Why You Should Be Eating Leeks Right Now

Leeks are the allium vegetable of autumn.

Photo taken by the author

Leeks are a vegetable in the allium family that includes onions, garlic, and scallions. These vegetables are native to all parts of the world and still have wild cousins, ramps.

Alliums contain many healthful nutrients, and at the same time, the sugar they store makes them sweet, with a subtle flavor that compliments soups and stews in the fall. Alliums have been part of cooking in all regions of the world for millennia as a building block to many recipes.

Leeks can be grown at different times throughout the year.

While working at the farmers market, two days before Thanksgiving an anxious woman came up and asked if any of the farmers were selling onions. I could tell she needed them for a specific recipe.

I told her no, but she could substitute leeks for the onions, which were not available. She looked through the vendors’ offerings, found a few other ingredients, and then took off.

Unlike onions, leeks are not dependent on the day length that signals to the onion when to make a bulb and complete it’s growing cycle.

Leeks can be grown in different conditions throughout the year. They prefer cooler temperatures but…