Ramsons

Today's the day ....................... to be careful

These are the exquisite flowers of Allium ursinum - commonly known as wild garlic, ramsons, bear leek, buckrams and a whole lot more.  You see it everywhere at this time of the year and it's a very useful plant to have.

All parts of it are edible and can be used in cooking, including the flower, which can be used to garnish salads.  It's the leaves that are most popular and can be used raw in salads.  They have a very subtle garlicky flavour similar to that of chives. When cooked, the flavour of the leaves becomes softer and sweeter.  The leaves and bulb can be chopped and used to replace clove garlic and other herbs in many recipes. Popular dishes using the plant include pesto, soups, pasta, cheese scones and mayonnaise.

A word of warning though - it's probably a good idea to wait until you see these distinctive flowers because when the leaves first emerge, they can look similar to other plants - like lily-of-the-valley or autumn crocus - which are actually all poisonous ......................!