Bear's garlic (Allium ursinum)

A super old medical plant that is a true super hero. Reading is a must.

So I went down in our garden today to finally harvest the good stuff growing in front of my door.

Between March and May you find Bear's garlic all over Europe. Often in shady, moist deciduous and mixed forests, but also in our garden.

This super plant was already known as a medical plant by the ancient Teutons and Romans.

It is growing right next to the fence.

It is the green stuff and since it can be easily confused with poisonous plants like the Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) or the Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) I will explain what you have to look for when going on the hunt in early spring.

So when you find green leaves you think is Bear's garlic make sure there is just one leaf stalk.

One leaf per stem is important to recognize.

The Lily of the valley is having several leaves per stem and the Autumns crocus doesn't have a stem at all.

The leaves are oval and have a parallel pattern of the veins.

The underside of Bear's garlic is always matt!

When it's shiny it's not what you should eat.

But the most important characteristic for determining Bear's garlic is the smell.

As the name already suggest it smells like garlic when you tear a leaf. If it doesn't smell it's not Bear's garlic.

You should always check twice before collecting wild plants. A mistake can cost you your life!

So I am pretty confident I found the good stuff, but why is this plant a true super hero?

I'll tell you.

Bear's garlic is a source of vital substances. They provide many vitamins and minerals that are essential for a healthy organism.

It contains an important amount of the following:

Potassium
Manganese
Phosphorus
Magnesium
Iron
Calcium
Vitamin A, B1, B6, C

It owes its power not only to its vitamins, trace elements and minerals, but also to the secondary plant substances it contains.

The most important would be Sulfur compounds such as Alliin, a sulfur-containing amino acid.

When processing the leaves the cells in the plant are destroyed. The Alliin comes into contact with the enzyme Allinase. This converts the Alliin into Allicin which is responsible for the typical garlic scent.

Allicin is best known for its germicidal and antibacterial properties.
It is considered a natural antibiotic.
It regulates high cholesterol levels and is a proven remedy for atherosclerosis, which is why it helps prevent heart attacks and strokes.
Allicin is also effective against various cancer cells.

Not enough healthy information regarding that plant? There is more!

Bear's garlic is rich in Chlorophyll!

Chlorophyll is closely related to a substance found in human blood: Hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin is the red pigment in the blood and is responsible for transporting oxygen to our cells.

So by eating Bear's garlic we support blood formation and oxygen supply in ourselves.

In addition, the green plant pigment improves wound healing and ensures a pleasant body odor.

Still more to come, Detox and Scientific studies!

The combination of vitamin C, chlorophyll, sulfur and many other secondary plant substances that we talked about above has a detoxifying effect, eliminating toxins, heavy metals and carcinogens, even radioactive radiation is said to be reduced.

Since 20 years scientists take a closer look at Bear's garlic for the long known healing effects.

For example, Diallyl disulfide, a component of the essential oil of this plant, has been shown to kill various cancer cells.
This applies to breast, lung, prostate and colon cancer as well as lymphoma and neuroblastoma.

There are also many studies for the substance Allicin that confirm its effectiveness in the fight against various cancer cells such as lung, colon and breast cancer.

It is proven to prevent high blood pressure, as well as atherosclerosis.

So I harvested this amazing plant among with other plants but today it is about the garlic.

There are some things you can do with Bear's garlic.

You can make an essence with alcohol out of it, which is recommended since ages and what I will do as well.

But today I made a Pesto out of my fresh harvested plants. It's a classic and you can vary with the ingredients.

My recipe
200g bear's garlic
250ml Olive oil
80g Walnuts
50g Grana Padano
25g Sea salt

_{You can use any oil, nuts, spices, cheese that you like. Also you can experiment with the amount as some might like a different texture. I usually go with the feeling, just today I measured for you.}

First you wash and dry the Bear's garlic. Then you chop him in slices.

I roasted the Walnuts, but that doesn't need to be done.
You chop the nuts as well into tiny crumbles.

Same with the cheese you might wanna add.
The little piece of Grana Padano got chopped by me, just as the nuts and the garlic.
Often Parmesan cheese is recommended, but you can also make it without any cheese.

Add Sea salt and the oil of your choice.
I used Olive oil.

Blend all the ingredients with a blender until you have the consistency you like.
Add more oil if it's too dry and taste in between to make sure it is how you like it.

Once blended fill the Pesto into glasses and seal it.

To make it durable for up to 1 year leave some space in the glass and fill it up with oil. Make sure that it is covered with oil on top.

And that's about it. To make a Pesto is rather easy.

Serve it with pasta, bread, whatever you like.

Today I am going to find some Grain schnapps to make an essence. Also I will harvest more of the Bear's garlic as the season for this power plant / natural medicine is rather short.

I will make another post with how I make the essence and why within the next 2 weeks.

After Reading This You Want Me To Send You Some Pesto - Natural Medicine At It's Best