There’s one vegetable I’ve never seen anywhere except at my local farmers market – the garlic scape. Most people have never heard of garlic scapes and, when they see them, have no idea what they are. Long slender round stems with a funny little flower bud at the end, many people call them “pigtails” because of the way they curl. They’re the flower stalks of hardneck garlic plants.
I’ve been waiting for garlic scapes to come into season and finally found them at the Morningside Farmers Market, where Mary Denton of Denton Flower Farm in Covington had a basket-full for sale. She told me I was lucky; she wouldn’t have known the garlic scapes were ready to harvest if her husband hadn’t noticed them the day before.
Denton sells at the Morningside and Decatur markets as well as hosting a community-supported agriculture program on the farm. She’s known for her beautiful cut flowers, but she also brings vegetables to market. Since garlic scapes are flower stems, it just seems right she would be selling those, too.
Denton planted about 600 feet of garlic this year. She put in both softneck and hardneck varieties. Softneck garlic keeps longer. It’s the type of garlic you see plaited into a braid and hanging on someone’s kitchen wall. Denton also grows hardneck garlic because she really likes the many different varieties, all with their own tastes.
Yes, that’s right. Not all garlic taste alike.
“Many of our customers don’t realize there’s more than one variety of garlic or that there can be a variety of flavors. When they figure it out, they buy one of each and try them and then they come back to us every year, looking for their favorite,” Denton said. This year she’s growing Killarney Red, Romanian Red and German Brown, among others.
But back to the garlic scapes.
“The scapes reflect the flavor of the garlic. If the garlic is really hot, the scape will be hot,” she said.
Why cut off the scapes?
“Most people agree that cutting off the flower stalk allows the plant to put its energy into growing a bigger garlic head," Denton said. "We start to check the garlic about two to three weeks after the flower stalk is cut to see if it is ready to harvest. The plant begins to yellow and die back. If you dig too soon, it will be to green and may not dry right. If you wait too long there may not be enough papers, the white thin stuff on the outside of the garlic bulb, to protect the garlic head.”
So how do you use garlic scapes? If you look on the Internet or can locate a recipe in a cookbook, you’ll find the most common use seems to be as a substitute for basil in pesto. Denton says her customers cut them up into salads or sauté them with their eggs.
“You can use them anywhere you’d use chives, but you’ll have a stronger garlic flavor,” she said. She and I both like garlic scapes in stir fries.
If you want to see garlic growing in the field, visit Denton’s farm on the Morningside Farmers Market Farm Tour Spring 2011 on June 5. The tour will also stop at Crystal Organic Farm and Hazelbrand Farm, with a break for a box lunch along the way.
At local farmers markets
Farm tour:
- Sunday, June 5, Farm Tour Spring 2011. Leave from Morningside Farmers Market and visit three farms. Transportation and box lunch included. $40. Contact hankshumate@rocketmail.com for details.
Cooking demos:
- Saturday, June 4, 9:30 a.m. Chef Natalie Keng, Chinese Southern Belle. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
- Saturday, June 4, 10 a.m. Chef Hugh Acheson, 5 & 10 and Empire State South. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
Farmers market opening for the season:
- Lawrenceville Farmers Market, Lawrenceville: June 4. www.lawrencevillefarmersmarket.com
For sale
Vegetables and fruit: arugula, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, cucumbers, fennel, garlic, garlic scapes, herbs, kale, lambs quarters, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard, Napa cabbage, onions, pea shoots, peas, potatoes, plums, radishes, scallions, strawberries, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips
From local reports
Stir Fried Garlic Scapes
Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes Serves: 4
Freeze the discarded flower buds and add them to the stockpot the next time you’re making chicken or beef stock. They’re tasty, but tough. Serve the stir fry over brown rice.
1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 1-inch piece ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch diagonal slices
1/2 pound garlic scapes, cut into two-inch sections, discard flower buds
1/4 cup mirin or sherry
In a small bowl, reconstitute the dried mushrooms with the boiling water. Let sit for 10 minutes. When softened, cut mushrooms into thin strips. Strain soaking liquid for use in sauce.
In a small bowl, make sauce by combining mushroom soaking liquid with soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch and pepper. Set aside.
In a wok or large skillet, heat oil until very hot, about 1 minute. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add carrots, garlic scapes and mirin. Cover wok or skillet and let vegetables steam for 1 minute. Uncover, add mushrooms and cook 30 seconds more. Pour sauce into wok and cook until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve hot.
Per serving:
210 calories (percent of calories from fat, 31), 5 grams protein, 31 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 7 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 181 milligrams sodium.
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