Leek

The leek is a vegetable that belongs, along with onion and garlic, to the genus Allium, currently placed in family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae. Historically, many scientific names were used for leeks, which are now treated as cultivars of Allium ampeloprasum. 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'. 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'.

Leek (disambiguation)

A leek is a vegetable belonging to the onion family.

Leek may also refer to:

Places

Other uses

See also

Leek, Netherlands

Leek (Dutch pronunciation: [leːk]; Gronings: De Laik; West Frisian: De Like) is a municipality and a village in the Groningen province in the northeastern Netherlands, bordering on the Drenthe and Fryslân provinces.

The village is approximately 20 km west of Groningen (city) on the A7 (E22) highway.

The village grew around a fortification that was constructed here during the Eighty Years' War with Spain. The name 'Leek' was derived from a brook, the "Leke". The town is sometimes also called "The Leek". In Dutch the people from Leek are called "Leeksters".

Every year around pentecost there is a fair (Pinkstermarkt), drawing thousands of people from the area.

Near the village is a shallow lake, called "Het Leekstermeer" (also called Zulthemeer), with recreational facilities. Actually, the lake is in another municipality and in another province.

Attractions in the Leek Municipality

The main attraction in the village is the "Nienoord" estate. The estate was founded in 1508. After a destroying fire a new manor-house was built in 1887. The gardens and the shell grotto were restored.