Harvesting garlic scapes for pestos, stir fries, and garlic scape powder is simple! Learn when to cut garlic scapes, how to store garlic scapes, and more!
Every fall, my husband plants hardneck garlic, 350 cloves of it, which means we harvest 350 heads of garlic the following summer. We prefer to grow cold-hardy hardneck cultivars instead of the softneck types typically found in grocery stores or growing in warmer climes. One advantage is their cloves are larger with thicker skins, making them easier to peel. They taste less sharp to us, yet are more flavorful. Another huge advantage is that only hardneck garlics produce an early harvest of delicious edible scapes.
Harvesting Garlic Scapes
Garlic scapes are smooth cylindrical stalks that spring up from the center of each plant in early summer, which is peak garlic scape season. Unless cut, they’ll form a flower with seeds. Harvesting garlic scapes is important for two reasons. First, removing scapes stops the flowers and seeds from forming, so the plant focuses all its energy on growing plump garlic bulbs. Second, scapes themselves are versatile and delicious! Watching your growing garlic is the best way to know when to cut garlic scapes; cut them while they’re still tender, after they begin to curl and loop. At this point, the flower head will have formed but will just be a small bump toward the end of the scape. Use a small, sharp knife or a pair of shears to cut off each scape at its base, where it grows out of the plant, being careful not to damage its leaves.
How to Store Garlic Scapes
Over the years, I’ve cooked and preserved scapes in various ways. When storing garlic scapes fresh, I’ve found that they refrigerate well for up to a month. How to prepare garlic scapes can be simple. They’re fabulous grilled and made into garlic scape pesto. Scapes are also great when added to soups, stews, stir-fries, and other dishes where a mellow garlicky flavor is welcome.
One of my favorite ways to preserve and store garlic scapes is to dehydrate them. Yes, dried scapes can be rehydrated and used in all the usual ways. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret: What makes dried scapes so special is that they can be ground into garlic scape powder, a milder and sweeter alternative to garlic powder!
How to Dehydrate and Garlic Scapes for Garlic Scape Powder
- After harvesting the scapes, wash them gently and then place them on towels to dry. Remove and discard the flower buds and tips, and then cut the tender scapes into pieces 1/2 to 1 inch long.
- Arrange the pieces in a single layer on the trays of your dehydrator. Set the dehydrator’s temperature to 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Dehydrate until the scapes become fully dry and brittle. This will take at least 24 hours.
- Thoroughly cool the dehydrated scapes and then store them in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid until you’re ready to make garlic scape powder.
- To make the powder, pulse the fully dehydrated scape pieces in a bullet blender, a spice grinder, or a coffee grinder. One cup of dried scapes will yield about 3/4 cup finished powder.
Store the powder in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. I like to add a few small dry beans to the jar to help prevent clumping.
Originally published as “Country Lore” in the April/May 2024 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine and regularly vetted for accuracy.
