Over the last couple of weeks I've shared several recipes using garlic scapes, and a few people have asked, "What are garlic scapes?" Let's take a quick look before we get back to the recipes.
First, it's helpful to know that there are two main types of garlic: hardneck and softneck. Hardneck garlic produces garlic scapes, while softneck garlic does not. Here on our farm, we grow only hardneck varieties because they perform well in our Zone 4b climate.
When we plant garlic, we break apart a garlic bulb into individual cloves. The largest cloves are planted in the fall, and each clove grows into a brand-new bulb of garlic the following season.
As the garlic plant grows, it naturally wants to produce a flower. The plant sends up a long stalk with a developing flower bud on the end. This stalk is called the garlic scape.
Since we propagate our garlic by planting cloves rather than seeds, we don't need the plant to put energy into producing flowers and seeds. In fact, if garlic were grown from seed, it would take several years to produce a decent-sized bulb. By removing the scape before the flower matures, we encourage the plant to redirect that energy back into growing a larger bulb underground.
The good news is that the scape doesn't go to waste. Garlic scapes are edible and packed with fresh garlic flavor. They can be used in many of the same ways you would use a garlic clove.
So while removing the scapes helps us grow bigger garlic bulbs, it also gives us one of the tastiest seasonal treats of early summer.
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