Pickled Garlic Scapes Recipe for Canning

If you have a lot of fresh garlic scapes on hand and enjoy the tang of pickled vegetables, you must try this pickled garlic scapes recipe! Water bath canning makes these pickled scapes shelf stable, so they're ready for snacking or adding to recipes at any time.

As a gardener who enjoys canning and preserving, I like growing dual-purpose vegetables. When I was first introduced to hardneck garlic, I was thrilled when I learned I could get both scapes and garlic bulbs from the same plants!

Every summer brought an onslaught of garlic scapes, and I learned how to cook and preserve the curly green stems in my kitchen.

I also learned how to make garlic scape butter and freeze it. A frozen pat of the gold and green stuff brought delicious flavor to home cooked meats!

But my favorite still is (and probably will always be) pickled garlic scapes.

What Are Garlic Scapes?

Garlic scapes are only produced by hardneck garlic varieties. Scapes are a single, curly flower stem that each garlic plant puts up mid-late spring.

If you leave the stems, they will produce flowers and tiny garlic bulbils. The bulbils drop to the ground, take root, and in this way garlic naturally reproduces.

But gardeners who want big bulb roots will remove the scapes, which forces the plant's energy to go into producing a larger bulb.

And you also get delicious scapes as a result!

When to Harvest Garlic Scapes

If you live in a northern region and plant garlic in the fall, scapes will probably appear in early summer. Let the curly greens grow until they are at least 12 inches long before harvesting.

Don't let them sit more than 2-3 weeks beyond that, for just like asparagus, the stems will turn tough and stringy.

Where to Find Garlic Scapes

If you like garlic but don't yet grow your own, I highly recommend doing so. Hardneck garlic is easy to plant, grow and care for. I can teach you how to plant hardneck garlic, plus how to harvest and dry garlic for storage.

Don't grow your own garlic?

You'll have to find scapes at a local farmer's market. If you're part of a CSA or buy from a local produce stand, ask and see if they have extra to sell.

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Tasty Additives for Garlic Scapes

If you want additional flavor in your pickled garlic scapes or a bit of heat, you can safely add the following items!

1. Banana peppers
2. Dill heads
3. Horseradish
4. Jalapenos
5. Mustard seed
6. Peppercorns
7. Paprika pepper

3 Ways to Stuff Jars with Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes are fun with their kinks and curls, but they are a bit frustrating to stuff into a jar! Here are 3 good ways to do it.

1. Cut garlic scapes into 2-3 inch lengths before jarring.
2. Wrap scapes around themselves in a wreath-like form before dropping into a jar.
3. Slice scapes into jar-length pieces and stuff jars.

I hate wasting space when I'm preserving jars of food, so I prefer the last method. I like to cut scapes to length, and stuff them into the jar in upright position. Yes, this even works with the kinky ones!

I like the presentation of the last option, best. You're not dealing with small bits, nor long, noodle-like scapes that require a lot of chewing to get through!

Scapes canned in upright position are easy to handle and eat.

Tips for Canning Tender Scapes

The biggest complaint folks have with pickled garlic scapes is toughness or stringiness. Here's how you can avoid this!

1. Harvest scapes before they over mature (2-3 weeks after they reach 12 inches in length).
2. Choose the curling ends for pickling; it's tempting to use the larger, straight ends because they're easy to manage, but they're older and always tougher than the curls.
3. Cut off tough ends before filling jars (test by chopping off a section and biting through it).
4. Trim away the tough, grass-like tapered ends of the flower buds.
5. Tightly stuffing jars is thought to have a softening effect on the foods within. Perhaps it's an old wives tale, but I always tightly pack my scapes and they're always tender.

Uses for Pickled Garlic Scapes

Here are some of my favorite ways to use pickled garlic scapes in simple, country style cooking.

• Serve as a side dish.
• Chop scapes and add to egg salad.
• Add scapes to tuna fish sandwiches.
• Trade pickles for garlic scapes in potato salad.
• Slip into a roast beef sandwich.
• Charcuterie board

Because scapes are pickled, they can be used as a replacement for dill pickles in any of your favorite recipes!

The garlic flavor is very light and sourness is intense. Experiment in the kitchen and have some fun with your canned pickled garlic scapes!