Where & When to Find
Mustard Garlic (or garlic mustard!?) is one of the first plants to pop up after our cold winters here in South Dakota. By early May the young plant has multiple tender leaves that are perfect for eating. After only a week or two they grow into large patches such as in the photo below with the orange circle.
This plant grows all over the Midwest and can likely be found all over the US as it is considered an invasive species. I actually learned about this biking through a trail in the twin cities when I saw a man hacking it down by the bushel. I asked what he was doing and he schooled me on the edibility. Ever since that day I’ve been using it as a nutrient packed additive to all my foods in summer.
How to Eat Garlic Mustard
I highly prefer this plant raw. I fill a plastic bag, give them a spritz of water and pluck the leaves when I get home for my sandwiches. It has a very strong peppery taste that humans apparently acclimate to because I don’t much notice it any more but first-timers always make a face that says “wow this is hard to eat raw”.
John Kallas says this is one of the most nutrient packed greens that exist so eat up!
TREEfool 