Leeks are a modest - flavored member of the Allium cepa menage . Their tender , livid stem turn are used to flavor soup , stew , meats and many different dishes . Although the green portions of scallion can be run through , too , it ’s the succulent white stalks that are prise ; the green contribution have a stronger smack and a coarser texture . The large amount of whitened on a Allium porrum ’s stem turn , the more utile it is in the kitchen .
The white portion of a leek ’s stalk is created by blanching , a physical process that protects that dower of the stem from sunlight . Many gardeners mound soil up around growing scallion to keep sunlight from reaching the stems , but this mean soil gets in between the layers of the Allium porrum , and if not properly moisten , you might get a mouthful of guts .
Instead of mounding my scallion , I use several recycled home items to pale the stems . I begin the process about two months before I harvest , and it forge like a charm .
1. Newspaper
To blanch scallion with newspaper , gather the farewell together and wrap the lower portion of the stem with newspapers . I use a thickness of about five sheet and enwrap them around the root doubly . Then I secure it with a small-arm of jute twine or masking tape . Leave some slack in the paper so the leek can continue to grow but not so much that it lets in spark . Yes , the newspapers get pie-eyed , but they ’ll be entire when you ’re quick to reap a month or two later .
2. Empty Paper-Towel Rolls
For this method , I slice a paper towel tube open lengthwise and cut the top to match the downcast fortune of the leek stem . I fold the leave upward , slide the cut tube-shaped structure around the leek root , and plug it with a piece of jute twine or covering mag tape . I leave the report towel tube a short loose so the scallion can grow a little but it still block the light source .
3. Paper Egg-Carton Lids
While we expend most of our egg carton to foregather more bollock , we always stop up with extras . The bottom are used as seed - start out trays , but until I find out this trick , the lids were often cast aside . To use bollock carton lids to blanch leeks , cut the eyelid to the length of the leek stem .
Then cut back a V into the curving sharpness of the lid , right where it wrap up around the leek . shut the report nut carton lid around the leek stem , and guarantee it with a objet d’art of string . The egg carton lid should n’t be too tight , but fatty leeks may need two carton lids to go all the room around .
4. Milk & OJ Cartons
This is a outstanding way to blanch Allium porrum , but it does need a bit more effort than the other methods . Cut the top and bottom off the carton and slither it down over the leek . you may put the cartonful over the young industrial plant at the time of planting if you want , or you may wait to do it until a few weeks before harvesting . If you put the cartonful over green leek plants , step by step occupy the carton with compost , sand , stain or shredded leaves as the young plant grow over the course of several week . If you put the carton around a more matured scallion , occupy it to the top all at once and allow it to stay put in place for four to eight weeks before harvest .
Jessica Walliser
Jessica Walliser
Jessica Walliser
Jessica Walliser
Jessica Walliser
