Wild garlic is an ancient-woodland-indicator plant. If you spot it while you’re out exploring, it could be a sign you’re standing in a rare and special habitat. Here at Book Warren HQ we are very lucky to have this annual plant growing in our woodland next to Mennock Water. It’s latin is name Allium Ursinum, the second half of the Latin name, ursinum, refers to the fact that brown bears loved to eat the bulb. This also gave rise to two of its common names – bear’s leek and bear garlic. Don’t confuse this with Lily of the Valley! It flowers in early spring so is an important early bloom for the bees and other insects which pollinate them. It’s also a fantastic food for those that love to forage.
There are a number of excellent books on the subject of Foraging and Wild Harvests so why not take a look at our online shop?
Last year we used wild garlic in a number of dishes that we cooked at home and this year we’ll try our hands at Wild Garlic Pesto! We also make jams and chutney’s from the wonderful autumn wild fruits that surround us too.
There’s a whole world of free food out there if you know where to look!
