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Ariane Jenkins
 
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Default Garlic/ginger/onion paste turning green?




I was trying to make the chicken korma recipe out of Julie Sahni's _Classic
Indian Cooking_ for dinner tonight. It begins with sauteeing a mixture of 3
cups finely chopped onion, 1 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic, and 1 (okay, I used more
than that) cloved minced garlic. I used canola oil, and a nonstick pan. The
cooking utensil was one of those OXO nylon ones. I used a regular carbon
steel knife to chop the onions/garlic/ginger, but further pureed it in a
food processor to get a smoother consistency.

And the mixture turned GREEN. Pale green at first, but getting darker toward
pea green as it continued to cook. This has happened once before, and I have
no idea why.

I dumped out the first batch, then started again using only garlic and onion.
Again, it started turning green. I decided not to continue because the last
time it did this and I finished the recipe it tasted...off. No point in
completing the dish when it won't taste right, but now I'm out of onions and
can't make a third attempt until I buy some more.

Anyone have any ideas for why this happens and what I can do to prevent it
again? Ruining dinner is one of the surest ways to put me in a foul mood.

Ariane
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Victor Sack
 
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Ariane Jenkins > wrote:

> And the mixture turned GREEN. Pale green at first, but getting darker toward
> pea green as it continued to cook. This has happened once before, and I have
> no idea why.


It seems that under acidic conditions garlic can sometimes turn green,
which is harmless. See, for example,
<http://www.apinchof.com/garlicqanda.htm>.

At <http://www.foodsafetycentre.com.au/factsheets/oilvine.htm> you will
also find the following:
<quote>
Certain amino acids, natural components of foods, are responsible for
many of the pigment characteristics of the onion family which includes
garlic. The American scientists have shown that the outstanding
difference in composition between garlic which turns green and garlic
which does not is the presence of much higher levels of one particular
amino acid in the green garlic.

It is not possible to tell by looking at untreated garlic whether it is
likely to become green on crushing and acidification. However the work
reported indicates that if garlic bulbs are stored for four weeks at a
temperature above 23°C prior to processing, the production of the green
pigment is prevented.
</quote>

I don't know why your recipe once tasted off.

Victor
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nancree
 
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Hi , Ariane
Quite a puzzle you have there. I notice you mentioned garlic twice
in the ingredients. Did you, perhaps, leave out some other ingredient
in the list?

" It begins with sauteeing a mixture of 3
cups finely chopped onion, 1 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic, and 1 (okay, I
used more
than that) cloved minced garlic. I used canola oil, and a nonstick
pan."

Or could it have been something in the food processer that set it off?
Let us know what you find out.

Nancree

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Ariane Jenkins
 
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On 9 Aug 2005 15:45:16 -0700, nancree > wrote:
> Hi , Ariane
> Quite a puzzle you have there. I notice you mentioned garlic twice
> in the ingredients. Did you, perhaps, leave out some other ingredient
> in the list?
>
> " It begins with sauteeing a mixture of 3
> cups finely chopped onion, 1 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic, and 1 (okay, I
> used more
> than that) cloved minced garlic. I used canola oil, and a nonstick
> pan."
>
> Or could it have been something in the food processer that set it off?
> Let us know what you find out.


Oops, I accidentally typed garlic twice in the post, the first mention
should've been ginger.

I wondered about the food processor too, but can't imagine what
difference it would make vs. chopping it all by hand.

Ariane

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Ariane Jenkins
 
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On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:35:36 +0200, Victor Sack > wrote:
>
> It seems that under acidic conditions garlic can sometimes turn green,
> which is harmless. See, for example,
><http://www.apinchof.com/garlicqanda.htm>.
>
> At <http://www.foodsafetycentre.com.au/factsheets/oilvine.htm> you will
> also find the following:
><quote>
> Certain amino acids, natural components of foods, are responsible for
> many of the pigment characteristics of the onion family which includes
> garlic. The American scientists have shown that the outstanding
> difference in composition between garlic which turns green and garlic
> which does not is the presence of much higher levels of one particular
> amino acid in the green garlic.
>
> It is not possible to tell by looking at untreated garlic whether it is
> likely to become green on crushing and acidification. However the work
> reported indicates that if garlic bulbs are stored for four weeks at a
> temperature above 23°C prior to processing, the production of the green
> pigment is prevented.
></quote>
>
> I don't know why your recipe once tasted off.


Thanks, Victor. After going to the store and buying more onions, I
tried again--this time, not sauteeing the ginger and garlic with the
onions until after they'd caramelized. No green this time, and it
smells/looks the way it should. It's still too hot to taste test,
unfortunately.

We'll have it for dinner later this week.

Ariane
--
Dysfunction: The only consistent feature of all your dissatisfying
relationships is you.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/dysfunction.html


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