An inconspicuous plant whose leaves may resemble a nettle, so you can easily miss it. But when you smell it, you will probably be surprised. Garlic smells and tastes exactly like its name. “And unlike wild garlic, you can find it almost everywhere,” gardener Vlastimil Šindelář says in the podcast.
Can you listen to the audio version of the podcast here?
is rightfully a hit in recent years. People whisper to each other where the best sites are in the area, they plant it in their gardens, they look forward to having some goodness from the green leaves all year round. But in its shadow grows an herb, albeit more common, but almost the same in taste. And if you learn to recognize it, this year’s bear garlic hunt may be your last.
It smells like garlic
In nature, it grows mostly in forests, i.e. in higher humidity, you will not find it in the mountains, but otherwise almost everywhere. It appears in April, in cooler places at the beginning of May, and at the beginning you can mistake it for a poplar, because the first leaves are rounder. However, the distinct smell of garlic accompanies it already at that moment, so you can easily distinguish them from each other.
In the forest and in the garden
Garlic is a biennial, but it self-seeds. And if it doesn’t grow anywhere in the area and you have more humous, moist soil, you can easily grow it from seeds and plant it in your own garden. “You will be surprised that it is not related to garlic, which is why it does not have a bulb, but grows from seeds,” describes Vlastimil Šindelář. “It belongs to the cruciferous family, so it is more closely related to kohlrabi.”
Kitchen and first aid kit
Use it in the kitchen in the same way as fresh chives – chop it on bread and butter, add it to spreads or add leaves to a spring salad, where the pleasant garlic-mustard taste adds an interesting note.
Garlic is also medicinal. It’s strong and disinfects everywhere it goes. It is therefore used internally and on the skin, for example for rashes or eczema. And if you eat it regularly, it strengthens immunity.
