3

I live in Denmark, Europe and I have in my garden this gigantic vegetable.

It has a big bump on the top and i was wondering about what comes out of it?

enter image description here

8
  • 2
    Likely Elephant garlic? or Allium ampeloprasum, to give it its proper name. Definitely an Allium either way - it has a rounded head of pink flowers, though some can be white.
    – Bamboo
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:37
  • Wow. I'm surprised a pore can also provide garlics. Are they edible?
    – user11115
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:40
  • 1
    Erm, no, its not - the translation into English on that page you've linked to is off the wall I'm afraid, meaning very bad, there are other errors in it too. Pore can also mean to study intently, as in 'pore over'....
    – Bamboo
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:44
  • 1
    Found the name - its a "Leek" in english.
    – user11115
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:46
  • 1
    Break off a piece and smell it. If it smells like onions, it's potentially a leek. If it smells like garlic, it's probably a garlic plant. One might think leeks generally have more tubular leaves, because they taste like onions, which have tubular leaves. Leeks and garlic can both look like your picture. Onions, chives and shallots look different (with tubular leaves). Leek leaves actually can be flat, and the flowers actually can be really pointy like that before blooming. The base of the plant and/or the bulbs are the main difference, it would seem. (The bulbs look much different.) Commented Jun 20, 2015 at 7:42

1 Answer 1

4

Can't put any more comments, thread's too long. I think this plant is Elephant Garlic, or Allium ampeloprasum. The thing on the top is going to be a flower, usually pink - the part most people are interested in is what's under the ground, the garlic bulb, which should be very large. And yes, you can harvest the bulb and use it to cook with. Leaves and flowers are also edible, but will become tough if not picked young.

If you want to harvest the bulb, dig up the plant and lay it sideways, chop off the leaves and stem, leaving about an inch or two of stem attached to the bulb, and hang it up till it dries out.

Leek is Allium porrum - it may be that the 'pore' you speak of is taken from the last part of the Latin name for that particular vegetable.

7
  • Thanks for this information. I got this garden some months ago and when i got it the leeks were already there. I dont know much about them so im happy to hear all of them is edible. I might try to dig one up to see whats underground.
    – user11115
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:52
  • 1
    Ok - but this is not a leek! It's related, in the same family of flora, but quite different from a leek in taste and culinary use. If you do dig it up, you're supposed to leave the foliage in place and hang up or lay the plant sideways to dry out.
    – Bamboo
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:53
  • What name should i edit into my question then?
    – user11115
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:54
  • Don't worry about it - you asked what the plant was, that was the original query - you could say is this a vegetable?
    – Bamboo
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:55
  • Thanks Bamboo. Do you know what they taste like?
    – user11115
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 14:57

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.