Wild garlic (ramsons) – How to identify, forage and eat it

Wild garlic (ramsons) is one of the first plants to mark the arrival of spring, and this post is dedicated to everything you’ve ever wanted to know about this amazing wild herb! The sight and smell of swathes of wild garlic leaves, or ramsons, going a-begging in the woods gets me feeling excited every year! All those fresh fragrant leaves just waiting to be transformed into amazing dishes in my kitchen. You can make sublime pesto, mouthwatering wild garlic gnocchi, bread dumplings, quiches, dips, soups, and so much more! All with a bag full of wild garlic leaves you picked in the woods for free!

What is wild garlic (ramsons)?

Wild garlic, also known as ramsons or allium ursinum, is a bulbous perennial plant that is native to Europe and Asia. It belongs to the same family as onions, garlic, and chives and has a similar flavour and aroma to garlic. Wild garlic is also known as cowleekes, cows’ leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear’s garlic. In the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland, they called it Bärlauch, and here in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, we call it aglio orsino.

The reference to bears isn’t casual – apparently, bears used to forage for it when they came out of hibernation to stimulate their metabolism.

Wild garlic is commonly used as a culinary herb, and its leaves and bulbs can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves have a strong, pungent flavour and can be used to add a garlic-like flavour to salads, soups, stews, and other dishes. The bulbs can be pickled or used in place of garlic cloves.

Habitat – Where to find wild garlic (ramsons)

Wild garlic is native to the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. It is common throughout the lowlands of the United Kingdom and western and central Europe. I’ve seen it growing in Holland, Italy and here in Switzerland. There are big patches of it growing on one of my regular walks, about 20 minutes from where I live.

Wild garlic typically grows in shaded areas of damp deciduous woodlands and clearings, especially in the vicinity of streams. It prefers moist, fertile, humus-rich soil which has good drainage. It is often found in beech forests, but it can also be found in other types of woodland, such as oak, ash, and maple.

Wild garlic thrives in areas with partial to full shade, as direct sunlight can cause the leaves to wither and yellow.

When you’re out walking in or near the woods, keep your eyes open… or, better still, your nose! If you’re not sure where to start looking, you could maybe do a bit of research or ask around. The older generation, especially women, usually know these things – where this and that herb grows and when, how to cook it and so on. Quite often it’s the smell you notice first – you catch a whiff of it in the air, look down, and find yourself surrounded by the stuff. The good news is when you do find wild garlic, there’s usually lots of it! Large swathes of the stuff blanketing the forest floor.

This year it has rained very little and the wild garlic isn’t as abundant as it usually is. The woods are very dry, and the signs of last year’s drought are still very evident. That embankment in the photo below would normally be one huge mass of green leaves.

Be sustainable

Because wild garlic is a native plant that grows in natural habitats, it is important to be mindful of conservation efforts and regulations when foraging or harvesting it. Overharvesting can have negative impacts on the local ecosystem, and some areas may have restrictions or permits required for the harvesting of wild garlic.

Don’t just start pulling up wild garlic randomly. It’s actually illegal in some countries to pull up the bulb unless you have permission to do so. Nip the leaf off with your fingernail where it joins the stem, leaving the bulb in the ground. The bulb is still in its immature stages and is of no culinary use in the early spring. Try not to strip an area completely, but pick the leaves here and there. By doing this, you’re also ensuring that you’ll be able to harvest the leaves next year too.

Identification – How to recognise wild garlic (ramsons)

The easiest way to recognise wild garlic is through its scent. An intense but pleasant smell of garlic pervades the undergrowth, and you’ll most likely smell it before you see it.

The leaves are emerald green, wide and pointed. Each leaf tapers off to a single, light green stem. At the base of each stem, in the ground, you’ll find the tiny white bulb. This unique characteristic helps to confirm its identity. As the plant grows, a second leaf will appear on the same stem, and then the bud and eventually the flower.

Wild garlic has pretty white star-shaped flowers with 6 pointed petals that flower in April and May. The flowers appear in clusters.

