Scapes are the delicious, tender stem & flower bud of hardneck garlic plants. Hardneck garlics are the most rugged and cold hardy of the garlics. They grow best in Hardiness Zones 1-5, but we have good success here in zone 7 by planting in the fall, overwintering and harvesting in mid-June. In order to form healthy bulbs, they need to experience at least 10 weeks of cold.
Ways to use garlic scapes:
Sauteé in butter/oil & serve like a green bean, add to salads, stir fries, omelettes, quiches or tarts.
Roast or BBQ the scapes whole and serve like garlicky asparagus with an ailoli dip or just some balsamic and olive oil. You can eat the whole stem and flower head.
Make garlic scape pesto (check out our Scape & Walnut Pesto recipe), hummus or soup
Tempura batter & deep fry. Serve with sweet chilli dipping sauce.
Blanch and stir them into mash potatoes.
