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Post by canadamike on Nov 23, 2008 17:05:01 GMT -5
I finally has a taste of them today. I seeded a patch of ORPREÏ. It is the first year, so they haven't form a garlic like bulb yet ( they are the ancestor of elephant garlic, in a smaller package). They are at the small leek stage still. I had 2, I ate them raw. My mouth is still filled with their sweet spicy taste. It is rich, more complex than any other alliacae I have ever tasted. Absolutely delicious. They have been touched by frost, so Frank could confirm my ''critic''. It is possibly different after a frost treatment, one could expect sweeter, as they are very much so. It is the best taste I have had up to now in the onion family. A true gourmet and epicurian vegetable. I would say is is to leek or garlic what wild boar is to pork, or something of the like. As I am cooking a big, long to make sunday dinner, it just put me in a very festive mood, like if it was Christmas and I had been given a fantastic gift ( hint Vivianne: greenhouse  ) I can only recommend it EXTREMELY highly, especially to those serving the fine restaurant trade, as this thing has drooling chefs writen all over it. Frank, I cannot thank you enough for it. Sadly for you, you just launched me into an ''alliacaes of the world'' frantic search. Get the seeds ready of all your other wild onions please!! ;D ;D Michel |
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Post by ottawagardener on Nov 23, 2008 18:34:07 GMT -5
None of you will be suprised I suspect, that I have been thinking of trying some ancestors of leeks including some leaf leeks though I've not heard of this one by name. If you ever have seeds...
Right now I am going to get some ramp seeds (wild leek / garlic native to here), some unnamed variety similar to the one you have though I have to say my sights have turned to the variety you mentioned and some nodding pink onions. I have a couple perennail bunching onions right now that I like as well.
Thanks for the tip.
Telsing.
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Post by grungy on Nov 23, 2008 18:39:42 GMT -5
Ah, Mike, Mike - hint, hint, When you have some spare seeds, mon ami, please.
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Post by canadamike on Nov 23, 2008 20:44:47 GMT -5
Corsican egg my dear Grungy!
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Post by orflo on Nov 24, 2008 1:23:33 GMT -5
The correct spelling is OERPREI, and it's in fact a perennial leek. Prei is the flemmish word for leek , and oer is an old word for prehistoric, it's only used when two words become one: oerprei, oertijd, ...
And yes, I like it too, I use it mostly in spring , I don't dig the plants, but just cut the green leaves above the ground. Re-growth starts easily, we have a little moth over here that's troubling the common leeks, but it doesn't affect this oerprei. Normally perennial leeks don't flower, but this one does.
I tried to trace its history, but I didn't come any further than a friend from a friend that got it from a friend who died already, so I got stuck there. Did yours flower already, Michel?
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Post by canadamike on Nov 24, 2008 1:58:24 GMT -5
No, no flowers yet. These are really more flavorful than leek, Frank. And tender too....
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Post by ottawagardener on Nov 24, 2008 9:14:44 GMT -5
This is a very exciting varity to me as we Canadians have recently been introduced to the scurge of the leek moth or I should say my leeks have been introduced... I was going to grow them under a row cover next year or look more into the moth's reproducive cycles and try to plant and harvest at non-peak times.
I figured there must be varieties of ancient leek but this is the first I've heard of them, other than the usual 'and this was bred to produce elephant garlic, kurrat etc...'
A bonus that it flowers too.
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Post by PatrickW on Nov 24, 2008 10:32:34 GMT -5
AFAIK Oerprei is just the Flemish name for Babbington's Leek (the Dutch call it something else, parellook I think?). There are several versions floating around Europe, and I grew two this past year, one that produced seeds and another with bulbils. I prefer the one with bulbils, because they form earlier and you don't have to worry about possible cross pollination (I think they cross with ordinary leeks, but maybe someone will correct me on this). They also both propagate with root divisions as well.
Yes, gourmet taste! There are a lot of other great alliums floating around too. I have a great perennial onion related to the Egyptian Walking Onion called Amish onion, if anyone is interested in some topsets let me know around the summer solstice.
If anyone else has any interesting alliums, I'm interested!
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Post by canadamike on Nov 24, 2008 11:12:05 GMT -5
Can I be your friend? |
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Post by grungy on Nov 24, 2008 12:10:30 GMT -5
Me too. I would love to have a few.
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Post by PatrickW on Nov 24, 2008 12:31:25 GMT -5
I planted all my bulbils this year to increase my planting, so I don't have anymore right now. I didn't keep any seeds from that variety, but I suspect it's the same one Frank gave to Michel anyway.
I'll be happy to share what bulbils I end up with next year. My memory is really bad, will you try to help remind me?
If you really want some bulbils now, you might ask Søren. He's where I got it from originally, but he's probably already planted his as well.
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Post by grungy on Nov 24, 2008 14:36:37 GMT -5
No rush - the ground is getting stiff around here anyway. Will try and remember, myself.
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Post by canadamike on Nov 24, 2008 16:20:54 GMT -5
I meant the amish onion Payrick  On the other hand, my friend Michel ( bell4562) is sending me seeds of a hardneck garlic that does produce some. He tells me I should even get seeds from my first year planting. He tells me the seeds are about 5 mm long, that is half a centimeter!! And yes, Grungy, you can have some when I get them, don't bother to ask, keep all your energy to bag seeds!! And I'll make sure to build up a seed supply for the people here. |
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Post by stevil on Nov 24, 2008 16:34:15 GMT -5
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Post by stevil on Nov 24, 2008 16:40:01 GMT -5
The correct spelling is OERPREI, and it's in fact a perennial leek. Prei is the flemmish word for leek , and oer is an old word for prehistoric, it's only used when two words become one: oerprei, oertijd, ... Interesting, I hadn't thought of the meaning before, but now I see I could have guessed as it is very close to the Norwegian which would be "Ur-purre" or "Prehistoric Leek". |
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