WIld Garlic - Pickled Flower Buds

If you go down to the woods today in Sheffield or the Peak District the foraging potential for wild garlic is in its prime.

** Recipe - Pickled Wild Garlic Flower Buds **

One way of preserving the harvest is to simply pickle the flower buds. These make a kind of caper which can be used to spice up a salad, add to a bruschetta as garnish or into a stir fry for instant flavour. Remember to forage responsibly, not pick too much to ensure future harvests and be absolutely confident of your identification.

The buds form on shoots at the base of the plant. As they grow the shoots lengthen and eventually appear above the leaves just before flowering. However, when younger you will need to part the leaves and find the buds lower down - see the picture.

Pick your flower buds and rinse fo clean.

The simplest pickling liquid is based in a 3:2:1 ratio of acid:water:sweetness/saltyness. So you could use say cider vinegar with water and white or brown sugar or a mixture of sugar and salt.

Make your choice of pickling liquid by dissolving the sugar/salt by gently heating the liquid. Further flavourings can be added like favourite spices or citrus zest or just kept simply to allow the wild garlic to predominate.

Pack the flower buds in clean and sterilised jars and pour the cooled liquid over to cover.

Keep in the fridge for a week or so until the flavours develop. The pickle should keep for a few months in the fridge.