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Whether you’re a long-time scape lover or new to the harvest, you’re in the right place! Learn everything you need to know about preparing and preserving garlic scapes to make the most of this short-lived crop.
Why You Should Preserve garlic scapes This Year
- Delicious garlic flavor – With a milder flavor that’s much less pungent than the garlic bulb, scapes are a great way to get that an herby, subtle garlic flavor without too much bite. It’s amazing in compound butters, sauces, and more.
- Fun seasonal vegetable – This is a very special, short-lived crop that’s only available for a few weeks in the late spring/early summer. They really kick off the start of the summer crops and we often eat them with spring greens, chive blossoms, root vegetables, and other early summer crops.
- Great way to use the harvest – There’s something extremely satisfying about finding ways to use your harvest and cook creatively in the kitchen. I love finding new ways to use these tender stems in the kitchen and these recipes will help you keep your harvest safe for later.
How to Store Garlic Scapes
Perhaps the easiest way to store scapes for short-term future use is to place them in a plastic bag and store them in the fridge. This method will keep the garlic scapes fresh for a few weeks.
Being a unique seasonal vegetable that is only available for a small time period, refrigerator storage is a simple way to use your entire harvest and extend your opportunity to use this fun, seasonal ingredient in creative ways.
How to Preserve Garlic Scapes: 4 Easy Ways
Since garlic scapes are such a short-season crop, I like to preserve them for long-term storage to use throughout the year using any of the four methods below. These are pretty quick and easy and allow you to add that mild garlic flavor to your favorite recipes and dishes!
Dehydrating
One of the easiest ways to preserve fresh garlic scapes for later is to cut them into small pieces and dehydrate them! This will remove any liquids and allow you to keep them for long-term storage.
After dehydrating, you can also blend them into a garlic scape powder to sprinkle over eggs or other dishes!
Learn all about dehydrating garlic scapes here.
Freezing
There are two main ways to freeze garlic scapes. The first is to blanch or roast the scapes, then freeze the cooked scapes in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag for later.
If you typically prefer to add scapes to cooked pasta dishes or just need a bit at a time, place the minced scapes in ice-cube trays, then cover them with a little olive oil and freeze. Once solid, remove the cubes from the trays and store them in a freezer-safe bag or container to use whenever!
Fermenting
Another traditional way to preserve scapes (and many other foods) is to ferment them. This is lactofermentation, very similar to making sauerkraut.
You’re basically culturing the scapes in a salt-water brine. This will allow any good bacteria on the scapes to grow and essentially pickle the scapes while the salt kills any bad bacteria. The end product is naturally probiotic! It’s an excellent way to keep fresh ingredients safe to eat for a long time.
Pickling
If you really want your scapes to have a long shelf life, try canning! Since scapes are low-acid, you’ll want to can them using an approved pickling process.
They have a similar texture to dilly beans or pickled green beans that’s really satisfying. Cover them with a pickling, hot brine then process them in a water bath canner. You’ll be able to enjoy shelf-stable scapes from sealed jars any time of year!
Using Scapes
Once you have plenty preserved for later, use your fresh scapes in lots of different ways! I’ve compiled 20+ garlic scape recipes here to give you lots of inspiration.
If you enjoy this post, please leave a comment or ask a question below! I’d love to hear what you think and hear about your own experiences.
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