Up here in the foothills our growing season can be painfully short. Over the years this has led me to rely on crops that I know can handle our weather. Garlic, luckily, just happens to be one of those crops. Bonus for me, garlic is a double duty crop. You can get two harvests from one plant.
Garlic scapes are a farmer’s harvest. They can sometimes be found at farmers markets but they are often for us growers to enjoy.
Today we’ll chat a bit about what they are, why we harvest them and my favourite (and easiest) way to preserve them.
What Are Garlic Scapes?
Garlic is a root vegetable. A head of garlic is grown from a single garlic clove that is planted in the fall. The garlic clove needs a period of cold weather before it will sprout and grow into a full head of garlic. That is called stratification friends.
As the garlic grows, it will eventually want to send up a flower. Now a plant can either make roots or it can make seeds (what you get from flowers). We clearly are after the bulb of garlic growing in the ground. In order to encourage the garlic plant to put its energy into the roots, we cut off the flower before it has a chance to bloom.
The garlic scape is the flowering stalk of the hardneck garlic. Garlic will start to send up scapes in the late spring to early summer, depending on where you are located.
Garlic scapes get a distinctive curl to them before they straighten out. The best part is, they are completely edible. They have a mild garlic taste that is less pungent than the cloves. They are delicious raw or cooked and they deserve a place in your kitchen.
When Should You Harvest Garlic Scapes?
You are going to want to harvest your garlic scapes once they have formed a full curl. This is when they will be at their most delicious.
Harvesting garlic scapes is easy. You can use scissors to snip the scape off just above the next set of leaves. Or you can also snap them off, just above the next set of leaves…. Because maybe you left the scissors in the house and who really wants to go back and get them.
How to Use Garlic Scapes
You are going to use garlic scapes anywhere you would normally add garlic. And maybe some places you wouldn’t. Because of their mild garlic flavour, garlic scapes are an excellent substitute for garlic in a dish that doesn’t get cooked. Like summer dips or gazpachos.
My Quick & Easy Way to Process Garlic Scapes
This is my go-to, I know I am going to use this, let’s not waste our time making things we don’t eat, ‘recipe’ for preserving garlic scapes. It’s time intensive, but light on work.
Frozen Garlic Scape Pucks
Ingredients
- Fresh garlic scapes
Instructions
- Wash the garlic scapes thoroughly. Place on a towel to dry.
- Cut the scapes into 1–2 inch pieces.
- Pulse in a food processor with a few tablespoons of olive oil until finely chopped (don’t puree).
- Scoop into tablespoon sized portions on a parchment lined baking tray. I like to use a tiny cookie scoop for this, but you can just use a regular spoon if that is all you have
- Place the baking tray in the freezer for a few hours until the garlic scape pucks are completely frozen.
- Pack the frozen pucks into a freezer bag. Double bag in and keep in the freezer. Pull out a puck and use anywhere you would normally add garlic.
Tip
No blanching required. Frozen chopped scapes keep their flavor beautifully and can be added directly to recipes from frozen.
If you don’t have a food processor you could just chop them finely with a knife.
Friends, I encourage you not to overlook this seasonal treat. Maybe you don’t have garlic in your garden, but if you see them at a farmer’s market or are offered some from a friend, take them! Garlic scapes are easy to harvest, delicious to cook with, and incredibly simple to preserve. Spending just a few minutes processing them now means you’ll have fresh garlic flavor ready to use all year long.
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