Hardneck garlic

• Stronger flavour
• Fewer, larger cloves

Go into most top restaurants and you will probably spot the chef using a hardneck type. (As opposed to the softneck garlic varieties)

Typical examples are:

• Chesnok red – Great taste and possible the best type for roasting
• Purple stripe – Good ‘all purpose’ and will keep their flavour when using in cooking.
• Red duke – fiercely intense and spicy flavour. One of the strongest flavour you can grow at home.

Softneck garlic

• Milder taste
• Longer storage

This is the type of garlic you will find in most shops – mainly because they are cheaper & easier to grow than the other varieties.

Typical examples are:

• Albigensian – Very nice flavour for a softneck garlic and often used in vegetable and fish dishes. (Or when roasted)
• Germidour – Very easy to grow with a mild and sweet flavour. Ideal for all recipes where you want a ‘specific flavour’
• French Messidrome – Very often used in French kitchens, and ideal for use in slow cookers. Sweet and sharp with a regular taste. Probably the best garlic to grow of the softneck varieties.

Speciality garlic

• Black garlic
• Unique sweet flavour

Details:

Black Seeds – Ideal if you want to add a pleasant savory (even plummy) taste to meals. Very popular in Korean & Japanese recipes – but can even be used in desserts, chocolate cakes, etc.

Harneck garlic – the scapes

In addition to the pods, the hardneck types will also produce scapes. A scape is what you call the flowering stalk growing in the middle of hardneck bulbs.

Very often the scape is removed in order to get a bigger bulb.

However scapes are delicious and can be used in a variety of ways. It will taste fresh, green with a hint of fresh.

You can either use them slightly steamed, or sauteed in butter & seasoned or as a paste for making your own pesto.

Scapes are in season during the spring and sometimes the early summer.