Wild Garlic: The Ingredient Edit
Wild garlic season starts in late winter and lasts until the end of spring. With a lighter flavour to traditional bulb garlic, it is a wonderfully versatile ingredient best picked in early April.
IN THE WILD
In certain areas of the countryside, you can find bountiful swathes of wild garlic, preferring damp, shady woodland floors or river banks. The pointed leaves and white flowers of this perennial flowering plant are easy to identify, as well as its floral yet garlicky fragrance.
If you are looking to harvest your own, it is worth remembering that what we take from the wild, we are taking from wildlife. At Thyme, we grow most of our produce in our vegetable gardens, and leave areas of the farm for the wildlife. When there is something wonderful to forage from the wild, we do so with a few important notes in mind:
Only take what you need, and no more than you plan to consume.
Ensure you have permission from land owners to help protect conservation areas or protected species, and to prevent over-picking.
Know what you're picking! While wild garlic is identifiable, it is always worth teaming up with a seasoned picker for your first trip to ensure you don’t choose a look-a-like plant.
Only collect from plentiful populations and areas of abundance, leaving enough for the next forager.
Leave plenty behind, to ensure the future of the populations.
Don’t dig! Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, it is illegal to dig up a plant without permission from the landowner or occupier.
For an easy forage, you can find wild garlic in farm shops when the season is right!
In the kitchen
When wild garlic appears in the kitchen, it is a sure sign that spring is here. Garlic’s wild, leafy cousin, it has that distinctive aromatic scent of the alium family. A versatile ingredient, wild garlic appears in dishes and recipes in a number of forms: the leaves can be chopped and scattered like a herb or whizzed up into pestos, soups and sauces; the bulbs can be grilled like calcots; the flowers make a pretty garnish; and, the seed pods are delicious pickled and served with cheese.
Try one of our wild garlic recipes or book into the Ox Barn this spring wild garlic features for a short time in celebration of Spring!
On the menu in the
Ox Barn
Wild Garlic menu illustration by Caryn Hibbert, wild garlic veloute and wild garlic soup.
