garlic scape heart

At heart, I am a skeptical, lazy gardener. I question old-school farming practices, especially if they require me to work harder. I want evidence that I should do this or that to make my plants happy.

Every year I test a few traditional garden concepts, like removing tomato suckers, to find out whether they really benefit the plant's production. (I find no evidence that removing suckers is anything but suckers' work.) Two years ago, I used my garlic patch as a trial for the standard practice of removing the garlic scape to encourage bulb production.

Should You Cut Scapes?

Garlic scapes are the flower stalk of the garlic plant. The theory behind removing them is that by taking away the flower bud, the plant will put more energy into bulb production. Look below to see the difference between garlic with scapes removed on the right and those allowed to flower on left of plants grown in the same location and with same growing practices.

Clearly, scapes to inhibit bulb production. When removed, the garlic produces healthier, bigger bulbs. Because the scapes are edible, the gardener is rewarded for their work of removing the scape with a tasty food.

How To Eat Garlic Scapes

The garlic scape stalk is a dense cylinder of garlic-flavored goodness. At this time of year, I stop buying garlic and use chopped up fresh scapes for all my garlic needs. I add them to stir fry, soups, stocks, and pickles.

Garlic scapes are traditionally made into pesto by pureeing the scape with fresh herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Garlic scape pesto can be used as a sauce for pasta, spread for sandwiches, or mixed with sour cream for a dip.

Store scapes in the fridge for up to two weeks. Alternatively, put freshly-cut ends in a container of water and keep at room temperature for a few days where you can enjoy the shapes. As a last resort, give one to your child to use as a magic wand or a sword! Lil, seen here a few years ago, love to play with scapes.

If you don't grow your own garlic but want to experiment with scapes, visit your local farmers' market. Farmers are only too happy to sell their edible plant pickings. Come see me at the Swainway/Northridge booth at Clintonville this weekend for organic Ohio scapes.

What is it? Garlic scapes are the magical-wand-like flower shoots of the garlic plant. They emerge in late spring and contain a small bud that will become a flower if left on the plant.

Many farmers, including me, prefer to cut the scapes away. The theory is that instead of the garlic spending energy growing the allium blossom, it will focus on the bulb.

The scape is edible at this early age. Many farmers include them in June CSA shares. Others sell them at the farmer's markets.

Eating Garlic Scapes

As with all vegetables, I encourage cooks to taste the garlic scape raw as a first step to using it in recipes. I find it has a mild garlic and onion flavor. The texture is dense and stringy in wider parts of the scape but palatable raw in the thin ends.

Young scapes are very curly. Choose these for the most tender bite. The flower bud can also be eaten and tastes like the rest of the scape with a hint of bitterness.

If you enjoy the scape raw, toss it in salads or use as a garnish. You can also blend it with basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make a delightful pesto sauce. We'll be eating scapes that way at least once this week.

If you aren't a fan of raw garlic flavor, try cooking with the scapes. Chop finely and use as you would use garlic or chives. In larger chunks, a garlic scape is a savory addition to stir fry, frittata, or quiche. They can flavor rice or quinoa dishes.

If you find yourself unable to fit them into your menu, freeze the scapes whole with the rest of your vegetable scraps for the next time you make stock.

Our family <3s garlic scapes, does yours?

PS. I asked Lil to arrange the scapes for me to photograph and she came up with the heart. How cute!

Added to Hearth and Soul First Year Anniversary.