Garlic scapes and Italy = perfect combination!

"There is a trick to picking scapes: they have to squeak. “To get it right you start pulling one gently”, showed me Franca. “You have to hear a little squeaky sound, which means you got the whole stalk, with its tender white base”. It is hard work, which doesn’t always pay well. Many re-sellers go around local farms offering only 50 cents for a kilo of tolle, and sell them later for 2-3 euro at green grocers and markets. Franca says that they know that garlic growers have to pick scapes anyway, so such low price seems justified to them. That’s why garlic growers prefer to sell directly to the customer. Normally Franca has people booking bunches of tolle well in advance and coming to buy them as soon as they are collected. "

"I went home with two large bunches of garlic scapes. In the Sulmona area they are normally just boiled or preserved in oil and vinegar. I boiled them for 10 minutes and served with a sprinkle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. They are absolutely delicious! The sophisticated asparagus is bland and boring compared to tolle. They keep their lovely crunch and become very sweet with just a hint of garlic. I also added them raw to salads for a lovely garlicky flavour. After some research online, I found great scapes recipes that I will try when I am bored with eating them raw or simply boiled. Although, I don’t think it is going to happen any time soon."

http://greenholidayitaly.com/2014/05/28/great-garlic-scapes-sulmona-abruzzo/