Alliaceae (actually now considered only a subfamily, Allioideae), to which garlic, onion, and wild leeks, among others, belong shouldn’t be my theme. Then again, the “spice” sugar certainly shouldn’t be, but limiting oneself just contributes to the many things we tend to overlook nowadays.

I don’t want to overlook and ignore so much. Garlic, leeks, wild leeks/ramson, onion… their chemical compounds do make them rather pungent ‘spices’; like so many of those, they are so familiar nowadays that they slip under the radar. They are known, they get used, but who’d ever stop and think about them (except whenever the latest article espousing the health benefits of raw garlic comes out)?

Let’s pay a bit more attention, though, and put our lives on a stronger footing…

Wild leeks (ramson) are a great theme for that.

In spring, especially here in Austria, they emerge in only too many a place – and things take some strange paths.

The time for ramson has passed again, but other interesting things are coming up – and then, soon enough, there’ll be the first fresh chilli of this garden year…