# A food chemistry question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 1, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953 "2009-02-01T04:24:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/1 "2009-02-01T04:24:32Z")
I made a lemon chicken recipe from my _Asian Kitchen_ cookbook. The sauce has lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, garlic, chicken stock, wine and corn starch in it. Some of the garlic was thinly sliced, not crushed. It turned emerald green. The result was not fatal since I lived to post. What caused it? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/2 "2009-02-01T07:31:23Z")
There are lots of reactions that cause garlic to turn green or blue, apparently involving the sulfur compounds that it contains. Exposure to acid or copper seems to be the main culprit. > **[Garlic Hints and Tips](https://whatscookingamerica.net/garlictips.htm)** > >  Learn How to Select, Store, Prepare and Cook with Garlic 'Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/3 "2009-02-01T10:39:40Z")
You’re asking entirely the wrong question. The proper question is, “where can I post a link to this recipe so \*\*WhyNot \*\*can make it?” The answer is in Cafe Society, where threads about food go. Or, I suppose, here would work as well. 😉 Oh, and yeah, I agree with **Nametag**. Garlic + lemon (+ iodized salt, especially) = tasty, tasty blue-green garlic. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/4 "2009-02-01T13:26:26Z")
IMO, it’s the acid whether acetic, citric, carbonic, et al. I posit that copper in water supplies got there from low pH aquifers dissolving the piping. Nickel blue garlic is alarming, initially. Hasn’t affected my health though possibly enhanced thread killing ability. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/5 "2009-02-01T14:25:10Z")
According to Daniel Pinkwater, blue Garlic has [astounding](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaves_of_Spiegel) properties! ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/6 "2009-02-01T16:26:32Z")
I made lemon garlic shrimp last night with the same ingredients except for the wine and sugar. The garlic didn’t turn green but it would have been pretty if it had. The garlic was sliced and minced, not crushed either. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/7 "2009-02-01T17:46:33Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > You’re asking entirely the wrong question. The proper question is, “where can I post a link to this recipe so \*\*WhyNot \*\*can make it?” A [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10770793#post10770793), Sir. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/8 "2009-02-01T17:53:28Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > A [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10770793#post10770793), Sir. Yay! Thanks. (And, I don’t know how to break this, but I’m a ma’am. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/9 "2009-02-01T18:17:15Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yay! Thanks. (And, I don’t know how to break this, but I’m a ma’am. 😉 ) A thousand pardons. 🙂 By the way, I cooked some snow peas with the scallions. Next time I will add some shallots, bamboo shoots and ginger to the final stir fry, add the chicken and drizzle the separately prepared sauce on. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-food-chemistry-question/483953/10 "2009-02-01T18:26:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > A thousand pardons. 🙂 > By the way, I cooked some snow peas with the scallions. Next time I will add some shallots, bamboo shoots and ginger to the final stir fry, add the chicken and drizzle the separately prepared sauce on. ok, and when is dinner? =) peeked at the recipe, and we may have it tomorrow … got the classic steak on a grill, bakes and wilted spinach with sesame seeds and toasted sesame oil and a fresh papaya with lime juice for tonight