Wild Garlic - foraging in Sussex
How amazing is Spring? The colours are coming out and I don't know about you but I'm thoroughly enjoying the garden. Spring is also the season of wild garlic aka Ramsoms and I am revelling in it. Me and a friend spotted a patch in the woods by my house and now I am seeing (and smelling it) everywhere. It is growing in abundance in Sussex, you just need to know where to look.
Wild garlic is so versatile and it tastes and smells incredible. Eat it raw and it has a strong peppery garlic taste (that doesn't make you pong as much as root garlic would do to get the same taste) but if it hits a pan the taste and smell mellows and you have a perfect sauce or soup.
I've been eating wild garlic in every meal since we picked the first leaves - stirred into scrambled eggs, tossed into salads, made into a dressing, pesto, a quick topping for lamb steaks or pork chops, mashed into potatoes, layered onto open sandwiches and stir fried.
Wild garlic is packed with health properties. First and foremost it's a powerful antioxidant and anti inflammatory, antibacterial, antiseptic and thought to reduce blood pressure.
The dog and I have been walking the land most mornings when the smell of it is strong so I've spotted a few hotspots where it grows abundantly. As the season matures a bit you’ll also be able to pick the white flowers that make a beautiful salad topping. Do tear a leaf and check the smell as you don't want to mistake with Lily of the Valley, which looks similar but definitely isn't good for you to eat.
Once the flowers are almost full out, the season for wild garlic starts coming to a close. The leaves become tough, so try and pick the younger leaves if there are any. You can keep wild garlic in the fridge and chop some to store in good quality rapeseed oil or make into pesto and freeze (ice cube trays are your friend) to use all year round. It refreshes really well in a bowl of cold water so don't worry if your leaves wilt a little if you don't quite manage to get round to whizzing it into something.
Some Important Points on Foraging Wild Garlic.
never pick the roots, only the leaves - picking the roots is illegal and can lead to wild garlic not growing back
never enter private land to pick wild garlic
pick along public footpaths and stay to the footpath - no trampling over other plants to get to it
always pick carefully - leaf by leaf. Pulling handfuls out will pull out the roots and you run the risk of a rogue poisonous leaf getting in there
only pick from areas where wild garlic is abundant. You don’t really want to make a dent with what you pick
don’t be greedy - just pick a fair share
make sure the area you are picking from is abundant, don’t strip small patches of wild garlic
Where to find it in Sussex.
So where can you find it in Sussex? Half of the fun of wild garlic foraging is finding it so I’m going to keep things quite broad.
Generally wild garlic grows in wooded areas where there's water. So ideally you're looking for streams and rivers that are tree lined. Here's a few spots I've seen it:
// public footpaths around Plumpton College
// bridlepaths and footpaths around East Chiltington and Plumpton, it's growing up the stream banks in blankets - check the map, where the footpaths are and head for the water. There's loads off Chiltington Lane along the Bevern Stream.
// Forest Row country park by the stream. Stand on the bridge and sniff, you'll see it!
// wooded areas where there's water in Streat (near Ditchling)
// at Barcombe Mills in abundance - literally follow your nose. Be aware that in some places it’s private land - be considerate.
// in the wooded areas of Wolstonbury Hill, Pyecombe
// the wooded areas on the downs (not on the sides of the downs, right on the top where the soil is less chalky and there is moisture)
Alternatively try your local farmers market and they should be selling it for about a £1.
Have you seen any wild garlic anywhere? Or perhaps you have a favourite recipe for it. Please comment below to help others find it! I'll update this blog post each season with new sightings.