Wild garlic - these fragile and fragrant green petals hide enormous power. They are already in the markets and the shops, and soon they will also appear in the forest glades and yards.
Wild garlic is also called bear's onion because it is the first food of bears that wake up from hibernation. It is believed that she helps them regain their strength by purifying their blood. It has the same miraculous effect on the human body - it awakens the energy in it, purifying the blood of toxins, lifting seriously ill people to their feet and giving "bear strength", healing a whole range of diseases - parasites in the intestines and stomach ailments, arthritis, inflammation of the lungs, severe colds, hypertension, lowers bad cholesterol, regulates metabolism and strengthens the heart.
How to make a Wild garlic tincture?
Today, the pharmaceutical industry makes hundreds of medicines and tinctures modeled on those made by the Greeks, Romans, and English in ancient times... You can make a tincture of wild garlic at home, it's not complicated. The fresh leaves, clean and dry, are chopped and a bottle or jar is filled with them without crowding them. They are poured with pure homemade rakia or vodka and left for two weeks in a bright and, if possible, sunny place.
The bottle is shaken for two or three days, and after two weeks the liquid is filtered and the leaves are discarded. For colds, fatigue, stomach problems, high cholesterol, and blocked blood vessels, it is good to take one tablespoon two or three times a day, dissolved in water and before meals.
The flowers and bulbs of the lavender are also used for tinctures, but less often. The bulbs and flowers can be made into a tea that helps with colds and inflammation of the lungs.
But the best way to preserve the strength of the devoured is to add it to green salads and make pesto from it - to salads, nutballs, and roasted vegetables.
Wild garlic pesto
Wild garlic pesto is also easy: the chopped leaves are mixed in a blender with soaked walnuts (or cashews), freshly squeezed lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. The ratio of leaves to nuts in grams is two to one.
You can make an interesting appetizer with vegan cheese wrapped in a leaf of wild garlic and a cherry tomato, skewered on a stick.
Yes, these delicate petals with a subtle garlic aroma are one of the most valuable medicines in nature's pharmacy. And that's why it's best to use them fresh, plucked from the forest. It is important to wash them well if they are collected from there.
It is also important not to confuse them with lily of the valley leaves, which contain poisonous substances. Recognition is easy - rub a petal between your fingers and feel its aroma. Wild garlic has a subtle garlic aroma.
Fresh wild garlic is a real princess in the cooked dishes of the spring kitchen. You can make lean sarmi with its leaves, which we jokingly call "Balkan sushi".
But you should know that cooking destroys part of the rich bouquet of vitamins and valuable substances. The wild garlic leaves contain large amounts of vitamin C and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, and PP. The plant is rich in essential oils and a valuable mineral complex of calcium, iron, potassium, sulfur, iodine, fluorine, manganese, selenium, zinc, and copper.
Wild garlic also fits well in spring soups. To preserve its potency, chop it up and add it to the soup when the heat is off and it has stopped boiling. You can also add a pinch of nutritional yeast.
