Gen Z go wild for... garlic! Sales of vegetable soar 70% at Waitrose with people taking to TikTok to claim it 'clears your skin' and describe themselves as 'garlic girlies'

'Girl dinner' is out and the 'garlic girlies' are taking over, as Gen-Z are going crazy for the pungent vegetables.

Peak foraging season has arrived and the wild version of the grassy veg, also known as ramsons, is making its way onto the plates of Britons up and down the UK.

Waitrose, the only British supermarket to sell frozen wild garlic, has seen soaring demand with sales up by 70 per cent in the past 30 days.

'Wild garlic' searches are up 83 per cent on the retailer's website and 'frozen wild garlic' searches have increased by 200 per cent in the last month.

Native to the UK, food lovers have been incorporating the plant into their dishes at home, whether that be as a creamy butter or a fresh pesto.

The mellow and distinctly grassy flavours of wild garlic make it a perfect addition to homemade salads, soups and pasta dishes. 

Waitrose's Wild Garlic Pesto and Fennel Sausage Pasta recipe has seen a monthly search increase of 33 per cent, with the wild garlic & sausage gnocchi soaring by a whopping 58 per cent last month.

Whether it's bought frozen or foraged from the back garden, it's shaping up to be the must-have flavour for this Springtime and is popping up on more and more restaurant menus.

One TikToker, who goes by Izobel (@izxobel), posted a clip in her parent's garden where she was scouring for the tasty plant, captioned: 'Go forage whilst it's in season. So lucky to have this on their doorstep'.

It's important to remember that while the above- ground parts are fine to take, it is illegal to dig the wild garlic plant up by its roots on common ground - but this shouldn't be an issue as the leaves are what you need for most recipes.

Another Brit, who posts under the handle @figsandmilk, shared her recipe for homemade wild garlic butter, gushing that it's 'one of the best forage plants you can have'.

And it's not just the leafy version that's on the radar, as beauty enthusiasts are rushing out to buy cloves to eat raw or rub on their skin in an effort to clear spots.

Big fans of the vegetable even just consume it as a snack - despite what their breath might smell like afterward.

Peyton Smith (@misspeytonsmith) is a Gen-Z influencer who swears by eating raw cloves of garlic to keep her skin clear. 

In one clip, she demonstrated how she swallows them whole, and told viewers: 'If you grab a clove of garlic, peel it, take it in your mouth and swallow it like this, you will have just taken something that is going to help with inflammation on your skin and your gut is going to be antibacterial.

'It's going to help fight acne - it's literally the easiest, most natural hack you could do for the skin.'

She warned: 'Also, don't chew the garlic and try not to break it down as much because then you will really stink of garlic.' 

Another rumour sweeping social media is that by cutting a garlic clove in half and rubbing it on your spots, it will get rid of a pimple overnight.

One user claimed: 'Yes guys, it works I've tried it for two days and my acne's gone, it burns but still works.'

A second added: 'Yep it works but it burns, worth it though.'

Doctors however have debunked this, saying it's better to just eat garlic.  

For thousands of years garlic has been considered one of nature’s health foods and its benefits derive from the many natural compounds it contains, particularly allicin (also responsible for its pungent smell). 

Allicin has antibacterial properties -and it's widely circulated that this can help to fight acne-causing bacteria.

However, while it may have positive effects for some, it's a divisive subject and other dermatologists have warned that not it's recommended.

And garlic isn't the first food that Gen-Z has taken an interest in, causing sales to climb.

In December, sales of caviar were booming thanks to a trend of taking 'bumps' of the ultra-expensive fish. 

Sales of sturgeon roe have been up by 74 per cent since 2020 globally, according to 360 Research, with British teenagers and those in their early twenties driving the trend.

The industry is expected to grow even further and with the marketed expected to expand by a further 40 per cent by 2027.

Selfridges has seen the sales surge 15 per cent in December, according to the Times, while chefs across the UK are adding the black gold to their menus.

In part, the trend was thanks to millions of people watching videos of people taking 'bumps' of caviar on TikTok.