Leek

Leek
Genus	Allium
Species	Allium ampeloprasum L.
Cultivar group	Leek Group (other names are used, e.g. Porrum Group)
Cultivar	Many, see text

The leek is a vegetable that belongs, along with onion and garlic, to the genus Allium, currently placed in family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae.^[1] Historically many scientific names were used for leeks, which are now treated as cultivars of Allium ampeloprasum.^[2] Two related vegetables, elephant garlic and Kurrat, are also cultivars of A. ampeloprasum, although different in their uses as food.

The edible part of the leek plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk.

Form

Rather than forming a tight bulb like the onion, the leek produces a long cylinder of bundled leaf sheaths that are generally blanched by pushing soil around them (trenching). They are often sold as small seedlings in flats that are started off early in greenhouses, to be planted out as weather permits. Once established in the garden, leeks are hardy; many varieties can be left in the ground during the winter to be harvested as needed.

Cultivars

Leek cultivars may be treated as a single cultivar group, e.g. as Allium ampeloprasum 'Leek Group'.^[3] The cultivars can be subdivided in several ways, but the most common types are "summer leeks", intended for harvest in the season when planted, and overwintering leeks, meant to be harvested in the spring of the year following planting. Summer leek types are generally smaller than overwintering types; overwintering types are generally more strongly flavored. Cultivars include 'King Richard' and 'Tadorna Blue'.

Growing

Leeks are easy to grow from seed and tolerate standing in the field for an extended harvest. Leeks usually reach maturity in the autumn months, and they have few pest or disease problems. Leeks can be bunched and harvested early when they are about the size of a finger or pencil, or they can be thinned and allowed to grow to a much larger mature size. Hilling leeks can produce better specimens.

Cuisine

Fresh leek sautéing

Leeks have a mild onion-like taste. In its raw state, the vegetable is crunchy and firm. The edible portions of the leek are the white base of the leaves (above the roots and stem base), the light green parts, and to a lesser extent the dark green parts of the leaves. One of the most popular uses is for adding flavor to stock. The dark green portion is usually discarded because it has a tough texture, but it can be sauteed or added to stock.^[4] A few leaves are sometimes tied with twine and other herbs to form a bouquet garni.

Leeks are typically chopped into slices 5–10 mm thick. The slices have a tendency to fall apart, due to the layered structure of the leek. The different ways of preparing the vegetable are:

• Boiled, which turns it soft and mild in taste. (Care should be taken to chop the vegetable, or else the intact fibers that run the length of the vegetable will tangle into a ball while chewing.)
• Fried, which leaves it crunchier and preserves the taste.
• Raw, which can be used in salads, doing especially well when they are the prime ingredient.
• In Turkish cuisine, leeks are chopped into thick slices, then boiled and separated into leaves and finally filled with a filling usually containing rice, herbs (generally parsley and dill), onion and black pepper. For sarma with olive oil,^[5] currants, pine nuts and cinnamon are added and for sarma with meat,^[6] minced meat is added to the filling. In Turkey, especially "Zeytinyağlı pırasa" (leek with olive oil), "Ekşili pırasa (sour leek), "Etli pırasa" (leek with meat), "Pırasa Musakka"(leek musakka), "Pırasalı börek (börek with leek) and "Pırasa köftesi" leek meatball are also cooked.

Leeks are an ingredient of cock-a-leekie soup, leek and potato soup, and vichyssoise, as well as plain leek soup.

Because of their symbolism in Wales (see below), they have come to be used extensively in that country’s cuisine. Elsewhere in Britain, leeks have come back into favor only in the last 50 years or so, having been overlooked for several centuries.^[7]

Historical consumption

Bible commentators attribute the חציר specimen - acclaimed by the Israelites to be of abundance in Egypt - as the leek.^[8] Dried specimens from archaeological sites in ancient Egypt, as well as wall carvings and drawings, led Zohary and Hopf to conclude the leek was a part of the Egyptian diet from at least the second millennium BCE onwards. They also allude to surviving texts that show it had been also grown in Mesopotamia from the beginning of the second millennium BCE.^[9] The leek was the favorite vegetable of the Emperor Nero, who consumed it in soup or in oil, believing it beneficial to the quality of his voice.^[10]

Cultural significance

Still life with leeks by Carl Schuch (National Museum in Warsaw)

The leek is one of the national emblems of Wales, worn along with the daffodil (in Welsh, the daffodil is known as "Peter's leek," Cenhinen Bedr) on St. David’s Day. According to one legend, King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd ordered his soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in an ancient battle against the Saxons that took place in a leek field.^[11] The Elizabethan poet Michael Drayton stated, in contrast, that the tradition was a tribute to Saint David, who ate only leeks when he was fasting.^[12] Whatever the case, the leek has been known to be a symbol of Wales for a long time; Shakespeare, for example, refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an “ancient tradition” in Henry V. In the play, Henry tells the Welsh officer Fluellen that he too is wearing a leek “for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman.” The 1985 and 1990 British one pound coins bear the design of a leek in a coronet, representing Wales.

Alongside the other national floral emblems of countries in the Commonwealth (including the English Tudor Rose, Scottish thistle, Irish shamrock, Canadian maple leaf, and Indian lotus), the Welsh leek appeared on the coronation gown of Elizabeth II. It was designed by Norman Hartnell; when Hartnell asked if he could exchange the leek for the more aesthetically pleasing Welsh daffodil, he was told no.^[13]

Perhaps the most visible use of the leek, however, is as the cap badge of the Welsh Guards, a regiment within the Household Division of the British Army.

In Romania, the leek is also widely considered a symbol of Oltenia, a historical region in the southwestern part of the country.

Gallery

• 

  Two blooming flower heads

• 

  A largely spent flower head showing open flowers as well as developing seed pods.

• 

  Leek field in Houthulst, Belgium

• 

  Still life of leeks and thyme

• 

  Section and root base

See also

• Allium tricoccum, a North American plant commonly known as "wild leek"
• Culture of Wales
• Hatsune Miku, a famous Vocaloid character known for the leek as her character item.
• Kurrat, Egyptian Leek
• Laukaz, a rune that has been speculated to mean “leek”
• List of vegetables
• Loituma Girl, also known as "Leekspin"
• Scallion
• Welsh onion

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Allium ampeloprasum.

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Leek

• Allium ampeloprasum L. on US National PLANTS Database
• Allium porrum L. on US National PLANTS Database
• Allium ampeloprasum, Porrum on Floridata
• Leek: Plants For a Future database
• Food Museum page

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