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Chemistry in the kitchen?
What made the meat marinade turn blue?
I heated up some salad dressing with the following ingredients:
water, high fructose corn syrup, rice wine, red wine, balsamic, olive oil, soybean oil, salt, garlic, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate, sorbic acid, caldium disodium EDTA, orange peel
I added fresh pressed garlic, then added beef.
Then the garlic in the mixture turned light blue! What chemical reaction occured here? The meat was fresh, not rancid or smelly.
5 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Ahh, the mystery of the blue garlic. :)
To address any concerns you may have first of all, there is nothing wrong with your marinade or garlic. It's a simple reaction between the (possibly) the iodine in the salt you added, and the sulfur content of the garlic, and also possible traces of copper found in some of the other ingredients, including water or even the cooking utensils you may have used in the process. It may also be a reaction between the sorbic acid and the sulfur in your garlic.
Basically, the discoloration is due to pigments that form between sulfur compounds in garlic and amino acids. When you start to process the garlic for use, an enzyme is brought out in the garlic and reacts to the sulfur compounds that then react with the natural amino acids in the garlic to form blue pigments. The age of the garlic can determine how much of the compounds are present, as aging of garlic produces more sulfur. Also, the way in which you have processed the garlic determines how much of the enzyme is present. This in no way means that your garlic is bad.
I hope this has helped you. :)
- Anonymous1 decade ago
Unlike the other clowns to write answers to this question, whom by the way are all getting reported by me, I will write a legitimate response to this answer. Unfortunately, I do not have an answer. This is a fairly complex mixture, and I really don't know chemical make up of garlic. It could be that it is just absorbing color from something, like the red wine or balsamic vinegar. There could be a reaction. If you're concerned about eating it, don't be. If you would eat everything separately, then you can eat it all mixed together.
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