The Season of the Ramp

If you’re not having ramps for supper tonight, you’re probably not in West Virginia!

Here between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Alleghenies late April and early May is the season for ramps.  This simple twin leaved member of the onion family creates a big stir this time of year.  Called wild garlic or wild leeks, Allium Tricoccum is an Appalachian delicacy.  Its garlicky odor is famously pungent, but its bright spring flavors are prized.  Cooked, the little bulbs taste sweet and oniony, while the leaves are like scallions or chives.

Like a fisherman who doesn’t care to share his favorite trout pool, or a morel hunter who keeps secret that special spot under the oaks, anyone who discovers a colony of ramps holds that knowledge very close, divulging the precise location to only a trusted few. 

Ramps require a very particular habitat, the moist rich soils of the Appalachian hardwood forests.  From Georgia all the way up through Maine, ramps can be found, usually at altitudes of at least 3,000 feet, though in colder climates it can be lower.  Where the environment is just right, ramps thrive and can spread into substantial colonies.

The trick with ramps is that the best environments tend to be the least accessible.  And the growing season is a brief four or five weeks.   So foraging for ramps requires dedication and timing.  Collecting ramps in the wild also calls for moderation.  Conservation groups urge foragers to take only 5 to 10 percent of the ramps in a colony.  The best rule of thumb may be to harvest only the largest ramps in a clump, since for the colony to remain vigorous most of the plants should be allowed to mature and go to seed.

For most of us, enjoying the culinary delights of ramps requires foraging at a local farmer’s market or seeking out one of the many regional ramps festivals.  But don’t delay, the season of the ramp is here!

More about ramps:
http://www.wildedible.com/wild-food-guide/ramps

http://wellpreserved.ca/preserving-spring-wild-leeks-or-ramps/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/dining/20forage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

West Virginia Ramp Feasts and festivals:
http://wvexplorer.com/recreation/agritourism/ramp-feasts-festivals/

http://www.kingofstink.com/