Once garlic is planted in the fall, some green shoots will appear before winter sets in. Once the ground begins warming in the spring, a flowerless bud stalk appears and grows tall, eventually curling. This is the scape and is removed so all the plant’s energy goes into growing the garlic bulb.

Scapes are removed in early summer before the garlic is harvested in July. This means that fresh scapes are only available for a few weeks in early summer.

How do you use garlic scapes?

Scape pesto, pickled scapes, and sauteed scapes are just a few of the ways fresh scapes can be used.

Outside of the short scape season, use dehydrated scape powder as an interesting season for your cooking. Garlic scape powder has a milder garlic flavor and smell and can be used in many types of dishes you want to give a garlicky zest.

Are there health benefits to eating garlic scapes and scape powder?

According to John Staughton on the Organic Facts website, like regular garlic, garlic scapes may protect against heart diseases and improve digestive health. Garlic scapes may boost circulation and oxygen throughout the body. Garlic scapes have lots of Provitamin A, which is able to transform into beta-carotene, a valuable antioxidant that can directly protect vision health.

Reference: https://www.organicfacts.net/garlic-scapes.html/​