Garlic Scapes

bella1999

13 years ago

It has been forever since I posted anything, but I do read many of the entries on a regular basis. I simply do not have the time to write! But I made a wonderful discovery today that I had to share; maybe some of you already know about garlic scapes - they are wonderful! They are the "stem" that grows out of the garlic and "loops". I made "garlic scape pesto" this morning: 10 scapes, 1/3 to 1/2 cup parmesan, 1/3 cup slivered almonds, 1/2 cup olive oil, and salt to taste. Just dump it all in the food processor. We eat a lot of pesto - the usual variety with basil and I make a jalepeno pesto. All freeze very well. You probably can use other kinds of nuts; I use walnuts and pine nuts in my regular pesto.

A friend said her mom would chop up the scapes and put them in scrambled eggs. I will use some in the stir fry vegetables this evening. You all take care, and thanks for all the great info you all post!

Bella

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Comments (7)

transplanted_traci
13 years ago
YUMMY! I actually never heard of garlic scapes but have just spent an hour looking at garlic sites after recent postings. My husband almost wasn't my husband because of his love of garlic - I finally decided it was easier to eat it than fight it...I am now addicted. At the risk of sounding stupid - is this "stem" found on old garlic you purchase or just the great home grown variety?
Thanks for the recipe.

Traci
elkwc
13 years ago
Traci,
The scape comes up in the center of the leaves. Bulbils form on the top of it. Not all garlic forms it. I just removed some recently. I just left them in the garden. Will have to freeze them in the future. It is is left it will die when you pull the plant and cure the bulb. Then I cut it off when I cut the leaves odd if it is still on the plant. Some growers claim the bulb will get bigger if the scape is removed. Others are like me and have never noticed a difference. I still have some left on. I was leaving to compare bulb sizes again this year. Might cut them off and freeze them after reading Bella's post. By the time you buy the bulb is has been cured and the roots, leaves and any scapes left have already been removed. Jay
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Mmm, those look good, malna! Have you eaten scapes before? I tried garlic scapes this year for the first time, lactofermented with some dill. Wow! I was surprised at the HUGE garlic flavor. When DH eats some of these, I do too...as a form of self-defense.
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It ended up being a moot point as the box was too full to include the scapes. I will be dehydrating some and sending to her later. My fear with a wet paper towel and ziploc or any plastic bag, would be the possibility of mold growing in that weeks' time after the ice pack melted. My daughter's insulin is shipped with ice packs and in the summer, even when sent next day mail, they are often melted.
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Small cloves produce better greens than what are generally tiny bulbils. Better to always cut off the scapes pretty much regardless of whether the variety is hardneck or softneck. Always better bulb size when you do that, - well - almost always anyway. Softnecks (two types - Artichokes and silverskins) may bolt, but they are called softnecks because they very seldom ever do. But that doesn't mean they won't, although there is probably no forecasting just when it will happen. Hardnecks (8 types all seemingly more primitive that the softnecks and do not keep as well) will almost always bolt, although there is an intermediate group that they now put with the regular hardnecks called weakly bolting hardnecks (Turbans and Asiatics) which may or may not. The semi-woody flower stem produces the "hardneck" making them completely unsuitable for braiding. No bolt - no "hardneck", even if the variety is officially a hardneck, and that reverse happens sometimes, too. In the US generally hardnecks do better in the North and softnecks in the South. Exceptions to this vary from grower to grower, and are quite common. Generally Creoles are one of the exceptions doing generally much better in the South, even when they regularly or commonly bolt.
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I hear that about being too hot & sticky, OldDutch... but this is finally my chance to get something done, so I've got to put up with it. Fortunately the house has AC, so I can go in to cool down every hour or so (like I'm doing right now). Just cut off my scapes today; they are much later than usual this year. Only the second time this year the ground in the rural plot has been dry enough to walk on without gathering mud. Still haven't been able to weed, I'm too far behind on the home gardens to get to it. Where did I put that "round tuit", I could use it right about now... :-) Wish I'd been able to lay down mulch, but I planted very late last year, and in a hurry. Rain delayed planting for so long this year, that everything growing now started as transplants indoors, under lights. Squash, beans, okra - everything. Nothing planted in the rural garden yet other than the garlic. I'm still hoping it stays dry there long enough for me to turn the weeds over in time to plant something. I've got half a tray of gherkin plants ready to go, for making pickles... these are true gherkins, small egg-shaped things 2-3" long, crunchier than any cukes I've grown. They grow very quickly, so I've still got time to get a fairly good crop.
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bella1999
Original Author
13 years ago
The scape is the flower stalk of hardneck garlic, but some soft necks may also produce a scape. The scapes are cut when the garlic is still in the ground and hasn't been harvested yet and the "stem" or scape has not bloomed. You can liken them to scallions. I am so excited about this "discovery"; it is like getting something free from the garden!
scarlettfourseasonsrv
13 years ago
Bella...I am so jealous. My hardneck garlic did not produce scapes as I'd hoped they would. Could have been the variety. This fall I shall sleuth out some scape producing hardnecks. They are indeed a delicacy from what I've been reading. I'm happy for you AND your husband:)

Barbara
transplanted_traci
13 years ago
It was so funny - the first time I ever heard about scapes was last night on this site and today I was searching for a recipe and came upon a recipe that called for scapes! Must be a sign I need to plant me some garlic! lol. Sounds delicious!

Traci
p_mac
13 years ago
I have quite a few scapes...thanks to Jay's generousity last fall I've got over 80 garlic in the ground! I wasn't sure what to do with them but now I think I'm going to remove most of them today. Thanks for the recipe!!! DH will love this on some sandwiches!

Paula
bettycbowen
13 years ago
I like them too, I add them to spaghetti sauce. For years I've been cutting the scapes off of all my wild garlic & wild onions that come up volunteer & in the way, so this year when I grew garlic "on purpose" for the first time I did it too.

But I didn't know they had a name! Thanks.

Garlic Scapes

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transplanted_traci

elkwc

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Garlic Scapes

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transplanted_traci

elkwc

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bella1999
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