Wild Garlic Fresh

Bear's garlic belongs to the vigorous bear plants. The bear was a soul animal with our ancestors, similar to the power animals with the Indians. These soul animals embodied themselves in certain plants and thus transferred their power to them. Wild garlic is one such spring plant with bear strength, so bears eat a lot of wild garlic to regain their strength after the long winter hibernation. And so it also gives us its power when we harvest and consume it in spring.

Bear's garlic is an ancient, important medicinal herb and just as versatile a food, which has been unjustly displaced by garlic in recent years.

In nutrition

This great herb only has a short season from mid-March to mid-May, when the leaves are harvested. After that, wild garlic goes into flowering and seed formation. There are many ways to prepare fresh wild garlic leaves:

• As a soup, pure or together with other wild herbs (e.g. as Maundy Thursday soup) or in vegetable or potato soup
.
• In salads, finely chopped with vegetable, pasta or leaf salads
.
• As a seasoning in herb curd, herb butter and all dishes to which garlic also goes
.
• Like spinach, also mixed with nettles and goutweed
.
• For the preparation of delicious pasta sauces
.

By cooking, wild garlic loses its harsh flavour and becomes somewhat milder.

Because wild garlic loses all its strength when dried, it is not suitable as a dry seasoning. Suitable preservatives include wild garlic pesto, oil pastes or seasoning oil.

For vegetarian spreads, wild garlic is excellent.

The flowers are suitable for adding to salads, herb curd or as a pretty decoration.

Healing applications

Bear's garlic contains a lot of vitamin C, iron and essential oils. It has a detoxifying as well as cleansing effect and can help us get over spring fatigue and also support us in many illnesses.

For curative use, about a handful of fresh wild garlic leaves is eaten daily for 4-6 weeks.

It was known as a medicinal plant by the Germanic tribes, Celts and also the Romans. For Pastor Künzle, wild garlic was the plant with the most effective powers for cleansing the stomach, intestines and blood. Its strong blood-purifying properties are responsible for its healing effect on chronic skin rashes and lichens, as it fights the cause from within.

Bear's garlic repels unwanted intestinal bacteria without harming the beneficial ones. Thus it was also used by our ancestors as a worming agent. An imbalance in the intestinal flora, caused by medicines such as antibiotics, is balanced by wild garlic. The intestinal flora is also strengthened against parasites when wild garlic is taken.

Other areas of application are arteriosclerosis and hypertension. In addition to fresh wild garlic leaves, a wild garlic tincture can also be taken for support.

This allium also has an appetising effect due to its high content of mustard oil glycosides, and stimulates the digestive juices.

Black garlic is mixed into the food of cats and dogs to protect them from infestation by intestinal parasites. However, wild garlic is poisonous for some other animals, such as rabbits and horses!