Question Yesterday I made some dill pickles, using a kosher recipie I found on the web. The recipie called for garlic cloves, so I peeled several and following directions, I cut the cloves in half, and added them to the jars, filled with cukes, and other spices. This morning the garlic has a turquoise color, everything else looks fine.
Any thoughts on why the turquoise?
Answer You ever seen pickled eggs. They start out white but ends up somewhat of a reddish color. Since white has no color of its own, it is absorbing everything around it and it has changed color. In otherwords the garlic is acting like a sponge and it is absorbing everything around it. The garlic has just aborbed any liquids and odors around it. Or it could just be the bacteria that it soaks up caused by all the ingredients. Thats why cucumbers become pickles when soaked in vinegar and spices, it absorbs bacteria. Don't worry, its harmless bacteria.
I guess you could say that the stuff the garlic is soaked in is acting like food coloring, only with flavor.
