Green Garlic at Durham Farmers' Market: Spring is Near!

The Durham Farmers' Market manager keeps a list of what is available at the Market from week to week. This past weekend, she stumbled upon green garlic near the end of the Market and got really excited about it. Not only is green garlic a sign that spring is quickly on the way, who doesn't love garlic?

Depending on the climate, garlic spends about 7 months in the ground to transform from seed to maturity.  Garlic seeds are the actual cloves of garlic. One clove turns into a full bulb of garlic that contains 10-20 cloves. Garlic gets planted in the fall, mulched, and depending on the harshness of the winter, starts putting up greens in late winter or early spring. At this point, it looks a lot like green onions, it is about at the half way point in its maturity, it hasn't started to separate into individual cloves. 

In a couple of months, you'll see some green garlic that has just started to separate. In late spring, early summer - around June - fully mature garlic bulbs will start coming to Market. Farmers sell it as fresh garlic at this point. Fresh garlic is very flavorful and contains a lot of moisture. Farmers, then, harvest their crop and "cure" it, by hanging it in very specific temperature and humidity settings. This lets the husks dry out a little bit and preserves the garlic and actually intensifies the flavor of the garlic. Cured garlic has a good shelf life and in the right conditions can last into the winter. 

Wondering what to do with green garlic?  Use it just like you would use regular garlic - in stirfrys, omelettes, roast it, you name it.  It will give you that garlicky flavor you've been looking for since the cured garlic ran out at the Market a few months ago.

Garlic Fun Fact:  Garlic has more carbohydrates than almost any other vegetable - including potatoes.  That explains why it is so sweet when you roast it!
 
Fresh this Week....
Vegetables:   GREEN GARLIC, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, Asian Greens, Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Cress (Creasy Greens), Cilantro, Collards, Dried Herbs, Frisee, Fennel, Green Onions,  Gourds,  Jerusalem Artichokes,  Mustard Greens, Kale,  Lettuce, Greenhouse Grown Peppers, Pumpkins, Radishes, Salad Mix, Shiitake Mushrooms  (fresh & dried), Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Greenhouse Grown Tomatoes, Turnips, Turnip Greens,
Meats:  Beef, Bison, Chicken, Duck, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Pork.  Look for whole cuts, sausages, hot dogs, jerky, liver pate and more!
Flowers & Plants:  Daffodils, Tulips, Anemones, Icelandic Poppies
And: Honey, Pecans, Chicken and Duck Eggs, Flour, Cornmeal, Wines, Fresh and Aged Goats and Cows Milk Cheeses, Baked Goods - Pies, Breads, Cookies, Pastries, Gluten Free Items, etc; Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves
Crafts: Pottery, Jewelry, Gourd Birdhouses, Woodwork, Photographs, Hand-dyed Clothing and other items, Handmade Clothing, Soaps and much more...

Produce availability depends on weather conditions