Wild garlic

[Knowthman]

We often walk our dog in the local forests here in Ireland. At certain times of the year I can smell the wild garlic. It drives me crazy, love any aromatic smell. I have always enjoyed collecting wild flowers but I am unsure of wild herbs. The wild garlic normally has a white flower on long stem. Is the herb in the stem or would I pick the bulb. I am not sure about wild garlic and would love to find out if it is safe to eat and which part of the plant do I use?

 

[cmdr-apollo]

Wild garlic is absolutely safe to eat, but is quite different than regular, cultivated garlic because the bulb isn't the part worth using (it's stringy and tiny!). Instead, you eat the leaves (like an herb, I suppose). The flowers are also edible (in salads and such).
I've heard that wild garlic gets a bit rancid if overcooked or burnt or dried out in cooking, so be careful of that!

 

[firelily99]

I've tried the wild garlic and really wasn't crazy about it, greens were kind of stringy and the whole thing was rather tasteless. I grows all over the yard but its not really invasive in any way. It does fill in the blank spots where I can't get grass to grow.

 

[zigs]

I'm guessing the wild garlic you've got is more like our Crow Garlic, which is stringy and resembles tall Chives?

The Wild Garlic that grows in the UK and Ireland has broad leaves that can be eaten as salad leaves, they're also used to wrap cheeses in.

This is some that I grew from seed in my last garden,



I can see what Cmdr-apollo means about the bulbs if they were gathered from the wild where they grow closely together, but if they are spaced out in a veg plot they will make a decent bulb.

 

[firelily99]

No, that's not the wild garlic we have in New England. Ours looks like chives with a garlic smell. It is a very noticeable odor which disappears when you you eat it.

 

[zigs]

Thought so, we've got a few other Wild Garlic's too, not much fun to eat.

We do have an unrelated species called Garlic Mustard, which is in the Cabbage family, leaves are quite strong, so you only want a few of them in a salad.

 

[firelily99]

We have garlic mustard too although its considered a member of the mustard family. Check out the leaves and flower pattern, its very much a mustard. Also, its considered highly a invasive plant and because it is a spring time grower it crowds out the native wildflowers like trillium. Check out the website ipane.org, its the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England and has a ton of excellent info on invasive plants.

 

[Kiese]

That's good to know that wild garlic is safe to eat because I love garlic lol! I have never actually seen wild garlic so it's interesting to see the picture of what it looks like.

 

[claudine]

To be honest, it's the first time when I hear of wild garlic. I'll look for it during the next trip in the woods I'm pretty sure I've never seen it before though. If the odor disappears quickly, it would be perfect for me.

 

[Pat]

This is also the first time I have heard of wild garlic. We have some wild onions in our yard that I will cut up and put in a salad when I see them or smell them. Are there certain areas the wild garlic is more prone to grow than other areas?

 

[thomas pendrake]

Here in the South (U.S.) we have a wild garlic that we generally call "Spring Onion". It can get quite large in some parts of the South, particularly East Tennessee. It has a powerful taste and odor and as a child I enjoyed eating it fresh. I had a musician friend who owned a restaurant in New Orleans and he sad his cooks all had patches of it. I love to use it in chicken perlo. It is a little sweeter than regular garlic and has more flavor than the garden variety, but it is a broader flavor and not quite as overwhelming. It is sometimes confused with the ramp because they may grow in the same area, but the plants do not look alike. The leaves of the highly prized ramp are broad and flat and resemble the leaves of leeks. The wild garlic has round, hollow leaves like an onion.

 

[DrCase]

A little further South its a winter weed, it slows up when the weather gets hot

 

[IcyBC]

I have only see wild onion at a Conservatory here once, but not wild garlic! This is really interesting to read about wild garlic and know that it is also edible. I love garden forum as I always learn something new everyday!

 

[Trellum]

I love wild garlic, I grew up in a place where wild garlic was a common sight. But the place where I live doesn't have it. It is a real shame. I loved the taste of the leaves.