Anybody ever eat Wild Garlic?

Discussion in 'Camping/Outdoor Living' started by Tsurugi_Oni, Apr 11, 2009.

  1. Tsurugi_Oni

    Tsurugi_Oni Member

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    Today me and my mom foraged wild garlic in the Metroparks near Cleveland,Ohio. Anybody else here ever forage it?

    My mom is a Korean hillbilly and has been gettin the stuff since she was a little kid, but I'm always wary about eating wild foods. This plant literally carpets the forest floors, and grows in patches. Each "unit" has two leaves, the bulb being held together by a fibrous slimy material. Smells a little green onions/garlic, and when you bite it you get an extreme burn for a couple seconds.

    Can anyone attest to this plant?
     
  2. Holy Ancient Megumi

    Holy Ancient Megumi Member

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    yah they are called Ramps in west virginia , ramps are the wild garlic of the hills they are potent and also yummy
     
  3. PennadianGoose

    PennadianGoose Member

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    Shes right we have them in PA also. Many people in my area collect these for consumption. I really like ramps as long as they are cooked. I like to stuff fresh trout with them and cook that over a fire. absolutely delicous
     
  4. Tsurugi_Oni

    Tsurugi_Oni Member

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    Wow that's a great idea with a trout. Do you just gut and stuff the fish, or do you do some type of fillet roll? And what seasonings?
     
  5. Spirit Wynd

    Spirit Wynd Member

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    Yeah man, also try a plant called, Garlic-mustard, which grows just about any place moist. One good sized leaf has the potency of a clove of regular garlic. It grows year round and can be used anytime, though its in season in the winter, which means more tender leaves, but no matter if cooked.

    A note on wild onions, make sure each one you pick has a strong onion scent... if it has no scent, but looks like an onion, leave it alone!!!
    That is Death Camas, and will kill you.
     
  6. WalkerInTheWoods

    WalkerInTheWoods Member

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    Wild garlic/onions are good and I don't know why more don't eat them. They are usually there free for the taking in most people's yards. Chicory and dandelion greens are also good free eating.
     
  7. Tsurugi_Oni

    Tsurugi_Oni Member

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    Noo what I'm talking about is Wild Garlic. Each unit has only two leaves, and they're very broad. The bottom of it is usually whitish or a maroon color, and the bulbs are wrapped together by a thin weaved slimy fiber. They grow in clusters too.
     
  8. Spirit Wynd

    Spirit Wynd Member

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    Actually, the larger plants can have more than two sword like leaves called "blades". And yes, may also grow in clusters like the wild onion.

    Also, make sure it has a strong garlic scent... it too has a very poisonous look-a-like called "Fly Poison", it looks almost the same except has a different flower head that grows in vertical clusters along the stem. It's so toxic, just touching it then touching your mouth after will make you sick.

    Wild onion and wild garlic are great but please read up on the poisonous look-a-likes:
    Death Camas
    Fly Poison
    Star of Bethlehem

    Safety first!!!
     
  9. trippinwestoutahere

    trippinwestoutahere Member

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    we have some here garlic in KY I looked them up and they were brought over from africa and planted here not native the property here has a lot of plants from there overgrowing the yard Wild Garlic
    Allium vineale[​IMG]
    Wild garlic is native to Europe, north Africa, and western Asia. Its bulbs are hard to eliminate, making infestations difficult to control.
     
  10. Tinkertiger

    Tinkertiger Member

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    wild garlic is excellent.
    both the bulb and the leaves can be eaten, either in salads or cooked with other foods or soups or made into a pesto.
    it's also got great health giving properties, possibly better than cultivated garlic many believe.
    the juice is a good antiseptic and the leaves have a higher concentration of allicin which is good for reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
    good to eat and healthy for you too. :)

    a lot regard it as a very invasive weed though, because it spreads like wildfire!!
     
  11. Sehc

    Sehc Members

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    The plant with wide leaves is Ramp. There is a wild garlic with thin leaves that is also very common.
     
  12. humanbeaing

    humanbeaing see you in paradise! HipForums Supporter

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    Lots of wild onions, but no wild garlic. Sounds good though
     
  13. Varmint

    Varmint Member

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    trippinwestoutahere wrote, in relevant part:
    "Its bulbs are hard to eliminate, making infestations difficult to control."

    My reply:
    Interesting. My opinion is that the wild garlic/onion is the desired plant, while everything ELSE is the infestation. But that is only my opinion.

    This plant makes a great addition to any fish you just caught, especially if mixed with some other wild greens such as nettle or dandelion. If you found more greens than fish, then make soup. A good meal, either way. Always take at least one of the little cloves off the bulb and re-plant it. They'll grow back and give you more for years. If the plant is flowering, leave it alone and allow the tiny bulblets to drop or replant them. We want to enjoy this, not exterminate it.
     
  14. granite45

    granite45 Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Wild garlic was rampant in N WI and the UP...I still have garlic breath from eating it in 1969.
     

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