21/03/2025
🍃 Wild Garlic season is officially upon us!🧄
I absolutely LOVE this time of year as all my favourite things to forage like nettles, cleavers and dandelions begin to appear! 💫And the star of the show is of course, wild garlic! What an absolute gem! 💎
However, unlike nettles, cleavers and dandelions, wild garlic is much more of a rarity to find, especially these days. Therefore, sustainable foraging practices are KEY! 🗝 I cannot stress this enough as people begin their annual trips to gather as much of the stuff as they can, often leaving with their bags brimming with it! 🥹 If this is you or someone you know PLEASE 🙏 stop decimating this mighty little plant friend! ✋️
So the basics... rule no 1 of foraging, only pick plants you can 100% identify. Wild garlic should smell like... garlic...there's a surprise! No smell, its not wild garlic! 👀
Rule no 2 is never harvest more than 10% of an established herb. If you only see a few plants, move on and check back next year.
And rules 3 & 4 when it comes to wild garlic is NEVER EVER pull it out by the roots and only take 1 or 2 leaves per plant. Uprooting it, kills the plant so it won't return next year. Yes the roots are edible but please leave them in the ground. Taking all the leaves off the same plant also kills it! The leaves generate enough sugar through photosynthesis to get the roots through winter till next year. So carefully take only 1 or 2 leaves off each plant. The total you take should only be enough for 1 or two meals. Don't take more than you can use as its just a waste and more than a little bit greedy! 🤪
My favourite way to use wild garlic is as a pesto! Simply blend wild garlic 🍃, ground almonds🧅, parmesan cheese 🧀and quality olive oil 🫒with a pinch of salt in a food processor. It is delicious with fish, meat and pasta.
Bon appetit xx 👩🍳
