Preserving wild garlic in vinegar or oil, quick, simple.

Preserving wild garlic in vinegar or oil, quick, simple.

I can truly say that I love garlic. In all forms. Spring garlic, wet garlic, wild garlic, roasted, raw… It might come from my Transylvanian roots…or just my love for food.

All parts of the wild garlic plant can be consumed, from the flower to stems, leaves and roots.

As always with garlic that’s preserved in oil there’s a small risk of botulism. A rare disease (only 8 cases in the UK since 1978) but nevertheless if you have any concerns about this then you should keep away form it. Or just preserve it in vinegar, this will not present any risks. A quick search online would give you useful information about this.

I have kept my preserved wild garlic in oil for about 2 years, it keeps fresh and the taste is still good, but always kept the jar in the fridge at 3C so the risk of it developing botulism had been eliminated.

For preserving wild garlic in vinegar, you need salt, wild garlic and…vinegar. I used white wine vinegar. Use sterilized jars. One tablespoon of salt for about 250g of wild garlic, finely chopped. Add it to a jar, pack it tightly, pressing it down. Add the vinegar.

The taste of the wild garlic will infuse the vinegar, and it can be used in soups, for salad dressings or other dishes, the liquid as well as the leaves.

In the case of preserving wild garlic in oil, I used the washed and dried leaves of garlic, roughly chopped. Add slightly less salt to them and using a blender, blend, pouring in the oil until you get a thick paste.

Again, keep in sterilized jars. Fill the jars almost to the top, and pour in a thin layer of oil over to cover the surface. Seal and refrigerate until needed. Awesome in pasta dishes, stews, smeared over roasts, sauces, soups, etc.

You can also freeze wild garlic. Wash and drain well. Use a vacuum bag if available (it will keep this way for months) or try a sealing bag, removing as much air from it as possible.

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