Scapes

Here's another picture of the funky garlic scapes starting to form in the garden:

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Image by Rubber Slippers In Italy via FlickrGarlic scapes are an odd-looking, often bent/curved, growth that comes out of the top of some varieties of garlic, typically those that are considered hardneck varieties. The garlic scape is basically the flower stalk that grows up out of the top of the garlic plant, and each year I've grown garlic it seems the scapes can be sitting there for a short while before you even realized they've formed! I have a feeling they actually grow really fast - which might be why they seem to tender and bendy?

It seems many folks just throw away the scapes after cutting them off to improve the growth of the garlic bulb down in the ground. This is a waste of a perfectly good piece of food you've grown! Garlic scapes have that pungeant scent and flavor that you expect of garlic bulbs, although from what I've read it's implied they're milder. I don't know about that - the garlic scapes I cooked last year were pretty strong!

Here's some sites with suggestions/recipes on how to use your garlic scapes:

• Two Sisters Garlic


• Closet Cooking (trust me, this guy always has great recipes!)
  
  
  
  • Garlic Scape Pesto on Fusilli with Garlic Scape Garlic Bread
  
  
  • Beef and Garlic Scape Stir Fry
  
  
  • Italian Sausage, Zucchini and Garlic Scape Pasta
  
  
  Image by maximolly via Flickr
• Eggs on Sunday - Garlic Scape Pesto


• Clagett Farm - Sauteed Garlic Scapes
  
  
• Clear Sky Farm - How to cook garlic scapes

Oh, and btw - it's only fair that I warn ya - you're going to want to get something to freshen your breath once we start giving you garlic scapes! ;-)

Related articles

• Learn to Love: Garlic Scapes (fitsugar.com)