Preserve Wild Garlic – That’s How It Works

Make wild garlic last longer by drying

You can dry the herbs quite easily and with little effort. Unfortunately, this method has a major disadvantage: Like other moisture, the essential oils evaporate during drying. As a result, the wild garlic leaves lose their characteristically sharp taste.

• If you decide to do it this way, you can dry the herbs in the oven, in a dehydrator, or (depending on the time of year) air dry.
• If you dry the wild garlic in the oven, you should not set the temperature higher than 100 degrees and leave the door slightly open so that the moisture can escape. Lay the chopped leaves loosely next to each other on the baking sheet.
• In the dehydrator, distribute the wild garlic evenly over the individual bowls and set the temperature according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• If you are having a few very warm days, you can air dry the wild garlic in a sheltered place, preferably under a fly hood. In addition, under the fly hood, it is ensured that the leaves do not fly off in the event of an unexpected blast of air.

Preserve wild garlic by freezing

Small freezer boxes or freezer bags are ideal for freezing the wild garlic leaves, in which you can store the herbs in portions.

• Before placing the fresh leaves in the freezer bag or container, dry them well. If necessary, leave the wild garlic on a tea towel so that it is really dry before you put it in the freezer.
• You can also chop the leaves and place them in an ice cube tray with a little water.

Pickle the wild garlic and preserve it

By soaking wild garlic in vinegar, it and most of the flavor remain intact:

1. Place the herbs in appropriately sized jars. Then fill it up to halfway with wild garlic so that later all the leaves are completely covered with the respective liquid. Otherwise, there is a risk that the leaves that are not covered will quickly begin to mold.
2. To make sure the leaves really stay down, you can weigh them down with a clean stone, for example.
3. Then fill the jar with vinegar and close it.
4. Keep the glasses in a very cool room or in the fridge.