Simple Garlic Scape Salt Recipe
A garlic scape is a curly green blossom stem with a flower that develops on the end of it. Scapes grow directly from hard neck garlic plants in the late spring or early summer. Usually, gardeners cut the scapes to encourage the garlic plant to grow a larger garlic bulb. The scape doesn't need to be thrown away though. It tastes and smells just like garlic and can be used in multiple different ways. Garlic scape salt tastes just like traditional garlic salt. The main difference is that it has a slightly green hue to it due to the color of the garlic scapes themselves.
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Strainer or colander
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Food processor/Blender (food processor works better)
- Cup measurement
Ingredients
- Fresh garlic scapes
- Salt I use Redmond's
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees
- Rinse any dust/dirt off of the garlic scapes
- Cut into 1 inch pieces using a sharp knife. Discard any woody ends that may not pulse in the food processor.
- For measurements, use a 2:1 ratio of salt to scapes. For this recipe I used 2 cups of salt to 1 cup of scapes.
- Add the salt and garlic scapes to your food processor/blender
- Blend slowly on low and increase speed to high until salt is bright green, and all of the scapes and salt are thoroughly blended.
- Spread salt onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes until crusty and completely dry.
- Once fully dry, set aside and allow the salt to fully cool.
- If desired, return the garlic scape salt to the cleaned and dried food processor to blend one last time and break up any chunks. If you'd like bigger pieces, simply break apart using a spoon or your fingers.
- Place your garlic scape salt in a glass airtight container to use and store.
- Storage tips: Store in a cool, dry place. This salt will last a very long time, although potency may fade the older the salt gets.
Notes
Do you need a food processor/blender? Yes. You absolutely need something to pulse the garlic scapes into the salt. A food processor works more smoothly for this recipe than a blender does. A blender requires slowly adding the salt and doing several small batches so all of the scapes get pulverized.
Can you use a dehydrator to make this salt? Yes! Just set at the 200 degree setting, stir occasionally, and remove when fully dry. Continue recipe as usual. If you use a dehydrator, your salt will remain very green. Using the oven lightens the green color and adds a brownish tone.
Don't use hard pieces of the scape: If there are any hard stem pieces discard those from this recipe otherwise they won't blend with the rest of the ingredients and work your machine too hard.