Wild garlic

Wild garlic, ramsons, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek or bear's garlic
​ (Allium ursinum)

Have you ever heard of bear‘s garlic?
I’lI tell you more about this wild plant, known mainly for its medicinal properties, but with many benefits for our body.
 
Wild garlic appears in late winter and early spring. This plant grows in shaded and humid areas and/or near small streams. It has small white flowers and looks a little like lily of the valley (do not confuse them, but wild garlic gives off a slight garlic scent when the leaves are crumpled).
It is not easily found in markets, perhaps in a few organic shops, but here in Cluj Napoca, it is found everywhere on the market stalls (under the name "leurdā")

All parts of the plant are consumed, the leaves, flowers, stems and buds (the bulbs are left in the ground for the next season's regrowth)
 
It is best eaten raw to retain all its benefits and its strong garlic taste.

Wild garlic can be added chopped to a salad, made into pesto with olive oil or added to chickpeas for a gourmet green hummus. It is also excellent lightly cooked in an omelette.

gourmet hummus with wild garlic

Conservation :

It can be kept in the fridge with the stems in a glass of water (like flowers in a vase) and changing the water every day.
 
The leaves can be dried and powdered to obtain a seasoning.
It can also be frozen either by mixing it with olive oil in ice cube trays or by chopping it and storing in a zip bag

Benefits

It is a vegetable, a condiment and a medicine at the same time.
It has a distinctive and subtle garlic taste that makes it easier to eat than its cultivated cousin.
It is one of the European edible plants that contains the most vitamin C.
It also contains sulphur, silicon, iron, manganese, zinc... and other vitamins B1, B2 and E.
It is a general stimulant of the body.
It is a deworming agent (eliminates intestinal parasites)
Its purifying action eliminates toxins from the body, it is in particular a heavy metal chelator thanks to the sulphur compounds it contains. Which make mercury and lead soluble in water, thus facilitating their elimination from the body.
It is a general antiseptic and antibiotic thanks to the alliin molecule it contains. It disinfects the intestine. It helps to eliminate diarrhea and stomach heaviness by stimulating the secretion of gastric juices.
It has a hypotensive effect and lowers cholesterol levels.
It has a fluidifying effect that helps to fight against thrombosis. Beware of people taking treatments for bleeding disorders.

Source:
http://www.countryfile.com/how-to/food-recipes/wild-garlic-guide-where-to-find-how-to-cook-it-and-recipe-ideas/
https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-wild-garlic-435437