CROPSHARE #11 Wet garlic

Wet garlic (Allium sativum), sometimes called fresh garlic, is essentially an immature garlic with stalks and undeveloped cloves. It is available for a short time from spring to early summer and is one of the first new season harvests. By the end of June the papery skins separating the cloves start to form which marks the end of wet garlic season.

Wet garlic can be used raw or cooked. It is milder than dried garlic and therefore can be used more generously. You can use a whole bulb/stem in one dish. You don’t need to peel it, just chop it. It works well in stir-fries, salads, dressings, soups, stews, risottos – anywhere you’d use leeks, spring onions, and chives. It is great sautéed or roasted whole and then used as a puree. You can also make a wet garlic soup, just like with leeks. Its inner white stem can be chopped and used like spring onions.

Wet garlic contains vitamins B6 and C as well as some minerals – calcium, phosphorus, copper, selenium and manganese.

Wet garlic is best kept in the fridge and should be consumed within 10 days.