When tall varieties are in their prime, they attract a lot of attention. But have you ever had the idea of eating these ornamental plants?
Is ornamental garlic edible?
Ornamental garlic is edible and non-toxic. All parts of the plant, such as stems, leaves, flowers and bulbs, can be eaten. Use them in salads, stews, sauces or garnish your dishes with the decorative flowers.
Non-toxic like all other leek plants
In principle, ornamental garlic is not poisonous. It is irrelevant what type or variety it is. These representatives of the allium family are always free of toxins.
Ornamental and useful plant in one
Similar to vegetable onions, spring onions, chives, garlic and wild garlic, ornamental garlic is edible. Of course, very few gardeners have the idea to eat their ornamental onions. After all, this is primarily an ornamental plant and less a food item.
All parts of the plant are edible
In general, you can eat all parts of your ornamental leek. Both the stems, leaves and flowers are edible. You can even eat the onions. However, if you think that these parts of the plant taste like the leek plants commonly sold in stores, you are wrong. On the one hand they are less aromatic and on the other hand they are not as fine.
Eating suggestions – ornamental garlic in the kitchen
Depending on the variety, either the leaves or stems or the flowers are better. The onions are generally easy to use. Here are a few ideas for what you can do with ornamental onions in the kitchen.
- Use flowers and young shoots for salads
- Bread the buds and deep-fry or fry them
- Steam stems and leaves
- Use flowers for garnish
- Use leaves, stems and onion for sauces
- all plant parts for smoothies and stews
Many types of ornamental onions have long been food products
Did you know? Some types of ornamental leeks, such as the ball-headed leek (Allium sphaerocephalon), have long been valued as food. The ball-headed leek is eaten in Siberia, the vineyard leek is known for dressing salads and Allium cernuum and Allium canadens were popular foods among the Indians of North America.
Tip
You can simply nibble on the ornamental leek, for example to get a good taste in your mouth. But to be honest, the plant parts are less enjoyable in their pure state. It is more advisable to use them wisely in the kitchen.