Garlic scapes infuse summer garlic flavor into spring dishes.
Anyone who has let their zucchini go a little too long on the stalk knows about garden timing. It might be even more important when it comes to garlic scapes. The little green corkscrews that develop at the tops of garlic plants are a spring delicacy but need to be harvested just in time for maximum flavor and tenderness.
Garlic scapes are the stem of the flower bud, or bulbil, of hardneck varieties of garlic. Hardneck garlic has a tough central stem that differentiates it from softneck garlic and is harvested around late June. The scapes are usually available at the beginning of June.
Arnold Carbone owned Glorious Garlic Farm for 10 years and grew porcelain, marble stripe, and purple stripe hardneck garlic in Washoe Valley.
“As the garlic stem comes up, it comes up straight, and then it curls like the top of a cello,” Carbone says. “When it curls is the perfect time to pick them.”
Carbone recommends breaking off the curl with your thumbnail. If the stem is too difficult to break with your thumb, then it’s become too tough to use in cooking.
Matthew Harris of Harris Market Farms in Golden Valley grows both softneck and hardneck garlic, including the chesnok red and music varieties. He recommends cutting off the scape after the first curl. The scape can curl one more time, but once the stem starts to straighten again, it becomes too tough to eat.
“In June, when we open our farmstand, we have the scapes, and most people have no clue what they are, have never tried them, or know nothing about them,” Harris says. “Once we’re able to show them what it is and how to use it, they are hooked for life. They want them all the time, but we have to tell them they are very special and only available a few weeks out of the year.”
Cooking with Garlic Scapes
Carbone recommends cooking the scapes and not eating them raw since they can be exposed to fertilizers. He likes to use garlic scapes in pesto or chopped up in eggs. He even pickles them and uses them in a marinade for chicken or fish.
“It imparts a really nice, flavorful, green garlic flavor without the high intensity of raw garlic,” Carbone says.
Harris recommends not cooking the scapes for too long, to retain their flavor.
“They are similar to a scallion or chive,” Harris says. “You can chop them up and use them to add a subtle garlic flavor to soups and stews. You can also just cook them in a pan with olive oil and salt and eat them like green beans because the flavor is so mild.”
Harris also likes to chop them up and mix them into hamburger meat.
“They infuse the meat and also add a little crunch,” Harris adds.
Where to Find Scapes
If you are not growing your own hardneck garlic, around the end of May or the beginning of June, start perusing the local farmers’ markets for the telltale curly greens. The Reno Garlic Fest also is a great place to find local farmers who may sell scapes.
“If you want to find some scapes, the best thing to do is find someone who is growing garlic and ask them,” Carbone says. “Many farmers just cut them off, but it just so happens that the stem is delicious.”
Christina Nellemann last had garlic scapes cooked whole on the grill and placed on local grass-fed beef.
RESOURCES
Find Harris Market Farms on Facebook
Reno Garlic Fest, presented by Reno Food Systems
July 29
3:30 – 8 p.m.
Dick Taylor Park (off of Valley Road) in Reno
Renofoodsystems.org/garlicfest
