I grow Music Pink, and I cut them off as soon as the swelling head part of the scape was a few inches off the leaves, and beginning to curl. I would cut them down right to the point where they come out of the leaves, then chop them into 1-2" pieces, put in food processor with some ollive oil, and whir it all up, and then put some of this in a dish of beans, pasta sauce, or something of your preference, and then freeze the rest. Enjoy.

Soon as they begin to curl is the best time. If you cut them too much earlier they just continue growing. If you wait much longer they get tough and woody.

Break them of, as David notes, as close to the leaves as you can.

Thanks guys! This is my first time cutting them and using them. Last year I didn't know any better and let them flower. I have no idea what type of garlic I have as it was here when we bought the house.

Ok, your saying that I should cut these scapes up into small pieces. Just plucked them all today and some are almost 2 feet long! I think that if I whizz these in a blender with oilve oil, I should have enough of the stuff to top about 20 meals of pasta. Can they be frozen instead. I would cut them in pieces and then bag them for the freezer. Can't really use them right now as a fresh herb.

They keep in the fridge for several weeks and also they can be frozen or dehydrated. Try some in other recipes where they are not chopped so fine too. One of my favorite reasons for liking them is the garlicy crunch they add to food.
Check out the recipes in this link

Here is a link that might be useful: Scapes recipes

Bit into one today and it was crunchy and slightly hot. It did have a definate BURST of garlic flavor! I chopped up a couple and added them to a cold pasta salad, along with fresh dill and some garlic grass/chives, which are much milder. Plan to give a friend at work some of the scapes as she loves garlic in any form. I must have about 5 pounds of them here.

Just snapped off a few more from the mix Martin sent-wow,some are on the nice mild side with a slow hotness that builds after swallowing and others are on a medium hot side right from the first crunch.Granddaughter tried a few and came to the same oppinion.
Very nice mix I have Martin.Wish I had the variety names LOL,at least I know which are the Martins Old Heirloom and the 1s without scapes may be Inchellium-cant wait for my 1st taste of a clove from each to compare.I really liked that surprise of the very mild tasteing scapes that built to a hot peak after swallowing.
**just a note to go with the above post about the olive oil for ks=it may not be safe to freeze the scapes mixed with olive oil,add the oil later after you thaw the scapes.Others have posted about oil stuff going bad or something if frozen with mixed veggie stuffs,I may be wrong.maybe others can clarify this a bit.
Bill

Bill, you'll find the same effect once you start eating those cloves.

The amount of heat and garlic flavor varies, from one variety to another. But so, too, does the timing of when the heat hits, and the intensity of it. You'll also find that you taste the heat in different parts of your mouth. Some varieties it hits on the front of the tongue, others in the back of the throat, etc.

That's one of the things that makes the world of garlic so intriguing.

Ok to mix with oil and freeze - NOT OK to mix with oil and refrigerate for a long period or just let stand.

Yes, thats what I was planning to do. I popst in the harvest forum as well and never advise anyone to can anything that has oil in it. Freezing will not harm oils, but they should be kept in tightly closed conatiners so they don't pick up freezer odors. If these were going to be used as fresh with a preferable olive oil, they can be stire up to about 2 months in the fridge. Beyond that time, it can go bad, unless an acid was added like balsamic vinegar. Speaking of that, what a great dipping sauce, with added oregano and/or basil.

I suggest cutting the scapes when they have made a complete loop, cut them low as possible without harming the leaves, and it's best done in the morning on a sunny day so the wound will seal. I have had good luck with keeping them in the refridge in a loosely closed plastic bag for a couple of weeks they are still excellent. My favorite way to cook them is to leave them whole, (this can be a little challenging to get them into the skillet) pop them into a hot iron skillet with olive oil, salt, and black pepper cook til they are tender probably 3-5 min. It's June 12th and scapes will be coming in a few more days, can hardly wait

This is my first year growing garlic, and I wasn't prepared to deal with scapes, but thanks to you guys I now have a freezerbag of chopped delightful garlicky goodness. So far, I have used them sprinkled in a cheese and spinach omelet...out of this world! Today I am going to throw some in with a pork shoulder roast with Asian seasonings. I have found that the scapes keep growing back regardless of when I have snapped them off...so every few days I break off the new segment, chop it up and add it to the freezer bag. These are a wonderful substitute for ramps, if you missed ramp season this year like I did. YUM!!!

I broke my scapes off last week, and they continued to grow (not what I picked off, what was left on the plant!) Should I break off the 2-3 in. pieces that grew, too?

My bogatyr garlic sent up scapes a couple of days ago. This is my first year with garlic. Do I chop them up like I would green onions? What do I do with the heads, the bulgey part?

I'm going to have to prepare some new beds. I just bought a ton of seed garlic for this fall, and I plan to use a bulb each for planting from what I've got growing now.

So you can just freeze the scapes?

Can you freeze garlic bulbs, too, the same way?

Like I said, I'm a new garlic gardener.