garlic scapes

[bill london <london@moscow.com>]

Sample garlic scapes and garlic scape pesto at
the first annual ScapeScapade……..

at the Moscow Farmers Market
Saturday, July 6
8am until noon

at the MaryJanesFarm booth
in the middle of the north row, by the Moscow Hotel back entrance

And what is the garlic scape?

The garlic scape is an exciting new food.  These young curling
flowerstalks are tender, yet crunchy, with a subtle garlic flavor (and
without the garlic “bite”).
Garlic scapes are a delicacy in many Asian cuisines, and are available
occasionally at gourmet restaurants nationwide.
Scapes are the flowerstalks found on members of the Allium family
(onions, leeks, chives, and garlic).  Garlic scapes, which only appear
on the finest premium garlic varieties, curl upward as they grow,
ultimately straighten, and then grow little seed-like bulbils.
Commercial garlic growers from warmer climates (for example, in Gilroy,
California) use “softneck” garlic varieties that are readily machine
harvested and do not produce scapes.  Premium garlics that are well
adapted to colder climates (also known as “hardneck” or “topset”
varieties), which also store better and peel more easily than softneck
varieties, do produce scapes.  Garlic growers cut scapes to enhance bulb
growth.  The scapes are usually discarded, but now their value as a
uniquely delightful food has been discovered.
When garlic scapes are still in full curl, they are tender and
delicious.  They provide a delightfully subtle flavor and crunchiness if
added to salads and soups, cook well in stir-fries, and can be processed
in vinegars, as pickles, or into a green “pesto” sauce. Scapes are a
perishable product that must be picked within two weeks of budding