The wild garlic is known for its garlic-like taste and is therefore often harvested for use in the kitchen. In addition to the leaves, the buds of the flowers that are still closed can also be processed into a real delicacy.
The best time to harvest wild garlic
Traditionally, many traditional spring recipes are refined with wild garlic, as the freshly grown leaves then have a very fresh aroma. To harvest the buds that have not yet blossomed, you need to pay particular attention to your environment, since the timing of flowering depends on many factors such as the regional climate and the general weather pattern in a year. If you discover pointed, green buds on long stalks during a walk in March and April, you should rub a leaf between your fingers before collecting to avoid confusion, until the typical smell of wild garlic with its garlic note can be perceived. Since the buds are in this closed state for only a very few days, don't wait too long to harvest them for consumption.
Capers made from wild garlic buds
A popular recipe for pickling wild garlic is the production of so-called wild garlic capers. Since wild garlic otherwise only has a very short shelf life, the delicately spicy taste can also be preserved with it and stored for a few months. To prepare one serving you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 cup wild garlic buds
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 0.125 liters of herbal vinegar
Leave the cleaned wild garlic buds sprinkled with salt for a few hours. Then bring the herbal vinegar to a boil and add the buds. After the vinegar has been strained and boiled again, it is poured over the buds into a screw-top jar. After about three days, the vinegar is boiled up again and then added back to the buds. These can then be eaten after about two weeks of cool and dark storage.
tips and tricks
Do not collect all wild garlic buds at one site so that the plants can regenerate and continue to multiply at their location by self-seeding.