hay, honey, and violets.
Green Chlorophyll One change in the color of
green vegetables as they are cooked has
nothing to do with the pigment itself. That
wonderfully intense, bright green that
develops within a few seconds of throwing
vegetables into boiling water is a result of the
sudden expansion and escape of gases trapped
in the spaces between cells. Ordinarily, these
microscopic air pockets cloud the color of the
chloroplasts. When they collapse, we can see
the pigments much more directly.
The Enemy of Green: Acids Green chlorophyll
is susceptible to two chemical changes during
cooking. One is the loss of its long carbon-
hydrogen tail, which leaves the pigment
water-soluble — so that it leaks out into the
cooking liquid — and more susceptible to
further change. This loss is encouraged by
both acid and alkaline conditions and by an
enzyme called chlorophyllase, which is most