Is your garlic turning a strange shade of blue or green???

According to the Food Network at www.foodtv.com (published in the Rocky Mountain news 2/20/2002), they looked into the reason pickled garlic sometimes turns blue or green. Garlic contains anthocyanins, water-soluble pigments that turn blue, green or purple in an acid solution. While this color transformation tends to occur more often with immature garlic, it can differ among cloves within the same head of garlic. The garlic flavor remains unchanged, and it totally edible without bodily harm.

On the same subject, our friend, Bob Anderson, explains that garlic contains sulfur compounds which can react with copper to form copper sulfate, a blue or blue-green compound. The amount of copper needed for this reaction is very small and is frequently found in normal water supplies. Raw garlic contains an enzyme that if not inactivated by heating reacts with sulfur (in the garlic) and copper (from water or utensils) to form blue copper sulfate.

The garlic is still perfectly safe to eat.

Garlic exposed to excessive direct sunlight can also turn green and acquire a bitter taste.