Garlic is still one of the essential herbs utilized in almost all cuisines since ancient times. This herb is inexpensive and a common ingredient that is utilized to give flavor to foods, and it thrives in bulb shape with lobes inside. Garlic has a good taste, distinct fragrance, and intense flavor and is loaded with antioxidants and antibiotic components.
Have you seen garlic with purple sheath while looking for the white ones and wondered about the reason for it? Although this herb is commonly white, it is accessible in a variety of types that thrive in other colors, including pink, black, purple, etc. The primary distinctions between purple and white garlic are associated with their color, accessibility, appearance, and cloves, which will be detailed in the next section.
White Garlic Vs. Purple Garlic: 8 Major Differences
Below are the common facts that differentiate white and purple garlic, which makes it easy to understand the primary distinctions between these two varieties.
1. Nutritional Value
White garlic is prominent for retaining considerable amounts of vitamin B6, manganese, fiber, Vitamin C, and selenium. Also, this variety has excess amounts of selenium and germanium that are prominent for enhancing the overall body working.
Purple garlic bulbs retain more antioxidant and hypoglycemic content. It is best to check out garlics.com to see various purple garlic types, which also retain decent quantities of vitamin C and Vitamin B6. This variety is popular for having more antibacterial properties in comparison to the regular variety, which makes its taste a bit spicier.
As for the Allicin content, purple bulbs retain a rather elevated Allicin content, while the white ones retain somewhat less Allicin content. Because of this, purple bulbs are healthier in comparison to white varieties. Anthocyanin is present in the purple variety, but it does not exist in white bulbs.
2. Availability
White garlic is accessible to a broad extent, but purple ones are not that easily accessible. White ones can be seen in provincial shops, grocery marts, and farmer markets in almost all cities, towns, and even villages. Besides, white garlic is more popular for being in good condition even during transportation than the purple variety, so sellers are more inclined to acquire white ones.
The chances of noticing purple garlic in local marts are relatively less as they are only available in a few renowned marts, farm markets, and exotic stores. However, the demand for purple ones is fairly elevated in the global market due to their nutritional significance and mild yet spicy taste.
3. Softneck Vs. Hardneck
White garlic comes under the softneck type, and it is the variety that people often buy from shops. This name arrives from the innumerable layer of parchment that wraps the whole bulb and runs up to its neck. Then it creates a smooth, flexible stem that is ideal for braiding. These varieties have a standard thin outer cover that is rather creamy white.
Purple garlic comes under the hardneck type, and it is prominent for preparing delicious baked garlic. One should remember that there are plenty of sorts of these. Nonetheless, all of them possess unique vivid to pale purple lines on their thin outer cover. It can be stored for around six months. These bulbs lack elastic stalks.
4. Aroma And Taste
Fresh purple lobes are prominent for being tender with a moderate flavor. As a result, the juicy lobes of the purple ones have a delicious flavor and scent that is savored by innumerable people. Furthermore, these bulbs carry a moderately spicy flavor.
Fresh white bulbs are notable for their powerful garlic taste. There are innumerable people who say that the flavor of the hardneck varieties will retain for more time after cooking. The Italian purple type is likely to be fairly spicy and somewhat sweet.
5. Clove Layers
As for the white garlic, it retains plenty of cloves that stay near the middle of the bulb. The lobes that exist in the external portion are stiffer and denser. In contrast, the innermost lobes are tiny and stay in the middle. Talking about the lobe sheath, the purple variety lobes are broad, and one can simply remove them. Nevertheless, the lobe sheath of the white ones is slim and is problematic to remove.
Coming to the number of lobes, the purple ones have only roughly 4 to 9 lobes, while the white ones are known for having anywhere between 10 to 30 lobes. In short, the purple type carries less lobes in comparison to the white bulbs.
6. Bulb
The general bulb size of white garlic is giant when placed near the purple ones. Nevertheless, the Italian purple type retains one of the massive bulbs among the hardneck varieties, and the general radius size can be around 2.5 cm.
7. Stalk And Appearance
In a single white garlic, there will be various lobes that differ in form and size. One can discover tiny ones in the innermost layer, while the giant lobes are at the outer end. For the white ones, the stalks are present at the rear of the stem, which is soft and elastic, due to which they are intertwined.
The purple varieties retain stiffer stalks at the center along with a lengthy flower stem which will be twisted and rotated two times. All the lobes that thrive surrounding the stem are likely to be similar in size, but they are relatively bigger in comparison to the lobes of white ones.
8. Harvest And Shelf Life
White garlic thrives easily in almost all regions all the time. Nevertheless, the hardneck garlic kinds are likely to hold out and thrive well in chilly regions as they need plenty of duration for vernalization. Purple ones will be edible for around half a year and can never be kept for longer durations like white lobes. Comparing all the different types, only the Italian purple kind possesses a decent storage life.
Bottom Line
The purple and white garlic varieties both retain considerable nutrients and have antioxidant priorities. The white garlic belongs to the softneck group, characterized by plenty of cloves, longer storage life, and wide availability. The purple ones belong to the hardneck group, characterized by fewer cloves, giant size, and less availability.
