Allium Ursinum...

...bears's garlic / ramsons / wild garlic / bear leek / karhunlaukka / Bärlauch are just some of the names used for one of my favourite wild growing herb. It's a plant with a kind of garlic-chives flavour and very much in season here in Switzerland at the moment.

Bear's garlic

Bear's garlic grows in forest and is widely spread in the Europe. In Finland it's only seldom met and that's why it's a protected plant over there so one isn't allowed to collect it. Maybe that's why I never tasted this plant back in Finland but my first encounter with it was here in Switzerland.

I know a great place with lots of bear's garlic not so far from my home so the other day I decided to take a walk and get me some so that I could cook something nice. The plants grows in woodlands with moist soils and when you walk by you might even smell a light garlicy fragnance. The leaves should be used when they are still young and before the plant flowers, because that's when their aroma is on its best. By the way, the plant is called bear's garlic because the bears seem to like the flavous as well :D

The flowers are already coming. Soon it will be too late to collect.

The bears's garlic can be used in many ways for cooking. One can use it like chives: in salads, in cream cheese, in cottage cheese...one can also make pasta, späzle, risotto or polenta with it. Also sauces like pesto made with bear's garlic are fantastic. Here you can buy it in the shop so if you aren't into a trouble of finding it in forest you can just buy it. Unfortunately I have no idea if it's available in shopd inFinland.

Well washed, ready to be used.

As I was already anyway on the way with scissors I decided to cut me some nettles (Urtica dioica / Brennnessel / nokkonen) as well. When I was a kid we sometimes had some nettle pancakes or nettle soup. This time I collected them for my ricottaravioli. Nettles can be used as spinach. Just remember to take gloves with you :) Nettles are best used when they still young, approximately under 20 cm. Later in summer it's also possible to cut of the tips and use them.

Nettles wating to be collected

Nettles together with common wood sorrel

After washing before blanching

I also saw lots of common wood sorrels on my way. The Latin name is Oxalis acetosella and in German it's called Waldsauerklee. I find the Finnish names the funniest: ketunleipä (translates fox's bread) or käenkaali (translates cuckoo's cabbage). As a kid when we walked trough the forest we used to eat these direct from the bush among other things like blue berries or lingon berries. Th common wood sorrel can be used for salads, soups or sauces and it has a really nice sour taste.

Common wood sorrel / Ketunleipä / Waldsauerklee