Wild garlic or the rebirth of a forgotten plant

Bear's garlic, known by its Latin name Allium ursinum – 'all', a Celtic term meaning 'hot, burning, spicy...', and 'ursinum' meaning 'bear'. The bear was not mistaken... This garlic provides numerous purifying, detoxifying, antiseptic, and antibiotic virtues... so beneficial for its spring awakening, as well as providing vitamins A, B, C... Can one wild garlic hide another? Before venturing into the undergrowth – found in cool, shaded areas near rivers, wild garlic is very invasive in favorable soils – it is important to distinguish it from lily of the valley, which is highly toxic. However, the flower only shares its whiteness: the bell of one has nothing to do with the umbrella-shaped cluster of flowers of the other. As for the leaf, a stem with two rabbit ear-shaped leaves for lily of the valley, and a stem with one leaf for wild garlic. Crushing the leaf remains the last (and best) clue, allowing the detection of the delicate garlic scent that emanates from wild garlic, an unmistakable marker of its difference. The season extends from March to the end of May, depending on the altitude of the picking location. Knowing that in wild garlic, everything is edible, everything can be harvested: bulb (to be picked reasonably to avoid blocking the plant's proliferation), stem, leaf, and flower. However, the leaf is less fragrant after flowering. How to consume it Wild garlic is eaten raw; when cooked, it loses its fragrant properties. Finely chopped, it will be delicious on a lamb tagine or rabbit with tomato. Place the chopped leaves on the dish when serving. You can also make a pesto (replace basil with wild garlic), delicious as a pasta dish accompaniment or in a summer avocado-prawn salad. Recipe idea number 1 Wild garlic in olive oil This is the most common and simplest recipe to make. Make sure to prepare only the freshest leaves, without spots. Trim and wash the leaves Place them on absorbent paper to dry Finely chop them Place them in a jar Cover the chopped herbs well with olive oil Salt, it's ready! To be consumed immediately or after a few weeks. For optimal preservation, ensure the leaves are submerged in oil and refrigerate the jar. Recipe idea number 2 Oysters with brown butter, wild garlic seed capers Discover, as a preview of our book 109, to be published next September, a recipe by Thomas Chisholm (restaurant Chocho, in Paris), one of the chefs bringing new blood to French gastronomy. Ingredients for 6 people: 18 oysters 150 g of butter 50 wild garlic seeds Preparation of wild garlic seed capers: In the peak season of wild garlic, it is interesting to collect fresh wild garlic seeds (at the end of the season), preserve them, and enhance their taste using the vinegar preservation technique: use equal amounts of water, sugar, and white vinegar, in sufficient quantity to completely cover the wild garlic seeds. Bring the water-sugar-vinegar mixture to a boil and pour it over the seeds. You can then store them in a jar or jam pot. Recipe: Melt the butter and heat it until the whey turns golden and the butter has a nutty smell. Set aside. Open the oysters and place 4 to 6 wild garlic seed capers per piece. Finally, add a spoonful of brown butter to each oyster. Enjoy immediately!

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