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Say goodbye to our blue-ish pickles!

Dillicious pickles are made with the best of the best – we only use the freshest local ingredients we can get our hands on. Each ingredient is sourced with care - our vinegar, apple cider vinegar, Kirby cucumbers, fresh herbs, spice mix and our garlic.

We started out using fresh garlic however learnt a pretty eye-opening lesson early in the game… when you add vinegar to top quality garlic it turns bright blue!! I’m talking, atomic, radio-active looking blue. Not really something you want to see in your jar of pickles….

While we know that despite the colour, this iridescent garlic is safe for consumption, we started our mission to understand why it happens and what we can do to avoid it.

The colour blue is caused by a water-soluble pigment called anthocyanin that belongs in the phenolic group. It is naturally present in garlic and responsible for the red, purple, and blue colours in various fruit and vegetables such as berries, currants and grapes. It is a water-soluble pigment that leaches out in an acidic environment… think of a jar full of cucumbers soaked in vinegar brine!

So, what can we do about it? Here at Dillicious we switched to an Aussie-made granulated garlic. This seems to be doing the trick as granulated garlic has a lower water content compared to fresh garlic.

Some other benefits of us using granulated garlic include the fact that it has a stronger flavour compared to fresh garlic in the same amount!  ¼ can replace a clove of garlic

So, what are you waiting for? Head to our online store to try our dilliciously handmade pickles today!

 

Author: Imtiyaz Ali Mustofa, Dillicious Intern 2022

Bachelor of Nutrition Science student at Monash University

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/imtiyazalim/

 

 

Photo by Donovan Govan on Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garlic.jpg

 

References:

  1. Govan D. File:Garlic.jpg [Internet]. Not applicable: Wikimedia; 2005 [cited 2022 Sep 26]. Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garlic.jpg
  2. Boonpeng S, Siripongvutikorn S, Sae-wong C, Sutthirak P. The antioxidant and anti-cadmium toxicity properties of garlic extracts. Food Sci. Nutr. [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2022 Aug 17];2(6):n/a. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.164
  3. Sharma GP, Prasad S, Chahar VK. Moisture transport in garlic cloves undergoing microwave-convective drying Author links open overlay panel. Food Bioprod. Process [Internet]. 2009 [cited 2022 Aug 17];87(1):11-16. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbp.2008.05.001
  4. Harris LJ. GARLIC Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy. 1997  [cited 2022 Aug 17]. Available from: https://web.uri.edu/foodsafety/files/uc_davis_garlic.pdf
  5. Prince L. GRANULATED GARLIC VS GARLIC POWDER: HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT? [Internet]. n/a: Food Champs; 2022 [updated 2022 Apr 14; cited 2022 Aug 17]. Available from: https://www.foodchamps.org/granulated-garlic-vs-garlic-powder/
  6. Harris LJ. Garlic: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy [Internet]. California: University of California; 2016 [cited 2022 Aug 17]. Available from: https://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/files/251548.pdf
  7. Khoo HE, Azlan A, Tang ST, Lim SM. Anthocyanidins and anthocyanins: colored pigments as food, pharmaceutical ingredients, and the potential health benefits. Food Nutr Res [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2022 Aug 24]; 61(1):21p. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/16546628.2017.1361779

 

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