Storing Garlic Scapes

What are these squiggly, twisty green things? I didn't know either.

If you do know, good for you! You know more than I did about them a week ago! 

Remember the CSA I was telling you about? Well, this week I got garlic scapes in my little bundle of fresh produce.

 I love garlic.

I go through more garlic than most 20 year olds, I'm sure. I put it in as many dishes as I can. So, I was excited to try a new way of enjoying it. 

Apparently, these garlic scapes are the "flowering" part of a garlic plant, but they need to be trimmed off because if the plant is spending its energy on the flowering part it isn't growing a big garlic root base. So, this part is trimmed off right about now during the growing season. I took a bite out of it, too, just to see how garlic-y it really was. It tastes stronger than I expected considering it's scallion-esque appearance, but it is really flavorful.

You can store them in the fridge in a plastic baggy for a few days, but I had more than I could eat in a week, so I decided to freeze mine. They are really great frozen because you can just grab a handful out of the freezer and pop them into whatever dish you are making. So far they have been good in scrambled eggs, buffalo chicken grilled cheese and in hot roast beef loafs. 

 So, to freeze it you first cut it up into itty bitty pieces.

Then, put them in a strainer and dip them into boiling water for about 30 seconds to a minute. 

After that, put them in a bowl of ice water. 

Then, lay them in a thin layer on a baking sheet and stick them in a freezer for a while. When they are frozen you can transfer them into a plastic bag for longer-term storage. 

I know none of this is all too exciting but I promised I'd keep you updated on the things I learned during this farm share. This blog is about personal growth, so thanks for listening.

Maybe next week I'll try canning them.

How do you store your garlic scapes?