What is a Garlic Scape?

A garlic scape is the flower stalk of a ‘hardneck’ garlic plant. It tastes like garlic, only spicier. The stem of the growing garlic is removed so that the remaining energy goes towards the development of the bulb, or head of garlic, which is good because this helps the plant develop plump, full flavored garlic cloves. So until the garlic harvest later in the season, we feast on scapes!

Quick Guide: How to Make Garlic Scape Pesto. It’s so quick to whirl this pesto up, enjoy it, and/or pop it in your freezer for a delicious summertime treat in the middle of winter.

First, in the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic scapes, nuts, cheese, salt, and lemon. Give the ingredients a whirl to break down the ingredients.
Next, with the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil.
Last, taste for salt adjustment and transfer into storage containers.

Garlic Scape Pesto

This is a wonderful garlic scape pesto made with the curled flowers from the top of a garlic plant that are abundant in spring. This pesto is delicious mixed with pasta, or spread on crackers. It also tastes great mixed with mayo for sandwiches, and makes a great substitute for garlic, onion, or scallions!Submitted by amandajo

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 10 mins

Servings: 28Yield: 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients 1 pound garlic scapes, cut into 2-inch pieces1

¼ cups grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Blend garlic scapes, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper together in a food processor until smooth.

Garlic scapes are abundant in spring.

Let's make GARLIC BUTTER!!

Air Fryer and Oven Directions

Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees F. Cut the top off the head of garlic and place on a square piece of aluminum foil. Bring the foil up and around the garlic. Pour olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper. Close ends of foil over garlic, creating a pouch. Air fry until the garlic is soft, 16 to 20 minutes. Open the foil pouch very carefully, as hot steam will escape. Can do multiple heads of garlic at a time depending on the size of your air fryer.Add the entire bulb to a stick of softened butter with fresh ground kosher salt and pepper, fresh parsley and fresh thyme to make a delicious compound butter.

Oven Directions: Same prep as for air fryer - bake at 350 degrees until soft approximately 30 minutes.

Pickled Garlic!

This recipe is not suitable for shelf-stable canning. If you make this recipe, you MUST store it in the refrigerator. Even if you seal the jars with a water bath. Refrigerate!

Prep Time15minutes mins

Cook Time30minutes mins

Cooling time12hours hrs

Total Time45minutes mins

Servings32 servings (¼ cup each)

CoursePantry

CuisineAmerican

Calories52

4.99 from 231 votes

Review Print

Equipment

Mason jars

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

▢1/4 cup canning salt
▢5 cups white vinegar
▢2 pounds fresh garlic peeled
▢1 teaspoon red chili flakes
▢4 heads fresh dill or 2 cups fresh dill, stems and leaves coarsely chopped

Instructions

Combine canning salt and vinegar in a large saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes (180 degrees).
Meanwhile, pack garlic into 4 sterilized pint jars (about 8 ounces per jar) leaving 1/2-inch of headspace. Add ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1 head of dill to each jar. (If using fresh dill, add ½ cup to each jar.)
Using a ladle, divide hot pickling liquid between the 4 jars, leaving 1/2-inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles, clean jar rims, center lids on jars, and adjust band to fingertip-tight.
Chill in the refrigerator until pickled as desired (I recommend at least 3 weeks in the refrigerator). Store in refrigerator for up to 4 months (see notes) or seal jars following the instructions below (the pickled garlic must still be refrigerated; it will not be shelf-stable).

To seal jars they must be refrigerated not shelf-stable.

Process jars in boiling water for 10 minutes. The jars must be covered by at least 1 inch of water. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Cool 12 hours. Check seals. Chill in the refrigerator until pickled as desired (I recommend at least 3 weeks in the refrigerator). Store in refrigerator for up to 4 months (see notes).

Notes

WARNING: This recipe is not suitable for shelf-stable canning. Obviously people (or companies) sell shelf-stable pickled garlic, but I am not an expert in this area and garlic has a propensity to develop botulism. So, if you make this recipe, you MUST store it in the refrigerator. Even if you seal the jars with a water bath. Refrigerate! “Canning of garlic is not recommended. Garlic is a low-acid vegetable that requires a pressure canner to be properly processed. Garlic loses most of its flavor when heated in this way. For this reason, adequate processing times have not been determined for canning garlic.”
Yield: This recipe makes 4 pints (8 cups), enough for 32 servings, ¼ cup each.
Storage: The National Center for Home Food Preservation states that the garlic and vinegar mixture may be refrigerated for up to 4 months. It’s safe to use the flavored liquid for other things. Discard if you see any signs of mold or yeast growth.
Blue garlic: Sometimes pickled garlic turns blue or turquoise when you pickle it. It’s completely normal and still safe to eat and you don’t need to worry. You can read all about the chemistry of garlic (and exactly why it may or may not turn blue). To prevent the bluish color:
- User kosher salt or sea salt to avoid iodine
- Use stainless steel or enamel cookware and utensils (avoid copper, aluminum, cast iron, and tin cookware and utensils)
- Reduce chlorophyll production by avoiding sunlight
- Use distilled water to avoid the trace minerals found in tap water.