Wild garlic (Allium ursinum), also known as the "garlic of the forest", has enjoyed increasing popularity on the menus in Central European kitchens in recent years. When collecting the leaves and flowers during the short wild garlic season, you should pay attention to a few things.

Recognize wild garlic without a doubt

Only when the plants die off in summer does the typical smell of wild garlic spread through the forest. Before that, you have to recognize it by its elliptical-lanceolate leaves or the white inflorescences. Wild garlic can be found in many places in the shady hollows of deciduous forests. One danger, however, is the fact that some poisonous plants look confusingly similar to wild garlic at times. This applies primarily to the following plants, which also have similar location requirements as wild garlic:

  • autumn crocus
  • Spotted Aaron's Wand
  • lily of the valley

Even within wild garlic stands, these plants can occur as neighbors and thus pose a danger that should not be underestimated. Therefore, when collecting the leaves, you should regularly carry out an odor test and rub pieces of the leaf between your fingers in order to be able to identify the wild garlic without a doubt from the intense, garlic-like smell.

Protect stocks in the garden

Collecting wild garlic in your own garden offers a certain protection against poisoning, as long as your garden is free of the poisonous doubles of wild garlic. In addition, wild garlic leaves from your own garden are usually not contaminated with the pathogens of the dangerous fox tapeworm if there is sufficient fencing. In terms of safety, however, it does not do any harm to rinse wild garlic leaves and flowers thoroughly with hot water before eating them raw. If you need dry wild garlic for further processing or for various storage methods, you can dab the harvested wild garlic leaves dry with a soft cloth or paper towel. When you have young wild garlic stocks in your own garden, it is important to protect the stock so that it can regenerate and spread further through independent propagation. Therefore, always leave at least half of the leaves in one place, as these are essential for the energy balance of the plants and for the survival of the wild garlic bulbs for the next season. In addition, if you allow some plants to flower, you can sometimes benefit from self-sowing seeds.

The usable parts of the wild garlic plant

In principle, all parts of the wild garlic plant are non-toxic and can therefore also be eaten raw or cooked. Since the flowers often have a particularly intense taste, their consumption is a matter of taste. A delicacy can be made from the unopened wild garlic buds if you harvest them in March or April in good time. Pickle them in vinegar like capers and after a few weeks of maturing you can enjoy a tasty side dish with a gentle taste of garlic.

The right time to harvest wild garlic: when to pick?

Basically, the taste of the leaves in March and April is of a pleasant intensity, especially in the fresh green, young leaves. Although the taste, which later becomes increasingly intense, migrates from the leaves into the wild garlic flowers from the time of flowering, the leaves then also become increasingly fibrous and therefore less suitable for consumption. In addition, even if you plan to dry the leaves for storage, you should not wait for the harvest to dry. Plants that are sufficiently moisturized have a better and more intense wild garlic taste than almost dried-out specimens.

Keep wild garlic fresh after harvest

Since the wild garlic begins to wilt very quickly after picking, it should be processed fresh within a few days. To prevent the leaves from drying out during transport, they should be wrapped in a damp cloth to protect them from drying out. Transporting them in an inflated freezer bag with a few drops of water not only keeps the wild garlic leaves fresh, but also protects the sensitive leaves from being injured by being squeezed. Even when refrigerated, damp cloths or a moisture-filled freezer bag can extend shelf life by a day or two. In addition, the airtight storage of wild garlic in the refrigerator also protects you from transferring the intense smell to other foods. Since the wild garlic loses a lot of its fine aroma when drying, it is better to freeze the quantities left over from collecting.

The different uses of wild garlic in the kitchen

Immediately after picking, the wild garlic can be processed into the following intermediate products in order to extend the shelf life at the same time:

  • Wild Garlic butter
  • Wild garlic salt
  • Wild garlic oil

Examples of dishes prepared directly from fresh wild garlic are:

  • Wild garlic pesto
  • wild garlic soup
  • Dips with wild garlic seasoning

tips and tricks

When harvesting wild garlic in the wild, you should choose locations where contamination with dog excrement or similar impurities can be ruled out. Nevertheless, due to the fox tapeworm, thorough cleaning of the picked leaves before eating them raw is strongly recommended.

Category:

Herbs