270 degree scape

The subject of garlic scapes has come up several times here and I thought I'd share a photo of an unusual one. Actually not that unusual; I've had a number of varieties do this. What you see here is part of my garlic patch, nearing harvest time. That happens in most places around mid June but this is the cool maritime Pacific Northwest.

Hardnecked garlic varities "throw" scapes. Some just stay straight, others curl into corkscrews. Others, including this variety (called "Purple Glazer") start out straight, then bend down and eventually curl around into this 270 degree curve, ending up pointing horizontally. Like many growers, I try to remove scapes believing they draw energy from bulb formation, also as a nice side benefit. This would be one I missed.

Sorry for the poor photography. I thought I'd focused on the scape in question rather than the garlic in the background. By the time I realized the error, I'd removed the scape and too late to re-take the photo.

Garlic scape 270 small.jpg

[Jenise]

How interesting! I bought some scapes a few weeks ago that curled every which way. However, the ones Marco brought me this week are short and just arc over a bit--C shaped. I noted the difference but didn't realize that different varieties had different scaping habits.

How interesting! I bought some scapes a few weeks ago that curled every which way. However, the ones Marco brought me this week are short and just arc over a bit--C shaped. I noted the difference but didn't realize that different varieties had different scaping habits.

I think some Rocamboles (one of the varieties of hardneck garlic) do a 630 degrees - a full twist plus a 270, in other words, ending up horizontal again. Maybe the horizontal part is a propagation strategy - to get the bulbils to drop further from the mother plant(?)

The ones you got from Marco may have been a little less advanced than the one in my photo. Scapes from all the other plants in the photo I'm guessing I harvested the best part of a month ago, at which point they would have been almost straight, just slightly curved. Just two or three escaped (no pun intended) my attention and were allowed to develop this far.

[Jenise]

And how do you prepare the scapes? I blanch them and then marinate them in a bit of sweet vinegar. Haven't had the luxury of having them around often to do much else.

If you trained it back again the other way, would it be an 'S' scape.....

And how do you prepare the scapes?

I can't say I've done anything special with them. Even though I have on the order of 150 plants or so, different varieties give scapes on different schedules so it's still an occasional thing. If I have enough young ones around I generally treat them as I would asparagus, either simply steamed and completely unadorned or roasted with a coat of olive oil, maybe a splash of whatever faux "balsamic" we have around. If either quantities are small or the scapes too mature to enjoy that way, they generally get chopped up and included in a stir fry, a mildly garlicky substitute for scallions. The one in the photo may be too far gone to eat, period. The scape is on the end of what becomes the hard neck that gives that type of garlic its name - completely woody.

Impressive! The ones we got here at the Farmers' Market were all pretty straight.

When they are really tender I mince them raw in a salad. A little firmer I saute briefly in olive oil as part of a soffrito or in butter for risotto

Mark are you using all of that garlic for home cooking ? I end up giving a lot away and am back at the store before Christmas. I only have room for 30 bulbs. Wow. What a garlic plot !

Mark are you using all of that garlic for home cooking ? I end up giving a lot away and am back at the store before Christmas. I only have room for 30 bulbs. Wow. What a garlic plot !

Christina, I probably am overdoing it. Some gets given away. Also, the folks at Filaree Farms advised me that so-called Silverskin (softneck, as in supermarket garlic) varieties, in particular one from the San Juan Islands called Nootka Rose, and Porcelains (one of the hardneck families) were my best candidates in this climate. In years past (but not this one) I've grown Nootka Rose, in part because it keeps well. This year just for fun, I planted a Glazed Purple Stripe variety just to see what it looks like. The Porcelains that account for most of my plants only have 4-6 big cloves per bulb, so 20-25% gets used to plant next year's crop. Even with that and what's given away and the fact that we do use a lot of garlic, we generally end up at the store at some point because it just doesn't keep for a year.

Nice vivid picture, Mark! I wish I had such a garlic patch.

And how do you prepare the scapes?

With goat?

[Jenise]

With goat?

Alex 1, Jenise 0.