Thursday, September 8, 2011

Garlic!

The garlic I planted early this Spring was ready to harvest. I could tell because all of it's leaves had fallen over and were beginning to turn brown at the tips.

So, what to do with it? Braid it of course!

How does it go from this,
freshly picked

to this,
cured for about 3 weeks in the garage

And now
cleaned and ready to braid..

to finished....

It is actually not as intimidating as it looks, if I can do it--so can you! :) Mine is a very simple braid, some people braid colored ribbon and other goodies into it (like hot peppers, etc--you may have seen those at Pike's Place). This was my first attempt, so I kept it easy.

I started by gently cleaning the dirt, loose paper and leaves off, then trimmed the roots to look neat. I also dampened the dried and cured leaves in a moist (not soaking) towel, so they were nice and pliable, not so brittle. Don't soak them, you want them to dry quickly--no mold in your braid! It also helps to use a small bit of string or yarn to tie your very first 3 cloves together to hold them steady.. do this right at the top of the cloves, leaving the rest of the leaves loose for braiding. It will be hidden almost immediately as you start the braid.

Then you just braid! The only difference is that you will be adding a stalk at each OUTSIDE throw of your braid. It's a little like french braiding. When you reach the end of your garlic and want to finish the braid..use a piece of string to tie the braid together. Make a small loop with the string at the back of the braid so you can hang your artistry on the wall :)


I have not found ANY pictures that easily show how a braid is accomplished, but THIS VIDEO does a pretty fine job.





1 comment:

  1. Oooo, gorgeous! We haven't grown garlic yet, but definitely need to put it on the list for next year. Very inspirational photos there :-)

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