Green Garlic

Green Garlic is garlic that is harvested before the bulb forms. The bulb will look like that of a green onion (aka spring onion), though sometimes it may be a bit bigger. It's harvested in the spring, but now that Green Garlic is catching on, research is being done to develop strains that will grow in hotter summer temperatures. Green Garlic is one of those things that is just now being discovered by Foodies, though home gardeners have known about it for years. The plants are ready to harvest when the stalks are about the height that green onions would be, or about 10 to 16 inches tall (25 to 40 cm.)

It's used as an herb, for flavouring. The stalk and bulb have a very, very mild garlic taste with none of the assertiveness that it would have if it were full grown.

Green Garlic is pretty hard to get, unless you grow your own. If you have a garden, and have teeny leftover cloves of garlic that are a pain to peel, you can always just plant them to grow Green Garlic from. Plant about 2 inches deep (5 cm) in the fall or in the very early spring. You can save ones through the year in a cool, dry place for planting. To harvest, you can pull the whole plant, or clip the greens off just above ground level and you'll probably get a second crop.

Green Garlic is used a lot in Southern Europe.

Green Garlic does not mean the following types of green garlic:

• Raw garlic can go green if it reacts with copper, is exposed to sunlight, is not fully grown and is mixed with something acidic, or if it is mixed with iodized salt. This is still safe to eat, it just looks weird;
• Garlic can also go green if it has gone mouldy. This is not safe to eat.

  Cooking Tips for Green Garlic

  Can be used in any recipe that calls for garlic.

Wash well. You use the entire stalk and any bulb that there is. Chop as you would green onion. Or, good oiled and tossed whole onto the barbeque.GarlicPer stalk: 4.5 calories, .02g fat, .06g fibre, .2g protein, .1g carbohydrate, .5mg sodium1 stalk equals medium clove garlic

Refrigerate unwashed in plastic bag for up to 3 or 4 days.

Also called:

Chives, Green Onions

Garlic Greens, Green Garlic

Asparagus, Brassica Family, Leafy Vegetables, Mushrooms, Peppers, Root Vegetables, Seaweed, Sprouts, Squash, Tomatoes