Wild Garlic Butter

Wild Garlic Allium ursinum is part of the Allium (onion) family and is related to the domestic garlic you find in any supermarket. Wild Garlic is an edible plant that is found in ancient woodland, predominately in wetter areas. Wild garlic, often known as ransoms have several other related edible species in Europe and the USA. Allium tricoccum commonly known as ramps in the U.S. is similar in taste and appearance. Wild garlic in the UK is an ancient woodland indicator species and is one of the first woodland plants to appear in spring. Sometimes as early as the beginning of March.

Boundary of 2 homogenous vegetation stand types in ASNW Ancient Semi Natural Woodland. (background) Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) AWI (foreground) Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) AWI

The use of the many species of Allium are steeped in history. A staple seasonal diet of Mesolithic hunter gatherers, used by the Babylonians and also found in many Egyptian tombs including that of Tutankhamun.

Wild Garlic flowers, edible and great as a finishing garnish to game meat dishes

Wild garlic is strong in smell and the whole plant can be used for culinary purposes. The leaves make a perfect accompaniment to salads and sandwiches. I personally like to cube up fire roasted venison and wrap the cubes in a leaf. skewer with a twig of willow or hazel and eat.

Medicinally, wild garlic is good for reducing high blood pressure or hardening of the arteries. There is no trick to creating a medicine from the plant, just eat it fresh.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, it is illegal to uproot any wild plant without permission from the landowner or occupier. It is advisable when picking wild flowers, not to take to many and to avoid uprooting of bulbs. Remember, many insects and invertebrates rely on wild flowers for food and pollination. On Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI's) it is illegal to remove any plant material unless you have first consulted the statutory conservation agencies of Britain (Natural England, the Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage or the Environment and Heritage Service, Northern Ireland). It is also good to note that it is illegal to pick Round headed leek Allium sphaerocephalon as it is an endangered species and is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

Wild garlic butter is a simple thing to make and doesn't take too much time to do. The benefit though is the creation of a versatile, incredible tasting and healthy ingredient that can easily last for a couple of years in the freezer. Fresh wild garlic deteriorates real fast when unprocessed so it is good to make the butter within a day or 2 of picking. Wild garlic butter can be used in a variety of ways; its great for garlic bread and dough balls but works even better as a baste on game meat, wild fowl or turkey. Its even great for Cooking scrambled eggs with.

For the ingredients all you need is butter and wild garlic. A food processor or a knife, bowl and wooden spoon and some greaseproof paper. I prefer to buy local and or organic butter.

Start buy taking a handful of leaves. You can wash them and dry them if you like. I don't bother, but it is important to go through the leaves and discard any other plant species you might of picked up in the process. Coarsely chop the leaves and place in the food processor. I use a hand full of leaves to one pack of butter. You can add less first, taste then add more accordingly. If you do not have a processor then you will have to finely chop the leaves and mix the butter in a bowl. This is totally fine, I just prefer the food processor as you get a better creamier finished product. Next cut the butter into cubes or slices. Make sure you soften the butter before you put it on the processor or it will not blend properly. Do not melt the butter though.

Once in the processor I tend not to hit the mix with full power, either use slow bursts of power or stick it on the lowest setting for 20 - 30 seconds. Check the mix and it should look like green thick cream. If it is still really bitty then keep going.

Once blended, lay out some greaseproof paper. A bit bigger piece than the butter packet. Spoon out the mix on to the paper and shape into an oblong. Try not to get the mix everywhere as you will smell for days.

Now that the mix is laid out. Wrap the greaseproof paper in to a roll, tape or tie with string then twist and tape or tie the ends. The wrapped product can now now be placed in the fridge to harden or in the freezer for use later. I like to freeze the butter as you can always take it out of the freezer, chop a piece off and stick it back in the freezer. It should be soft enough to do this with when frozen.

All wrapped and ready for the fridge or freezer

It is important to note that there are several species of plants in the UK that can cause serious illness and or death when ingested. Make sure you have a good plant identification book or solid knowledge of plant ID. Lily of the valley Convallaria majalis is a highly poisonous woodland plant that looks quite similar to wild garlic. The easy way to tell the difference is by smell. Wild garlic stinks of......garlic.

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