Perhaps it's time to publish a survivalist guide to vampire evasion, as this will be the third wild garlic I've covered in the last few years – the other two being ramson and crow garlic.

This time around I thought I'd chat about probably one of the most common of them all – the hedge garlic (Alliaria petiolata).

It's often present all winter, but in the last few weeks it's started to stretch towards the light and make itself known. The photo to the right was taken in April so it's still got a way to go. *

I should say at this point that, strictly speaking, this plant belongs to the brassica family and not the alliums like the other garlics. Nevertheless, it has an undeniable garlic taste – allbeit with a distinct fire that can take some getting used to, another name is garlic mustard which is a pretty accurate description I reckon. **

It’s rather puzzling why a humble cabbage should have such flavorsome ambitions but it may well have figured out a long time ago that grazing animals generally don’t like garlic. Unfortunately however, it didn’t take into consideration the human palate – this plant has been used as a flavouring for millenia, with remains turning up in archaelogical digs in the Baltic dating back to 4000 BC.

Other than a quick stir fry, I prefer to eat this plant raw – a few leaves chopped finely and added to a dressing really perks up a mixed salad. Or I'll often pick a few and pop them in a sandwich as I’m out and about.

Whether it's hedgerow, forest edge or even urban park or flower bes it's not hard to find hedge garlic once you have 'your eye in'. Compare this to the rather contrary ransom or the secretive crow garlic and this becomes a handy plant to know.

Foraging considerations

As with the true garlics, smell is a useful ID point – just crush a leaf between your fingers. Another thing to look out for is the kidney-shaped leaf with rounded, almost frilly, teeth. The sketch above was drawn by a clever participant on one of my walks a while go, and I couldn't resist a shot. 

* Hedge garlic is a biennial. In the first year, plants appear as a rosette of green leaves close to the ground and are quite easy to miss. In the second year the plant shoots up, often reaching over 60 cm tall if conditions are right – although it's fairly bitter when it's mature.

* Other colloquial names include 'jack by the hedge' and 'sauce alone.'