Storing and preserving wild garlic/ramsons

[duncang]

Good Afternoon all!!

Right, ramsons are out big time near me (just outside of Cheddar) and I would really like to be able to store some to use throughout the year in sauces, stews, soups, etc.

I know you can eat the flowers, leaves and the bulbs, so wanted to know what experience people had had in preserving any of these?

Ideas:

- Blend the leaves with some salt and pour into sterilised jars and cover with oil as a sort of homemade pesto. Have read it needs refrigerating, but don't see why you couldn't store in the pantry if you heat it first and pour it in hot to seal it in. Your thoughts? Refrigerate once open of course.

- Wash and pickle the bulbs in plain old white wine or cider vinegar

- Chop leaves or flowers finely and put into ice cube trays and cover with water...store individual ice cubes in a tub in the freezer and just add direct to sauces, stews, etc.

- Make wild garlic oil by adding whole bulbs to olive oil ensuring they are completely immersed.

What do you think of these ideas? Had any experience? Any other ideas? I obviously don't want to harvest if I can't store, in which case will just harvest as required, and make do without it til next season comes along.

Thanks,
Duncan

[MKG]

Hi Duncan - I can't help directly, but just an observation. I'm sure I'm wrong, but your post makes it sound like your intentions are to heavily crop entire plants, or even entire areas (and I'm not sure about the legality of taking the bulbs from the wild). I'm sure a couple of leaves per plant would be harmless.

But, as I said, I'm probably wrong.

[duncang]

Many thanks!
Just to clarify, my intention was not to heavily crop, just a few leaves as you said. Am more interested in experimenting than actually making bucket loads of the stuff...As for the bulbs these would be in very minimal quantities and on private land.

Thanks though, well worth clarifying and I am sure its not legal to harvest the bulbs on someone else's land...

[floraadora]

How about freezing the leaves?

[Silver Ether]

I froze leaves last year ... whole and they were fine for soups and stews. I just lay then in recycled plastic food tray. Also did the same with flowers. This year I am snipping the leaves into ribbons and putting them in Yeo yogurt pots to freeze as I can just take as many as I need like I do with Parsley. Also storing the flowers in said tubs but leaving them whole.
Also making some pesto and sealing the lids tight to see how long that will keep.

I have not used the bulbs for the reason above might get into trouble