It’s a highlight of the wild food calendar and one of the easiest things to forage – but in a few weeks, says Tom Shingler, wild garlic will disappear for another year. Put a weekend aside to collect and preserve this wonderful plant, ensuring a well stocked, gorgeously garlicky larder for months to come
WORDS AND RECIPE PHOTOGRAPHS TOM SHINGLER
Expert knowledge.
Wild garlic (or ramsons) – just like asparagus, jersey royals and radishes – lets us know spring is well and truly here. Most of the season’s abundant produce can be picked up in the shops, but wild garlic requires a romp through the countryside or your local park. Fortunately, once you’re there, it’s easy (and safe) to source, identify and pick, and it’s so satisfying to cook and eat something you’ve gone out to forage for yourself.
I use fresh wild garlic with abandon during its season, but it’s usually died down by mid-May, making it a short-lived love affair, so I put a weekend aside each year to fill a few carrier bags with the stuff – then wash, blanch, dry and preserve my haul to use in the months to come. Here’s how I do it...
SATURDAY: A-FORAGING WE WILL GO
Don your best walking boots, pack a few bags-for-life (or a wicker basket, if you want to get a few pics for Instagram while you’re at it) and head to your nearest wood or forest. It’s time to get foraging!
When’s the best time?
Wild garlic leaves can start to sprout as early as late February, depending on where in the UK you are and what the weather’s been like. But the peak time tends to be early April, when you can find not only leaves but wild garlic flowers – and lots of them, too.
Where do I go?
You’ll rarely have to hunt around in the undergrowth for a few sparse leaves when looking for wild garlic – when you’re in the right spot it tends to blanket the ground, filling the area with its scent. It crops up in most shady woodland, especially if there’s a body of water or river nearby; I’ve been on many a dog walk, only to catch a whiff of garlic in the air, look down and realise it’s growing all around me. Never pick wild garlic near paths or roads, though, as you run the risk of dog wee and/or car fumes (neither of which anyone wants in their dinner).
What am I looking for?
Wild garlic plants are one of the easiest things to forage because they’re so easily identifiable. You’re looking for clusters of fat, sword-shaped dark green leaves and (depending on the time of year) flowers sporting dainty white petals. If you’re unsure,
