Springtime is wild garlic time! Granny Trude loves wild garlic, for culinary and health reasons!
My Dears,I’m in wild garlic heaven! So today I absolutely must take a break from our Eco-Project Challenge, in which my family and I introduce you to outstanding innovative sustainability projects, to present my personal winner instead: nature. Nature, which has brought forth such a versatile, nutritious and interesting plant that can be had for free in the great outdoors – or for sale at the market if you don’t know where the wild garlic grows. With its luscious green stems, garlicky smell and incredibly wide range of benefits, the bear’s garlic, as it’s also called, is simply the bee’s knees!
But this particular member of the leek family only grows in May, so you have to stock up fast if you want to keep some for later in the year. And now I’m going to tell you where to find wild garlic, what it’s good for and how to use it and keep it. If you miss this year’s crop of wild garlic, then make a mental note of it for next spring – it’s really worth it!
Where to find it
If you live in the south of Germany, you shouldn’t have any problem finding wild garlic in the wild. But bear’s garlic or ramsons, as it’s also called, is actually at home all over Europe, except in Mediterranean countries. Wild garlic likes it in the undergrowth of moist forests. And there’s even some growing in a shady spot in my garden! This hardy perennial comes out every year as early as February and stays till May. To grow some in your own garden, sit the little bulbs two centimetres deep in the soil and water plentifully for several weeks. Later on, remove the fruits before the seeds ripen to keep the plant from overrunning your garden. My neighbour, a farmer named Georg, told me to leave half of the leaves to make sure my crop comes back the next year.Beware of toxic lookalikes!
But be careful when foraging because wild garlic is easy to confuse with lily-of-the-valley and meadow saffron (aka autumn crocus), both of which are poisonous, even potentially deadly! Wild garlic leaves are bright green on top but matte on the underside and grow singly on a thin stem (unlike meadow saffron). Lily-of-the-valley, on the other hand, grows in pairs on each stem and its leaves are shiny on the underside.The easiest way to tell wild garlic from the lookalikes is to rub the leaves and sniff away! Though you’re better off smelling the leaves themselves than your fingers and staying in one spot if possible because the smell sticks to your hands, which will make it harder to clearly identify the next plant you come across. Then again, it doesn’t give you garlic breath.
What’s it good for?
A lot of things! That’s why some shops and farmers’ markets puff their wild garlic as a “superfood” – I had to smile at that one. But it’s so packed with vital nutrients that it really fits that description – as you can see from the research I’ve done for you:- Wild garlic gives your immune system a powerful boost because it contains loads of vitamin C, iron and magnesium.
- It also contains high levels of chlorophyll, as you can tell from its vibrant green hue. Chlorophyll is alkaline, which is good for your body’s pH balance, and it helps the body absorb the iron and magnesium more effectively.
- Wild garlic has anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects thanks to a chemical compound called allicin.
- It also stimulates digestion, eases pain and is a proven remedy for stomach cramps and flatulence.
- Its sulphides (i.e. sulphur-containing compounds) have an antioxidant effect and are good for your liver and gut. A detox deluxe!
- Wild garlic lowers blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
What to do with your wild garlic
The leaves have to be picked before the flower buds break open, else they won’t taste good, and then used right away or wrapped in a damp cloth and kept in the fridge for a day or two, max.If you’re in a hurry, though, simply freeze the whole leaves in tall jars. You can then take some leaves out one at a time to use them raw (!) as an ingredient in soups, salads, sauces, dips, spreads and herb butter. Wild garlic loses its flavour when cooked.
What also works fine is to wash and thoroughly dry the leaves – along with the stalks –, then chop them up and freeze them in an airtight bag.
My favourite: wild garlic paste
Sizeable pickings can be used to make wild garlic pesto – or paste, which is much better and keeps longer. It’s a cinch. And it’s been eons since last I saw such a beautiful shade of bright green as wild garlic paste in a jar! You can freeze the paste, too: e.g. flattened out in a freezer bag – that way you can keep breaking off little chunks and don’t have to use up your whole stash all at once.For a jar of wild garlic paste, you’ll need:
- 200 g fresh wild garlic
- Roughly 15–20 g salt
- 150–200 g olive oil + a little extra olive oil to cover it all after blending
- A hand blender or the like
Keep the jar in the fridge and, every time you take some out for use (with a clean spoon!), make sure there’s a layer of olive oil covering the remaining paste inside. The paste keeps for several months, if not a whole year. Or you can freeze it (see instructions above).
I add two teaspoons of wild garlic paste to my pasta, along with some diced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. It’s out of this world!
Just in case you missed the wild garlic season this year, try this paste recipe using garden rocket (aka arugula) instead.
So enjoy my favourite toothsome and wholesome plant!
Naturally yours,
Granny Trude