Because it’s so moist, green garlic is much more perishable than dried bulb garlic. Store them in a plastic bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator with a damp paper towel. They should last at least 5-7 days.
A culinary delicacy, green garlic (or spring garlic) is comprised of the young stalks of the garlic plant plucked before they reach maturity. Green garlic looks a lot like scallions or green onions but has a mild garlic flavor. Green garlic’s flavor is stronger than that of a green onion, but milder than a mature garlic bulb. That flavor is quite pronounced when eaten raw, but the flavor mellows with cooking.
Before using green garlic, trim off the lower portion with the roots and any tough portion of the green leaves, then give it a good rinse. You can use the white bulb and green leaves of green garlic in any recipe in place of regular garlic, leeks or green onions, and can enjoy it raw or cooked. Use sparingly in raw form and in abundance when cooked. Green garlic goes great with springtime dishes and gives a nice flair to sandwiches when made into an ailoi spread. It can be used in salads as a stand in for scallions, added to a pesto for your pasta, sliced thin and sprinkled as a pizza topping, or used as the “secret ingredient” in your braising liquid. It is also fantastic pickled, roasted or grilled.
Health & Nutrition: Green garlic boasts the same benefits as its mature form. A high level of allicin, a strong antioxidant, gives green garlic the ability to boost the immune system, and provides anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties as well. It also is a good source of manganese, which promotes good cholesterol, and iron.
