wild garlic foraging
- Wildish Club
- May 3
- 2 min read
As a little throw back to our first Wildish Food Guide, we decided to feature Wild Garlic again in this issue. Partly because it's such a versatile and useful wild food, but also because a Wildish club member called Tash made a delicious Wild Garlic Spanakopita for our WIldish BBQ and we really wanted to include it in the guide (You can find the recipe in the print version).
Wild Garlic is a great beginner friendly wild food and has one of the longest seasons of the wild plants from mid February to the beginning of May (it's still great right now).
It is extremely abundant, has the most amazing garlicky smell and produces five edible crops (leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, bulbs).
What does it look like
It is a bulbous perennial plant that often grows in dense clumps, carpeting woodland floors. Its leaves are smooth, broad and pointed with a single main vein in the middle.
It has small flowers that bloom in a cluster on a tall stalk. Each flower is star-shaped with 6 petals.
What can you confuse it with
In the early sprouting phase when the leaves are still small, it can be confused with Lily of the valley leaves, bluebell leaves and sometimes Lords and Ladies. All three are toxic, especially Lily of the valley which is quite seriously poisonous.
When the leaves are bigger, often the biggest problem is accidentally gathering these other species when you take a bunch of wild garlic leaves. So sorting and processing your wild foods is really important.
However, none of the look-a-likes smell like garlic. So scent here is your best identifier. If in doubt, leave it out!
what does it smell like
Very very strongly of garlic.
Where does it grow
It loves damp areas and is most often found in shaded woodlands and hedgerows.
When to collect it
Avoid areas of high foot fall and along roads as you will get contaminants from canine friends and car muck.
The best place to start is in woodlands, along riverbanks, and in damp clearings.
What delicious things can you make with it?
Every part of the plant is edible.
The leaves and stems can be used to make all sorts of delicious things. From wild garlic pesto to an additive to scones, pasta dishes, tarts etc.
wildish tip - they are best before the flowers appear.
The flowers, particularly just before they have opened, can be pickled, eaten raw in salads or added to almost anything.
The seeds should be collected when they are still green and they make the most amazing wild garlic ‘capers’.
The bulbs (you can only dig up roots and bulbs with landowners permission) can be used as if it was a small onion.
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