Beware of poisonous lookalikes

It’s important to be careful when foraging for wild garlic, as it can be easily confused with poisonous plants such as Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis), Meadow Saffron aka Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) and Lords and ladies (Arum maculatum). It’s easy to mistakenly pick another kind of leaf while you’re harvesting wild garlic. You will often find wild garlic growing alongside bluebells and other spring wildflowers. I have seen, and almost picked, a Lily of the Valley leaf in a bed of wild garlic. Lily of the Valley grows in the same period and can appear similar to wild garlic to an untrained eye. However, Lily of the Valley is a darker green and has wider leaves. Most importantly, there are several leaves attached to (wrapped around) the main stem, which is thick and dark green. And, of course, it doesn’t smell of garlic.

Double check

If in doubt, examine the plant carefully. Firstly, for the smell. Rub a leaf between your fingers. The scent is unmistakable – very similar to that of garlic, chives and onion.

Important note: Rubbing the leaves between the fingers to check for the garlic-like smell can be helpful, but if the smell remains on the hands, one can mistake a subsequently handled poisonous plant for wild garlic.

• Look carefully at the leaf. Wild garlic leaves are long and pointed at the tip and at the base where it meets the stem. The veins run parallel to the rib. There are about 7 veins on each side of the rib. The leaf is delicate and doesn’t break if you bend it, but it bruises easily and wilts quickly.
• Examine the stem. It should be slender and light green, almost white at the base.
• Follow a stem into the soil and gently dig out the bulb. Inspect the bulb – it should be tiny, white, and garlic-scented.
• As the season progresses, buds and flowers appear, usually in April or May. Examine the flowers – wild garlic flowers are white and star-shaped. They have six petals and grow in clusters.

Wild garlic season

Wild garlic season is very short, less than a month, usually between the middle of March and the middle of April, depending on where you live. For culinary and medicinal purposes, you should harvest the leaves before the plant flowers. The first leaves usually begin to appear at the beginning of March and are ready to harvest a week or two later when the leaves are about 10 cm long. After a particularly warm winter, they can appear sooner. You can continue to harvest the leaves until the flowers appear, sometime in April. Wild garlic has pretty white flowers that last until May. You can use the flowers to decorate cakes, salads and other dishes.

The seed pods can be harvested in June.

The bulb of the wild garlic plant is similar in shape to a single clove of garlic, only much smaller. The season for harvesting the bulbs is in the late summer and early autumn. You can use them in the same way as common garlic.

Which parts of the wild garlic (ramsons) plant are edible?

All parts of the wild garlic plant are edible and can be eaten either raw or cooked.

• The leaves are the most widely foraged and used part of the plant, both culinarily and medicinally. You can chop the leaves and add them to salads, grind them down to make pesto, or add them to soups, stews, sauces and dips.

• The bulbs are edible and you can harvest them in the late summer and early autumn when the leaves of the plant have long gone. It’s important to remember, however, that pulling up the bulbs means that the plant won’t grow back again the following year. So, it’s important to forage for wild garlic responsibly. The bulb is more delicate in flavour than common garlic and can be used in the same way.
• The stem can be chopped up and used in the same way as chives. Older stems can be tough. 
• You can eat the white flowers too. Wash them and use them as a pretty garnish for salads, soups and other dishes. 
• The seed pods can be salted or pickled and eaten in the same way as capers. Read more about how to make capers from wild garlic seed pods here.

How to harvest wild garlic (ramsons)

Carry a bag with you when foraging for wild garlic. Inspect the leaves – they should be emerald green, almost shiny and approximately 10 cm long. When the leaves first appear, they are much smaller. You’ll need far more of them and it’ll take much longer to pick the same weight compared to larger leaves. Leave them a week or so and then go back. Leaves that are 10 – 12 cm long are ideal.

As the plant matures and the buds and flowers appear, the leaves become larger and coarser and are no longer as tender. The flavour intensifies and becomes very overpowering, especially when eaten raw. This is why it’s best to take full advantage while the plant is still young, before it flowers.

