, causes a change in the color of the garlic. So it is an obvious thing to change the color green and react with the substances that can change the color to green.
2- How To Stop Garlic From Turning Green
Below are some tips to stop the garlic from turning green.
1. Avoid Using Garlic with Acid
When you are cooking with garlic, it is best to use fresh garlic instead of the pre-minced stuff that you can buy at the store. This is because the pre-minced garlic has a high chance of going bad quickly.
If you are using fresh garlic, you can usually keep it in the fridge for about a week. However, if you are using pre-minced garlic, it is best to keep it in the fridge and use it within a few days.
Garlic that turned green is due to garlic age. The older garlic builds up to larger quantities of chemical material than the fresh garlic.
If you want to stop the coloration altogether, use fresh garlic instead of old garlic or the garlic you stored, and keep the garlic in the fridge until you cook it.
2. Cook Onion and Garlic Separately
Do not blend or chop the garlic with the raw onion because it contains the properties that can turn the garlic green. First cook the onion then add garlic to it.
But if you cook garlic alone, then cook it at a high flame and don’t mix it with any acidic substance until it is fully cooked.
3. Keep It Refrigerated
Also, keep the garlic cold, because at low temperatures, garlic will be safe, but at high temperatures, the reactions speed up and change the coloration.
4. Try Dry Ginger And Garlic
In the preparation of ginger garlic paste always try to use the dry ginger garlic paste because it will reduce the bacterial growth and hence ginger garlic paste will not turn green.
Garlic Turned Green: Is It Safe?
3- Onion Garlic Paste Turns Green
The reason behind the onion-garlic paste turning green is the same as ginger garlic paste. The coloration is normal as it happens because of some chemical reactions between garlic, water, and the utensils in which it is cooked.
Factors that affect the onion are the same that affect the garlic paste-like pH, temperature, age, etc. Mostly the age of the onion affects the onion paste that turns the color treen.
4- Why Does Ginger Paste Turns Green
Below are the main reasons for which ginger garlic paste turns green.
1. There Might Be Excess Water Content In The Paste
Ginger paste is used in many dishes in India. To make a ginger paste on a large scale, please add a little water while grinding. But the excessive addition of water will spoil your paste, and garlic paste turns green. So, try to avoid the excessive use of water in the ginger paste.
2. You May Have Used A Rotten Piece Of Ginger Or Garlic In The Paste
Is your garlic paste turned green? It might be because you have used a rotten piece of garlic in the paste. That helps the bacteria to grow in the paste. So,
1. Don’t use even a single rotten garlic or ginger piece.
2. Throw it away
3. Opening The Paste Container Several Times
You may find yourself opening the paste container many times if you prepare various dishes in a day. But, it’s not a good job because it may affect the paste quality. When the container opens, moist air enters the container. Due to this air, the shelf life of the ginger garlic paste is drastically reduced.
4. No Proper Space For Storage
For a longer storage life of ginger garlic paste, you need a specified room temperature. But if you don’t provide the required temperature, then it’s likely to impact the storage life of the paste.
Ginger garlic paste is liable to turn green when blended because if we keep it for more than a week, it changes color. As garlic contains enzyme alliin that reacts with the metal to become acidic so, make sure to use fresh ginger garlic paste.
Although it is ok to use the green paste of ginger garlic because after turning green, there is no change in taste, but if we keep the paste for more than a month, there will be a chance of bad odor.
As we can store the ginger paste for a long time at a low temperature, which makes it less acidic, and due to this, some of the pigmented enzymes change the color to green. It is safe to eat, but if the taste has been changed, it is better to use the fresh ginger paste.
5- Preservatives Used In Ginger Garlic Paste
Three natural preservatives are used to preserve ginger garlic paste. Turmeric, Salt, and oil.
1- Use Oil
Water is the main reason for spoiling food. So the best way to avoid the usage of water in food is oil.
Add oil to the ginger garlic paste to preserve it. Because oil helps in protecting the paste by turning green.
Pickled Garlic Health Benefits | 23 Amazing Benefits+Table
2- Use Salt
As salt is considered to be a natural preservative. It helps preserve many food items like pickles, fruits, vegetables, meat, etc.
So, you can also use salt to preserve ginger garlic paste as it protects the paste from turning green.
3- Use Turmeric
Turmeric has various advantages; it can be used as a preservative in food items. It can also be used to preserve ginger paste; it helps in protecting the paste from green coloration.
6- How To Stop Garlic Paste From Turning Green When Pickling
Sometimes, the preservatives that are used to preserve the garlic pickle damage the cell membranes of garlic cloves. It causes amino acid and sulfur compounds to mix.
So if you want to avoid the color change of garlic, follow these steps to save the garlic when pickling.
- Distilled water should be used because distilled water doesn’t have the traces of metals as tap water has. have
- Use common salt instead of iodine because it has some acidic properties.
- Use non-stick utensils or cookware to avoid metals like copper, cast iron, and tin.
- Wash out the garlic gently for 10 seconds or more; it helps in preventing coloration and affects taste.
- Keeping the garlic pickled far from the sunlight can prevent chlorophyll formation.
FAQ’S
Is It Safe to Eat Green or Blue Garlic?
Yes, it is safe to eat green or blue garlic. The green or blue color is caused by a reaction between the sulfur in the garlic and the air, and it does not affect the flavor or nutritional value of the garlic.
How To Keep The Ginger Garlic Paste Safe From Turning Green?
Ginger garlic paste, made from ground ginger and garlic, is often used to add a zesty flavor to dishes. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended that you add a bit of sugar to the ginger garlic paste to balance the flavors and stop the greening.
How To Prepare Ginger Garlic Paste If You Don’t Have a Blender?
- Ginger garlic paste is easy to make.
- You don’t have to peel the ginger before making the paste.
- You don’t have to peel the garlic either.
- You can use the same grater for both ingredients.
- You can also chop the garlic and ginger together.
- You can add herbs to the paste too.
Conclusion: Ginger Garlic Paste Turns Green
Try to use fresh ginger and garlic to make a paste. It will give you a better taste than stored ginger garlic paste.
Ginger garlic paste turns green due to not being stored properly. If you keep the paste at a low temperature in the freezer, it will last for a long time.
References:
https://www.academia.edu/download/38598939/mKcKnL1G-32-41.pdf
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-020-04620-1
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf072075t
Medically reviewed and edited by:
Adila Zakir (USA Federal Drug Authority Certified)
