Ramson for the winter

Residents of the central regions of Russia have a rather poor idea of ​​what wild garlic actually looks like, which southern traders often pass off as hard pickled garlic arrows at bazaars. But real wild garlic is a delicate and very fragrant green, so rich in vitamins and other useful substances that alone it can cope with all spring ailments. Preparing wild garlic for the winter is not at all difficult - there are many options for delicious and quick recipes for its preparation. It is much more difficult to find it on sale, especially in those regions where it is not found in the wild.

How can you preserve wild garlic for the winter?

Ramson is the common name for two varieties of perennial onions, bear and victory. It is also called a flask. This amazing plant is also nicknamed wild garlic by many because of the obvious garlicky aroma that emanates from all its parts. Although the taste of wild garlic itself completely lacks the bitterness characteristic of many representatives of the onion family.It tastes tender, although spicy with a spicy undertone. This grass acquires particular value due to the fact that it appears in early spring, at a time when there is practically no fresh greenery in gardens and in nature. In the Caucasus it appears in February-March, in Siberia, the Urals and the Far East later, closer to April. Young wild garlic sprouts are the most tender when the plant's leaves have not yet fully opened. At this stage, it is not easy to distinguish it from other representatives of corms, especially poisonous lilies of the valley. Therefore, you must be extremely careful when collecting. The garlic aroma can help in identifying wild garlic, which will prevent it from being confused with other plants. But the period for collecting delicate aromatic herbs is not too long. Its leaves grow quite quickly, then become slightly coarser, becoming sinewy, and the plant begins to lay buds. Therefore, in order to prepare for the winter from the so-called wild garlic - wild garlic, you should not be particularly relaxed. Indeed, unlike many other herbs, including perennials, wild garlic does not grow to order at any time. If the harvesting time is missed, you will have to wait until next spring.

There are many ways to prepare wild garlic for the winter. The most popular are pickled wild garlic, as well as pickled and salted. These types of preparations allow you to preserve wild garlic for the winter, almost fresh, with its inherent aroma and tenderness of the stems.

For those who are not too fond of garlic aroma, you can try drying wild garlic.

There are many recipes for making all kinds of sauces and seasonings for the winter using this unique spring herb.

It is very easy to prepare wild garlic frozen, and there are techniques that allow you to preserve it in such a state that after defrosting it will be just like fresh.

Healthy tinctures are also made from it.

When preparing wild garlic for the winter, you should not get too carried away with various additives and spices that can overwhelm the aroma and taste of this herb. Only tomatoes and garlic are ideally combined with it, and the addition of the latter in small quantities further enhances and emphasizes the taste of the finished dish.

How to freeze wild garlic for the winter

Freezing is rightly considered the easiest way to prepare wild garlic for the winter. After all, you won’t need anything extra for this; all the items can be found in any home: a regular freezer, a sharp knife and plastic bags.

The most important thing is to carefully and correctly prepare the greens for freezing. First, the grass is thoroughly washed, using either running water or changing the liquid in the basin several times. After all, both stems and leaves are usually quite heavily contaminated with the soil from which they are practically dug out. Then the grass is sorted, discarding withered, rotten and otherwise damaged specimens.

Before freezing, the weed must be thoroughly dried, for which it is laid out in one layer on a paper or fabric towel and left in this form for several hours in a place protected from sunlight.

Then the leaves themselves and the stems are cut crosswise into not very large pieces, 1-2 cm long.

Next, you can freeze wild garlic in two main ways. Moreover, the further use of the herb depends on the chosen freezing method.

Freezing wild garlic in bags

Dried and cut into pieces greens are distributed into small portioned bags so that the contents of one bag can be consumed at a time.

It would be nice if the bags had zip fasteners. If ordinary bags without fasteners are used, then after laying the grass inside, their edges are carefully sealed (you can do this using foil and an iron). This procedure is necessary not only for better preservation of the workpiece. Because of its garlicky aroma, all foods in the freezer can become saturated with the smell of wild garlic if the bags are not tightly sealed. By the way, for more compact storage, it is better to roll bags of greens into tubes, label each one and place them in the freezer in this form.

When using this freezing method, of course, some of the taste is lost, but all the valuable elements are preserved, primarily vitamin C.

But there is another technique that allows you to preserve the taste and aroma of fresh wild garlic, even if a certain amount of nutrients is lost. To do this, cut grass almost immediately after washing is dipped in a colander for literally 30-60 seconds in boiling water. Then cool, lightly dry, as usual on a towel, and distribute into portioned bags.

After defrosting, wild garlic prepared in this way can be added to vegetable salads and any first and second courses that require the addition of garlic. In addition, you can make a delicious solo salad from thawed wild garlic with a boiled egg and sour cream or mayonnaise. Thawed greens can be used as a filling for pies and added to scrambled eggs, cutlets, and zrazy. They even add it to bread dough.

Ramson, frozen in ground form

It is very useful to freeze some of the greens in ground form. To do this, chopped herbs are passed through a meat grinder or crushed in a blender bowl. The result is a thick and fairly concentrated puree. It is laid out in molds for ice or for baking cupcakes. It is better to use the smallest molds so that you do not have to cut them into pieces later.

All molds with wild garlic are placed in the freezer for 12-24 hours. Then remove the frozen pieces of greenery from the molds and place them in hermetically sealed bags.

