Did you say “pickled garlic scapes” — Danville Illinois Farmers Market
Danville, IL, July 2024
Every Summer Saturday Danville Illinois has a Farmers Market from 8 am to 12 pm. I love going to Farmers Market and seeing all the home goodies to be had. Also finding unique local finds… Maybe this is because I enjoy perusing and shopping.
For me, the unique item was garlic scrapes. I’ve spent many summers in California during the garlic harvest and I only saw garlic scapes in the field as part of the growing garlic not actually used as a food product.
University of Alaksa Fairbanks has an interesting article on growing garlic and the garlic parts. I took the picture from the UofA website: https://www.uaf.edu/ces/publications/database/gardening/garlic.php
Garlic scrapes are the “stem or flower stalks” that grows from the hardneck garlic varieties. According to what I’ve been told.. Scapes taste like garlic but without the sharp bite and more of a green taste. So, I couldn’t resist buying the pickled garlic scrapes and raw scrapes.
I’m saving the pickled garlic scrapes taste testing for when I’m visiting with the family. When I bought the raw scrapes, I was provided with a list of ways to store and pesto recipe.
Homemade crafts (wax, clothing, hats, decorations, metal work, etc.)
Raffle drawing every vendor donated something to the drawing. I didn’t win anything, but it was fun.
Entrance had a raffle station right away. The market provided fun and inviting atmosphere.
These flowers may look fake, but they are real. The farmer grows all from seed. And are reasonably priced. I would have bought some if I didn’t have to worry about Mackie eating them…This shop had natural products. The picture is a sprayer with natural weed killer. They had dryer balls made of wool, detergent, etc. All from natural products. Personally, my favorite was the sprayers since they were so pretty.The hats were really pretty. She intertwined twin inside the hats to make them sturdier. For ease of cleaning the hats could be placed in a washer. Really smart fudge sales that included bite size samples. I didn’t buy any because I’d already purchased donuts.The plastic canvas wind spinners were really pretty. I’m thinking about finding directions and trying to make some this winter. I’m seeing multiple You Tube videos on how to do it.This was the fudge booth. What I liked was information about not processed in inspected kitchen was included.
My purchases. A dozen Scapes, Picked Garlic Scapes and Creaking Tree Farm information packet.
>100 scapes are required to make 9 jars of pickled scapes. My plan is to enjoy these when home with my family.
Fresh bundle of 12 scapes
Usage and storage information
Recipe was provided by the farmers. I used Canola oil vs. Olive oil. I didn’t add the parmesan since I planned to freeze the pesto.
Picture of the 12 scape bundle and to the left is a dried garlic bulb with dried scapes still on it.
Their 98 year old Mother passes her time by cleaning the garlic bulbs. They were beautiful bulbs. Better than what you can find in a grocery store.
The farm selling the scapes also grows vegetables & herbs for jams. I found the “mint” jam interesting. But decided on bringing the pickled scapes home would be more interesting.
The pamphlet was provided on everything they’ve done with the farm. They also will ship there good upon request.
My attempt at the pesto using the recipe provided (minus the parmesan cheese).
Almost all the ingredients. The picture doesn’t show the oil. Living a trailer the goal is to have one oil that works for all. I used Canola Oil instead of Olive oil. I chose not to include the scape flower. Mostly because I didn’t know if it was good or not. The scape were cut to be @ 1 inch long.I made a half batch and used a small blender. I wanted the pest thicker. So, I added another cut up scape. I wanted the mixer fairly smooth. I mixed for about 3 to 4 minutes. Scraping the side periodically.
End product minus the Parmesan. It’s reasonably thick and tastes great!!
