What Can I Do With Wild Garlic Flowers?

Both the leaves and flowers of wild garlic are edible. The leaves can be eaten raw or used in sauces and soups; the flowers, which bloom later in the season, make great additions to salads.

How do you preserve wild garlic flowers?

If you plan on cooking with your newly foraged wild garlic within a day or two after collecting, then it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Alternatively, pop the stem in a glass of water and put in the fridge to help stay fresh for longer.

Can you eat garlic flowers raw?

Absolutely! Raw garlic scapes are perfectly edible, with a sharp garlicky-green flavour. Be warned though – older scapes can be quite tough, which can make them unappealing in their raw state. Try a little before you commit to using them raw in a recipe.

What can I do with wild garlic seed heads?

Place the wild garlic seeds back into a sterilised jar and cover with your vinegar of choice and allow to pickle for at least a month but preferably three. We love to scatter these small but mighty capers over canapes, especially pigeon saltimbocca or our gin and beetroot cured trout!

What part of the wild garlic plant do you use?

All parts of the plant—bulb, leaves, and flowers—are edible. The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, and they make a useful addition to basic foods such as a cream or cottage cheese and are delicious when added to salad, or in soups toward the end of cooking.

Can I freeze wild garlic flowers?

Freezing wild garlic is the quickest way of preserving it. However, the plant will lose aroma when frozen. To freeze it, wash and dry the leaves. Place them in freezer bags and freeze for up to 3-4 months, the sooner you consume them, the better.

Can I grow wild garlic from the flowers?

Plants grown from seed should be left alone (although remove the emerging flower heads) until July in the first year to allow a good root system to establish itself. Almost all parts of wild garlic are usable, including the leaves, stems, bulbs and flowers, be sure to wash them well.

How do you dry garlic flowers?

How to dehydrate scapes

1. Wash the garlic scapes and let them air dry.
2. Trim away the tip from each scape just below the flower bud (see photo).
3. Cut the scapes into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces.
4. Dehydrate at 135º until dry and brittle; this will take about 24 hours.

Should I cut the flower off my garlic?

Since the bulb is what we eat, we recommend cutting the scape. Plus, scapes are delicious and can be used just like garlic, but they are ready a month or two before the garlic bulb. Win, win! To cut your scape, wait until the center stalk completely forms and grows above the rest of the plant.

Are garlic flower heads edible?

Happily though, the scapes don’t go to waste… Are garlic scapes edible? These tender green stalks are both edible and delicious, rather like tender, young asparagus with a delicious hint of garlic flavour.

Can you eat wild garlic bulbs?

Wild garlic has such a delicious flavour that it is often served up on its own (as in our velouté and pasta dough recipes). Take a look at our full collection of wild garlic dishes and take a look at some of our favourites.

Can you plant wild garlic seed pods?

Just pop them directly into the earth outside. Wild garlic thrives best in slightly acidic soil and in moist conditions. It certainly doesn’t mind a bit of shade either.

What is wild garlic good for?

Wild Garlic as a herbal remedy
Wild garlic has been credited with many medicinal qualities and is a popular homeopathic ingredient. It is often used for treating high blood pressure and digestive problems. Clove garlic is known for its antibacterial and antiviral properties because of its sulphur content.

Can wild garlic make you sick?

If you have any doubts after ingestion or if you experience any digestive or other symptoms within hours of eating a dish containing wild garlic or many-flowered garlic, contact a poison control centre immediately. Poisoning from confusion when picking edible plants is not uncommon.

Is wild garlic poisonous to dogs?

Garlic is part of the allium family, which also includes chives, shallots and onions, it’s actually a plant, you can sometimes smell wild garlic when you’re out on a walk. In large amounts it is pretty much agreed that garlic (and onions, chives etc) are all very toxic for dogs.

How do you know when wild garlic is ready to pick?

The best time to pick wild garlic is when the leaves are new but before it flowers. You can still pick it afterward but the leaves aren’t as tender. Pick the flowers to use as garlicky flavored garnishes for salads and other dishes. Wild garlic has very few plant look-alikes.

How do you tell the difference between lily of the valley and wild garlic?

Wild garlic has leaves which form at the base of the plant, whereas Lily of the Valley can have two or more leaves on a stem split further up the plant. When in flower the plants are easily distinguishable from each other – wild garlic flowers are star-shaped, while the lily-of-the-valley’s flowers are bell-shaped.

Is wild garlic invasive?

Wild garlic can be a very invasive plant when the growing conditions are right and they tend to form a dense carpet of growth in the spring. Ramsons have similar, but weaker, health benefits to cultivated garlic. All parts of the plant can be used, but the most effective part is the bulb.

How do you dry wild garlic leaves?

Put the oven on at a low heat 80-100 degrees C with the door open a crack. In our fan oven the leaves dry in about an hour. Periodically check the leaves and move them round if there are wet and dry patches.

How do you store wild garlic bulbs?

Because of its high water content, wild garlic only lasts a few days after purchase. Either prep it directly, or store in the fridge wrapped in a damp kitchen towel and use it up within the next two days.

Do bees like wild garlic?

Wild garlic flowers early in spring, so is an important early bloom for the bees and other insects which pollinate them. The bulbs are also a source of food for wild boars.