Foraging for Wild Garlic

Wild Garlic is a delicious and versatile plant which is a firm favourite with most foragers. It often appears in great abundance and is very easy to identify making it a wonderful introduction to wild edibles for novice foragers.

Wild Garlic is perhaps one of the most recognisable edible wild plants here in the UK and a wonderful first plant for beginner foragers. It is a plant you often smell before you see it, with its distinctive garlic/onion scent, its a common sight in ancient woodlands throughout the country.

Carpeting the floor of damp, ancient woodlands with its dense green foliage, Wild Garlic is a very welcome sight after a long Winter, bringing a fresh supply edible greens which can be enjoyed from March through to May. Its long season and fiery flavour are two of the main reasons why it remains a firm favourite for most foragers.

Wild Garlic, or Allium ursinum

How to Identify Wild Garlic

There are a few toxic plants which you might find growing alongside Wild Garlic, but thanks to its key identifying features, it's easy to distinguish from its non-edible neighbours. First to appear are its long, glossy, lance-shaped leaves, with each leaf growing on its own stem. Where the stem meets the leaf, they are green in colour, but the colouring fades to almost white further down the stem. Buds begin to appear after the leaves, and are also green in colour, with their white flowers usually beginning to bloom around May. Flowers are star-like in shape, with multiple flowers growing on a single stem, looking rather like a pompom! Once pollinated, the flowers develop green seed pods, usually clustered together in threes, like a clover.

Their bulbs can often be seen proturding through the soil in the Winter months when the rain has washed away the soil. They are long, cylindrical and white.

All parts of the plant, from the blulb to the seeds have a strong garlic/onion scent and taste, and your nose can be a really useful tool when it comes to identifying Wild Garlic! If you're unsure, simply crush the leaves and if it doesn't smell like garlic/onions, then you're sure to have the wrong plant.

When to Forage for Wild Garlic

The emergence of the Wild Garlic spears in the early part of the year, is an eagerly anticipate event on the forager's calender. They typically begin to appear in February but this can vary depending on in which part of the country you are. In the South it can be as early as January, but here in Northumberland it tends to be mid to late February when they first begin to push through the soil.

March and April are considered to be the peak time to forage for the leaves, but they can still be gathered well into May before they begin to yellow and die back. The flower buds follow soon after the leaves in March, and typically begin to bloom around the beginning of April. Once the flowers have been pollinated, they develop into seeds which can be collected from around the beginning of June. Remember though that these times will vary depending on where you are, so just be sure to get out into the woods and investigate your local area.

Sustainable Foraging

As one of the most popular plants in the UK for foragers, it's important to follow best practices when it comes to gathering Wild Garlic to protect this ancient woodland plant and its landscape.

• While it often grows in great abundance, it's important to only gather from areas that have a plentiful supply. Never strip an area completely.

• Gather gently and try to avoid trampling as this can cause lasting damage, not only to Wild Garlic but other species too, such as English Bluebells which are protected by law.

• I'm a big advocator for foraging a little and walking a lot - moving from patch to patch and gathering small amounts rather than large amounts from one patch. This not only leaves plenty for the wildlife who rely on Wild Garlic for food, but also for other foragers who might also pass through the same area.

• Try to pick individual leaves rather than gathering handfulls. This reduces the risk of uprooting the plant, as well as the risk of accidentally gathering other plants which might cause you harm.

• Never gather more than you can make use of. Wild food should not go to waste.

  
  

Wild Garlic Lookalikes

Wild Garlic typically loves to carpet the floor of ancient woodlands, which can also be home to a number of plants which can cause harm if ingested. Lords and Ladies, Dog's Mercury, and Bluebells are all commonly found within the same habitat, and often grow in amongst Wild Garlic. While Dog's Mercury looks nothing like Wild Garlic, it can be quite easy for it get mixed in with your harvest if you aren't careful, so its important to be able to recongnise if for what it is as it can cause severe sickness, inflammation to the kidneys and lethargy. In can even lead to coma and eventual death.

Lords and Ladies is a plant which will cause intense and excruciating pins and needles like pain in the mouth and digestive system when ingested due to it containing calcium oxalate. If enough of the plant is ingested, the irritation can cause the airways to close, and while reported deaths are extremely rare, it is a possibility.

Bluebells start to appear around the same time as Wild Garlic, and while their leaves are much narrower they may be mistaken for early Wild Garlic leaves. The bulbs of Wild Garlic and Bluebells look very similar and often grow side by side so this is an easy mistake to make. Bluebells can cause gastric upset if eaten, so be sure to take care with your identification.

Lily of the Valley is the closest lookalike, and while is more often found in gardens than woodlands, it is a native plant its important to know what it looks like incase you do come across it. The leaves are very similar to Wild Garlic but they won't have that distinctive garlic/onion scent so if you're unsure, use your nose to help you tell the difference. If it doesn't smell of garlic, leave it off your plate.

Lords and Ladies, Dog's Mercury, Lily of the Valley and Bluebells are all toxic plants to watch out for when foraging for Wild Garlic.

Wild Garlic Recipes

Aside from being abundant and delicious, one of the reasons Wild Garlic is loved by foragers is its versatility. With all parts of the plant being edible, and offering slightly different flavours and textures, there are many different ways it can be used, preserved and enjoyed.

All parts of the plant can be eaten raw, and its intense fiery flavour eaten straight from the woodland floor is a welcome experience in the early days of Spring. It makes a great addition to salads and is well renowned for being used in pesto to offer a wild twist on a classic recipe. In hot dishes the leaves can be used to make soups, added to stir-frys and stews, mixed into risotto and used to flavour sauces. It can be baked into scones, used to flavour sourdough, and even blended into butter. The possibilities are quite endless and allow for a great deal of culinary creativity!

Foraging and preserving are often two skills which go hand and in hand, and where Nature presents an abundance of fresh edibles, there are a number of different ways to enjoy the offering throughout the seasons. Pickled Wild Garlic seeds are at the top of my list when it comes to wild preserves - as a self-professed lover of cheese and crackers, they are the perfect way to elevate a simple snack into something truly delicious. Fermenting the leaves is also another interesting way to preserve their fiery flavour whilst also offering up something that is beneficial to the gut.

While the leaves can be dried, I did find that they loose most of their flavour quite quickly and you need rather alot of leaves just so fill a small jar with powdered Wild Garlic, and I try to avoid freezing the whole leaves as well if possible as they don't take kindly to being frozen for long. Instead I opt for freezing the Wild Garlic soups, stews and baked goods instead.

If you'd like to learn more about how to make the most of your Wild Garlic harvest, I have a number of my favourite recipes that I use every year on my blog.