How to Store and Keep Garlic Scapes Fresh: Methods and Techniques Explained

Garlic scapes, commonly known in some places as garlic sprouts, are the flower stems that bolting garlic produces after vernalization, and they are an important by-product of garlic production. Garlic scapes are rich in crude protein, a variety of vitamins and minerals, and have a delicious flavor, making them a high-quality, premium vegetable.

(1) Storage conditions

1. Temperature 0-0.5°C.

2. Relative humidity 90%-95%.

3. Gas composition O2: 2%-4%, CO2: 6%-8%.

(2) Storage methods

1. Ice cellar storage method: trim off the old roots of the selected garlic scapes, peel off the leaf sheaths, tie them into 1 kg bundles and pack them into cattail bags, 10-15 kg per bag, tie the outside securely with rope, and put them into the cellar promptly.

Store ice harvested in winter in the cellar for later use. When storing garlic scapes, first spread two layers of ice blocks on the cellar floor and also stack two ice blocks along the cellar walls, then stack the garlic scapes on top of the ice, alternating one layer of ice blocks and one layer of garlic scapes, for a total of 3-5 layers of garlic scapes, filling the gaps between each layer of garlic scapes with crushed ice. Cover the topmost layer of ice with rice husks for insulation, about 1 m thick, and seal the cellar door with mud. Judge the storage condition of the garlic scapes in the cellar by the smell and color of the water flowing out from the cellar floor.

2. Small-package bag natural controlled-atmosphere storage: tie the selected garlic scapes into small bundles, pre-cool them to 0°C in a pre-cooling room, and pack them into polyethylene plastic film bags 0.06-0.08 mm thick, 15-20 kg per bag, filling 50%-60% of the bag's void space. Place the plastic bags on storage racks and maintain the warehouse temperature at 0±0.5°C. During storage, measure the gas composition inside the bags with an Orsat gas analyzer. When the oxygen content in the bag falls below 2%, open the bag mouth promptly to vent and let in fresh air. If no analyzer is available, you can use regular ventilation to regulate the gas composition inside the bags: once every 10 days in the early storage period, and once every 7 days in the later period, open the bag mouth to ventilate.

3. Silicon window controlled-atmosphere storage method: put the selected garlic scapes into storage boxes, first lay a layer of plastic film on the cellar floor, with the bottom film 20-30 cm larger than the tent body, then stack the storage boxes filled with garlic scapes on the bottom film, taking care to leave appropriate gaps during stacking to ensure circulation of cold air. The large tent is generally 4.1 m x 3.7 m x 1.4 m, with a silicon window area of 1.28 sq m, storing 2000 kg of garlic scapes. After stacking the garlic scapes, close the tent promptly so that the bottom film and the tent body are rolled and sealed tightly, and compact it with fine soil. Use the air permeability of silicone rubber to maintain a relatively suitable gas composition inside the tent. Generally, maintaining oxygen at about 13% and carbon dioxide at about 5% inside the tent gives better storage results.