Spring is the perfect time for foraging wild garlic (we call it Ramsons in Scotland) and we are very lucky to have an amazing local place to find this versatile plant. Reelig Glen is a short 30 minutes walk from Pinewood Steading, or a quick 5 minutes drive. At any time of year, it’s a local community wood that offers so much! From a wide range of paths for a good walk, to a wonderful river, some unique bridges, some of the tallest trees in Britain, and a children’s balance course. But at spring, Reelig comes into its own for the wild garlic. When you see wild garlic, this is a sign that the woodland is very old.
Tall trees sign at Reelig Glen
At the bottom of the glen near the lower park, as you head towards the two ‘fairy’ bridges, you can’t but fail to smell the garlic in spring. It comes out in wild abundance. Leaves appear in early April in our part of the Highlands and are best picked when young. The flowers emerge from late April through to June. Both the leaves and flowers are edible. Young leaves are great to add to soups and to make pesto. The flowers are great to add to salads.
You are allowed to pick wild garlic across the UK but you must do responsibly. Only pick from areas where there is a plentiful supply and only pick what you need. And remember to leave enough for wildlife.
So on a beautiful spring day in early April, during lockdown, I jumped on my bike and cycled to Reelig Glen. It’s just a short 10 minutes trip – downhill. The leaves were young and the flowers were only just coming out as buds. It didn’t take long to fill up a bag. Dig deep with your hands to get the roots out – the bulbs are edible too, and you can chop them up with the leaves.
Parking my bike at Reelig Glen
Admittedly, the cycle back up the hill towards Pinewood Steading takes a bit longer. I then spent the afternoon cooking up a storm. I made two types of pesto. One made with sunflower seeds. The other with pumpkin. Soup came next. Then I reverted to a Jamie Oliver recipe and made wild garlic focaccia. This bread went exceptionally well with the soup and was even better on day 2. Next I made white bean, wild garlic hummus using this recipe.
Wild garlic pesto
With wild garlic known to have blood-purifying properties and helping to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, I think we’re going to be very healthy for a few weeks!
A summary of my trip out foraging for local wild garlic