I have to thank a fellow blogger for inspiring me to finally try eating garlic scapes. Diana and her husband are starting a new career in their retirement as organic farmers, and one of their focuses is garlic. In all the years my family has grown garlic, we never ate the scapes. Garlic scapes are the garlic plant's immature flower buds and stems. They need to be cut while they are still young so that the plant's energy will be channeled into growing large bulbs.
I've always enjoyed the interesting twisty stems, and even though we never ate them, I would always use some of the scapes in flower arrangements to add a dramatic touch. When I finally tried eating them this week, I was pleasantly surprised at how mild the scapes are. Raw they are far more mild then garlic cloves and when they are fully cooked, they taste more like green beans then garlic. They truly are a vegetable in their own right. So far I've added a very liberal amount to a stuffing for a roast chicken, sauteed them and mixed a good half cup of the sauteed scapes with a serving of pasta, and added the minced raw scapes to salad. I also have a jar of herb vinegar steeping in the kitchen that is a combination of tarragon, basil, and garlic scapes.
Garlic scapes are only available for a few weeks out of the year. If you are so fortunate as to have garlic growing in your garden or if you see them at your local farmer's market, I would encourage you to give them a try. Check out Diana's blog for recipes. My food processor decided to die yesterday, but when I get a new one (hopefully in the next couple of days), I am most definitely going to try the garlic scape pesto.
This year's harvest of garlic scapes.
The scapes look so lovely in your photo. We have a large garlic patch and my daughter has been talking about picking the scapes. She has a note on the table to remind her to do it tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't tried them before.
Thanks for the usage tips.
Thanks also for visiting and saying hello :)
I've enjoyed reading your posts and seeing your wonderful photos. That was quite a hike but those views are so worth it!
Thanks for the info. on how to use them and the pic, Kateri! I have been reading about scapes alot lately, but didn't know what they looked like or how to use them.
ReplyDeleteI love the way the look, even if you couldn't eat them.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in rural Oklahoma, a real treat for our family was eggs, scrambled with chopped wild onions. Why don't you give that a try? Just saute the scapes in a bit of olive oil or butter, and add the eggs. Delicious with hot biscuits!
Your recipes sound great.
Oh looks really good, perhaps we will plant some this fall, is it a summer or fall herb? Thanks, hugs and blessings, Barbara
ReplyDeleteKateri! Thank you! I just noticed the scapes needed to be trimmed in my garlic bed yesterday, and I knew I could eat them, but I needed a definite recipe to motivate me. I had some garlic scape pesto at the farmer's market last year - now I can make it!
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived on the farm I remember mixing minced scapes into butter and spreading on fresh bread - Yum!
And I love the idea of putting them in flower arrangements! I'll try that today!
looks like you've gathered a nice bunch of scapes for all your recipes. the pic is great. what a wonderful idea using them with flower arrangements too. have a great night.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, Garlic can be planted any time in the fall up until the first snow fall. The bulbs take almost a full year to mature, but it is really easy to grow as long as you have soft rich soil. I usually get mine in the ground in August and harvest the bulbs the following July. .
ReplyDeleteI have recently been reading a lot about eating garlic scapes. Too bad ours are already finished, I will have to wait until next year to try them!
ReplyDelete