Frozen chopped herbs are very pleasant to add to a variety of sauces and gravies for main courses. It is suitable as an additive for first courses, especially puree soups.

During further heat treatment of dishes, wild garlic puree can be added to them without even defrosting.

Harvesting wild garlic for the winter: drying

During the drying process, wild garlic herbs significantly lose their aroma, but this may even be an advantage for those who find its smell too strong. Most of the beneficial substances are preserved, and dried wild garlic can be used in the same way as other dry aromatic herbs: for adding to soups, seasonings, sauces, and baked goods.

1. The leaves are also thoroughly washed and dried on a towel.
2. Then cut into pieces and place on a tray in a warm, dry room without light.
3. You can dry the greens by placing them on electric dryer trays at a temperature of about + 35-40 ° C.

How to prepare pesto sauce from wild garlic and nuts for the winter

Among all the recipes for wild garlic preparations for the winter, Pesto sauce is one of the most original. Traditional Italian pesto sauce is usually made from basil.But the attractive aroma and taste of wild garlic make it an excellent base for this sauce.

You will need:

• about 500 g of fresh wild garlic;
• 4 tbsp. l. pine nuts (can be replaced with walnuts or almonds);
• 150-200 ml olive oil;
• 1 tsp. salt;
• ½ lemon;
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper;
• 3 tbsp. l. grated hard parmesan cheese.

Manufacturing:

1. At the first stage, it is important to thoroughly rinse the greens from the soil, rinse them and then dry them no less thoroughly. If moisture remains on the shoots, the sauce will not be able to last for a long time.
2. If using walnuts or almonds, chop them into as small pieces as possible. To better preserve the workpiece, the nuts are first lightly fried in a dry and clean frying pan.
3. Pine nuts themselves are very oily and tender, so they don’t need much chopping, much less frying.
4. The cheese is ground on a fine grater.
5. Of course, if you follow the ancient customs of traditional Italian cuisine, then the greens must be ground in a wooden mortar. But for a modern recipe, it is enough to pass it through a meat grinder.
6. Squeeze juice from half a lemon.
7. Mix chopped wild garlic, nuts, cheese, lemon juice in a deep container, add salt, pepper and olive oil.
8. Beat the resulting mixture thoroughly.
9. The finished sauce is placed in small sterile jars, poured with olive oil on top, and screwed on with sterile lids.
10. In this state, the sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for about a year.

Preparing wild garlic in oil for the winter

You can preserve wild garlic in a very simple way, which is, nevertheless, one of the most reliable, allowing you to do without heat treatment.

You will need:

• 0.5 kg leaves and stems;
• 1 tsp. salt;
• 0.5 liters of olive or other vegetable oil.

Manufacturing:

1. The stems and leaves of wild garlic are washed in cold water and dried.
2. Place in a blender or food processor, add salt and vegetable oil.
3. Turn into puree.
4. Place in sterile jars so that all the greens are covered with oil on top.
5. Screw on the boiled lids and place for storage in a cold place (cellar, refrigerator).

How to cook wild garlic in tomatoes for the winter

Ramson with tomato is a classic combination that can also be used for excellent preparation for the winter.

To prepare wild garlic for the winter with tomatoes you will need:

• 1 kg of wild garlic;
• 200 g of tomato paste or 300 g of homemade tomato juice or sauce made from crushed tomatoes.
• 1 tbsp. l. salt;
• 1 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 250 ml of aromatic vegetable oil.

Manufacturing:

1. The greens are sorted, thoroughly washed and dried.
2. Selected stems and leaves are crushed through a meat grinder.
3. Mix with tomato paste or sauce, add vegetable oil, salt, sugar.
4. Heat the mixture to a temperature of + 100 ° C and boil for exactly 1 minute.
5. Place in small glass containers and sterilize under covered lids for 20 minutes.
6. Twist and put in winter storage.

Recipe for preparing wild garlic with lard for the winter

You can very simply and quickly prepare a delicious wild garlic putty with lard for the winter. The result is a fantastically tasty preparation that can be spread on sandwiches or added to any dishes if desired.

You will need:

• 400 g pork lard without meat and peel;
• 200 g of fresh wild garlic;
• 50 g salt;
• spices to taste and desire.

Manufacturing:

1. The lard is cut into small pieces, sprinkled on all sides with salt and, placed in a small glass container, left in the room under a lid for a day.
2. The next day, shake off excess salt from the lard and pass it through a meat grinder.
3. In the meantime, the wild garlic greens are sorted, washed and dried.
4. They are also passed through a meat grinder.
   
5. Mix grated lard with wild garlic puree and add spices to taste if desired.
6. Place the resulting mass in sterile jars.
7. Store the product in the refrigerator under sterile lids for a year.

Shelf life of wild garlic preparations

Whatever recipe you choose, you should not save the wild garlic preparation for more than 1 year. Most likely, after this period, the aroma of the herb will be lost, and the taste will leave much to be desired. It makes more sense to replenish reserves with young fresh grass every spring.

Conclusion

There are many ways to prepare wild garlic for the winter, so this vitamin supplement should always be present in the daily and holiday menu. In this case, many dishes will be able to sparkle with new colors, and diseases will most likely recede into the background.

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