What are garlic scapes?
Part of our Ultimate Guide to Fruits and Vegetables. Click to see more answers to your questions.
Garlic scapes are the flower stalks that emerge from hardneck garlic varieties during the growing season. They are long, thin, and curly with a bright green color. Hardneck garlic types are known for producing these scapes, which usually happen in late spring or early summer.
Garlic scapes offer a mild and sweet garlic flavor with a slight hint of spiciness. The texture is similar to asparagus and they are edible when young and tender.
Growing
Growing garlic, and consequently garlic scapes, is a simple process:
- Choose the right garlic type: Not all garlic varieties produce scapes. Make sure to choose a hardneck variety, as softneck garlic varieties don’t produce scapes.
- Planting: Garlic is typically planted in the fall, a few weeks before the first hard frost. Plant individual cloves pointy end up, about 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart.
- Caring for the plants: Garlic prefers full sun and well-drained soil. Water when the soil is dry and fertilize periodically.
- Identifying scapes: In late spring or early summer, you’ll notice the garlic producing long, curly, green stalks from the center of the leaves. These are the scapes.
Harvesting
Scapes are typically harvested in late spring or early summer, once they have made one or two full curls.
- To harvest, simply cut the scape off at the base where it emerges from the leaves.
- Harvesting the scapes not only provides you with a delicious ingredient to use in your cooking, but it also helps the garlic bulbs grow larger because the plant can put more energy into bulb growth.
Culinary Use
Garlic scapes are versatile and can be used in a wide variety of dishes. Here are some ways you can use them:
- Pesto: Garlic scapes make a fantastic pesto. You can replace the basil with scapes in your favorite pesto recipe. Combine scapes, pine nuts or walnuts, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Stir-fries: Garlic scapes can be cut into pieces and used in stir-fries. They add a delicious, mild garlic flavor.
- Pickling: Scapes can be pickled much like cucumbers or other vegetables. This can help to preserve them for longer.
- Grilling: Scapes can be tossed in a bit of oil, salt, and pepper, and grilled for a unique side dish.
- Soups and sauces: Use garlic scapes to add a hint of garlic flavor to soups, stews, and sauces.
When using garlic scapes in recipes, they should be used when they’re fresh and green, as they can become tough and woody as they age. They can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, or you can freeze them to use throughout the year.
