Word of Mouth: Scape

Scape n. Flowering stem of a plant. Garlic scapes, the new buds of the Allium family, are an early summer delicacy.

Scapes are the flowerstalks found on many plants, including all members of the Allium family (leeks, onions, chives, and garlic). Garlic scapes twist and curl as they grow, ultimately straightening before they flower. Most garlic producers remove these flowertops to promote the growth of the plant, but the best farmers know to keep and eat them while they are coiled and tender. We loved this photo from SFist's article on garlic scapes...

...go there for some links to great recipes that include garlic scapes. We love both the look and the taste of these marvelously delicate and tender garlic shoots. Many garlic plants are putting out their scapes right around this time of year, so look for them at the farmer's markets.

Comments (4)

I just bought these last week at the farmers market in Union Sq. I mixed a few into a farro/corn/tomato salad, and roasted the rest last night with some other veggies. They're pretty good, raw, too...

posted by abbyroad on June 11th 2007 at 1:35pm
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i love these just sauteed with, what else, but garlic.

posted by mei on June 11th 2007 at 2:54pm
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We call these garlic whistles. Cut up in a tuna sandwich makes me happy.

i want to make up pesto with them too!

posted by jocie-o on June 11th 2007 at 6:31pm
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how long to they last once they've been cut and bought? And how does one store them? I've got a few that have been sitting on my counter for about a week and I hope they're still good!

posted by Eliza on July 6th 2007 at 11:56am
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