Pick the leaves only. Pinch or cut them off where the stem starts. The stems resist the blender or mortar and pestle, so they are unsuitable for making pesto, for example. However, you can use the stems in the same way as you would use chives – chop them up and add them to salads, potatoes, soups and so on. Older stems can be tough.

Leave the bulb in the ground so that more will grow next year. If you want to harvest the bulb, you’ll need to wait until August or September. Bear in mind that once you have pulled the bulb up, it won’t grow back.

Medicinal properties

In addition to its culinary uses, wild garlic has a long history of medicinal use. It has been used to treat a variety of ailments, including high blood pressure, digestive issues, and respiratory infections.

Given its antibacterial, antibiotic, antiseptic and possibly antiviral properties, it makes sense to eat as much as you can while you can. One of the major health benefits of garlic is its effectiveness in reducing blood pressure and, hence, heart disease and the risk of stroke. Although all kinds of garlic have these properties, wild garlic has the most powerful effect on lowering blood pressure.

In Maria Treben’s book “Health through God’s pharmacy”, she and the Swiss herbalist, Abbé Kuenzle state that “It cleanses the whole body, rids it of stubborn waste matters, produces healthy blood and destroys and removes poisonous substances”. No other herb is as effective at cleansing the stomach, intestines and blood. This has potent secondary effects on chronic skin disorders.
In the book, it says that people who have a sensitive stomach should pour warm milk (consider using plant-based) over the finely chopped leaves and bulbs, infuse them for two to three hours and sip the liquid.

The leaves, used fresh, cleanse the kidneys and bladder and increase the flow of urine. Badly healing wounds, brushed with the fresh juice, heal quickly.

According to the herbalist Maria Treben, even disorders of the coronary blood vessels can be relieved by consuming wild garlic.

Where to buy wild garlic

If you can’t find wild garlic growing near you, then you can normally find it in most farmers’ markets throughout spring. You can also order it from veg box suppliers.

What’s the best way to store wild garlic?

• Dampen the leaves by spraying a little water over them and then put them in a large, airtight container or plastic bag and put them in the salad compartment of your fridge. Freshly harvested wild garlic leaves will keep for up to a week in the fridge, but it is best to use them within 2 – 3 days.
• Make pesto and store it in a jar in the fridge, where it will keep for a few weeks with a layer of oil covering it.
• It’s best to use the flowers on the day you pick them because they wilt quickly. Put the flowers in a glass of water to keep them fresh for as long as possible.
• Pickle or salt the seed pods.
• Dry the leaves naturally or in a desiccator for later use in soups etc. It is important to understand that when dried, the leaves lose their medicinal properties.
• Freeze the leaves, either whole or chopped, in a single layer and then transfer them to a freezer bag with a zip lock. You can freeze the leaves for up to 6 months.
• Freeze or dry the chopped stalks.

How to use wild garlic in your kitchen

• Wash your wild garlic well in cold water before eating, especially if you picked in it an area where people walk their dogs. Washing it will also get rid of any soil or insects.
• Store it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
• Chop the fresh leaves and use them to add variation to salads and build flavour in soups and stews etc.
• Add it to anything as a replacement for spring onion, chives, leek or onion. Try putting it in vegan scrambled eggs and quiche – it’s delicious.
• Blanche the leaves and cook as you would spinach. You can even add other wild herbs like nettles and dandelion leaves. Bear in mind that nettles will take longer to cook than wild garlic and dandelion.
• Wilt the leaves and add them to fillings for pasta, involtini and stuffed vegetables.
• Finely chop up the stems and use them for potato salad, soups, etc.
• Flowers can be used for decorative purposes but they are perfectly edible so you can add them to whatever you want.
• Use dried or frozen leaves to flavour soups etc.

Wild garlic recipe ideas

You can use wild garlic pesto as a sauce for all sorts of pasta dishes, from simple spaghetti to homemade pappardelle and lasagne.

Try your hand at making wild garlic gnocchi or these delicious and rather unusual wild garlic bread dumplings, from the Trentino Alto Adige in Italy.

Spread wild garlic pesto on bread, with a thick layer of vegan cream cheese.

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