Orange Garlic
So I was cooking up a tasty stir-fry last night for myself and herself, and while I was peeling the garlic (LOADS of garlic), I came across the oddest thing. When I peeled the skin off one garlic clove, the clove was orange. It kinda looked like a segment of a mandarin/satsuma, and smelled kinda like the smell you get from a garlic capsule (you know, the ones that look like cod-liver-oil capsules). Click the image there for a larger view (the orange clove is the one that's orange...). All the other cloves, as you can see, are totally normal.
Anyhoo, it was fucking weird. So I had to take a photo, and blog it (obviously). Has anyone seen anything like this before? Or can anyone shed any light on why exactly one of my garlic cloves was fucking ORANGE?! Needless to say, it didn't go into the stir-fry.
Nice one dudes.
(posts)
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Comments
I tell you, I've never seen anything like it before and i've chopped up lots of garlic.
Freaky, and I have no idea why it would have happened. Next step in the garlic evolution?
Posted by: fusedreality | February 26, 2008 6:18 PM
Are you saying... That it might be...
ALIEN SUPER-GARLIC?!
OMGWTFROFLMAO.
And I threw it in the bin. I could've made MILLIONS!
Posted by: Matt | February 26, 2008 7:58 PM
The only time I've seen that is when garlic was frozen and then re-thawed ... no idea how one clove on a head could get frozen though. :-)
Posted by: alphabitch | February 26, 2008 10:33 PM
I have never seen anything like that before ever in my whole entire life. Did you taste it? I would have had to have tasted it, just a teeny bit, just to see did it taste funky? How bizarre is that?
Posted by: Babs | February 27, 2008 12:43 AM
PS: Where did you get that fantastical Global knife?? Whoever gave that to you must be just the most brilliantest person ever!
Posted by: Babs | February 27, 2008 12:45 AM
The garlic wasn't frozen or re-thawed, and yes only one clove on the bulb was like this.
I didn't taste it, no. It smelled like a garlic capsule, as I said. I didn't fancy tasting it, as I'm not a big fan of death by garlic poisoning (or something). It looked like it would've made me violently ill.
The Global knife is, indeed, awesome. Especially since I sharpened it, it will cut through anything now.
Posted by: Matt | February 27, 2008 12:51 PM
Hi
I was trying to make a fried rice today and found exactly the same - smelled exactly like a pickled garlic clove - cut it open to see if there were any worms etc - none - not even any sign of a perforation on the skin of clove - have saved this in my fridge just to see what happens !!!!!
Posted by: Ganga | May 15, 2008 1:41 PM
It's spreading... Soon the orange garlic will take over the world, one stir-fry at a time...
Posted by: Matt | May 15, 2008 3:46 PM
Waxy breakdown is a physiological disorder that affects garlic during latter stages of growth and is often associated with periods of high temperature near harvest. Early symptoms are small, light yellow areas in the clove flesh that darken to yellow or amber with time. Finally the clove is translucent, sticky and waxy, but the outer dry skins are not usually affected. Waxy breakdown is commonly found in stored and shipped garlic but rarely in the field. Low oxygen levels and inadequate ventilation during handling and storage may also contribute to development of waxy breakdown.
Posted by: Ganga | May 16, 2008 1:40 AM
Hi
could not rest till i found the answer .. here it is and I found another site with the strange orange garlic question !!!!!
Have fun
Ganga
Posted by: Ganga | May 16, 2008 1:42 AM
Today, I was peeling garlic and I found the orange garlic and went on the net to find info on it and I was excited that someone else had the same thing. But what does it may....
Thanks
Helen
Posted by: Helen | June 22, 2008 10:52 PM
It's a physiological disorder called "Waxy Breakdown", as linked to by the previous commenter. There's also another good photo here, as well as more explanation in the comments.
Posted by: Matt
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June 23, 2008 11:16 AM