Can sweet and sour garlic be eaten when it turns green? How to make it?

The custom of eating sweet and sour garlic is popular all over the country. It is called sugar garlic in the Jiangnan region and Laba garlic in the Northeast region. There are many benefits to keeping some sweet and sour garlic at home. It can kill bacteria, prevent influenza, and enhance immunity. However, you will find that the sweet and sour garlic will turn green after being pickled for a period of time. Is this normal? Can you still eat it after it turns green?

1. Can you eat sweet and sour garlic when it turns green?

The greening is a biochemical reaction between garlic and vinegar at low temperatures, which makes it edible to the public. There are some active substances hidden in garlic. Under the action of enzymes, these substances will turn into allicin. Allicin is a good thing. It has strong antioxidant and anti-aging effects. Therefore, eating sweet and sour garlic has certain health benefits for the human body. However, allicin prefers low temperatures, and the temperature is lowest around Laba Festival in the year, so the garlic soaked in sweet and sour garlic is more likely to turn green at this time.

Research has found that the green pigment in "sweet and sour garlic" is actually composed of a blue pigment that is generated first and a yellow pigment that is generated later. The transformation process of producing pigments is that alliin is produced first and then converted into allicin. The production time of allicin is very short and it is converted into allicin. During the garlic processing process, there have been reports both at home and abroad that the garlic paste turns green. The green pigment produced is not the common chlorophyll, but the same green pigment component as the traditional Chinese food sweet and sour garlic.

2. How to eat sweet and sour garlic

Ingredients: 6 pounds of new garlic, 4 pounds of vinegar, 200 grams of brown sugar (can be adjusted according to personal taste), and two spoons of salt (not too much, it will be unpalatable if it is too salty).

Method: Peel off the skin to reveal the garlic cloves. Cut off the roots, clean the garlic buds, soak them in clean water overnight to remove the spicy taste of garlic, and then dry them. Boil vinegar, brown sugar and salt for 1-2 minutes. Put the garlic in the bottle. Let the vinegar juice cool down, make sure it is completely cool, and pour it into a bottle. Soak the whole garlic in vinegar. Be sure to seal and cover tightly. It can be opened and eaten after one month.