When wild onions taste their very best

Wild onions are among nature's most delicious herbs. From early spring until well into autumn, they can add anything from mild garlic notes to powerful onion aromas to your food. The flavour varies through the season, however. The different parts of the plants – leaves, flowers and bulbils – reach their culinary peak at different times of the year.

Ramsons

Ramsons (wild garlic) are among spring's most sought-after edible plants. The young leaves are especially delicious from March to May, when they are juicy, tender and have a fresh garlic flavour. After flowering, the leaves gradually become coarser and less aromatic.

On Djursland, ramsons grow mainly in moist deciduous woods, along forest edges and beside streams, where the soil is nutrient-rich and often chalky.

Ramsons can be used in pesto, herb butter, soups, dressings and potato dishes. The white flowers and flower buds also have a fine garlic flavour and can be used as an edible garnish on salads and open sandwiches.

Sand leek

Sand leek tastes best in spring. The tender leaves have an elegant onion flavour with fine notes of garlic, while the flowers add both taste and colour to your food.

On Djursland, sand leek is typically found on dry, open sunny slopes, coastal grassland, roadside verges and forest edges. It thrives best in well-drained soil and sunny growing sites.

Sand leek is well suited to salads, egg dishes, seasoned butter and potato dishes. The flowers also make a decorative and tasty sprinkle.

Learn to find them safely
Join a local guide on a foraging tour at Gjerrild Nordstrand.

Crow garlic

Crow garlic can be harvested through much of the growing season. The young leaves are mild and juicy, while older leaves develop a spicier, more concentrated onion flavour. Later in the year, the bulbils become one of the plant's most interesting edible parts.

On Djursland, crow garlic is found mainly in dry, sandy growing sites along the coasts. It grows on beach ridges, dunes, coastal slopes and other sunny areas with light soil, among other places.

Crow garlic goes particularly well with fish, shellfish, potatoes and salads. The leaves can be used like chives, while the bulbils can be eaten fresh, pickled, or used as an aromatic accompaniment.

Field garlic

Field garlic is one of the most versatile wild onions. In spring, the young leaves are crisp and aromatic with a distinct onion flavour. Later in the season, the bulbils develop their own characteristic taste and, for many foragers, become at least as interesting as the leaves.