Fayette County, West Virginia’s Mitchell Dech is one of my foraging mentors, and when he wants me to try an edible new to me … I’m ready to learn about it.
Photo above: Wild garlic growing in Fayette County, West Virginia. Photo credit: Courtesy of Mitchell Dech
“Wild garlic seems to be an underused but common edible, available from winter through May,” he told me. “These chive-like plants are easy to spot because they are taller than surrounding grass. They grow in both disturbed soil and woodlands, as well as lawns.
“You can grab a handful of the leaves and cut them with scissors, then use them in a soup, stir fry or omelet. You can eat the bulbs, too, but they are hard to clean because of their small size. Just make sure that the plant smells like onions or garlic because poisonous lookalikes exist and they have no scent.”
Dech adds that wild garlic looks much like chives and the green color is best described as slightly blueish or grayish green.
Bruce and Elaine Ingram have written a new edition of Living the Locavore Lifestyle, which is about living off the land. For more information: bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com.
