Wild Ramps
Ramps are a much-treasured harbinger of Spring. Often the first green vegetable to sprout after the long winter — and a healthy one at that — they are so beloved that many towns up and down Eastern North America celebrate a "Ramp Festival" upon their arrival. They have recently become a highly sought-after luxury item too, available for sometimes $25 per pound at high-end greengrocers from Brooklyn to Chicago (which actually got its name from the Algonquin word for ramps!) — leading to major fears of over-harvesting. Yet for generations these were considered "peasant food," and they are typically foraged from the wild rather than cultivated. The main reason they are rarely grown is simply a lack of patience: like other perennial vegetables, ramps from seed take years to reach full maturity — and need a deciduous woodland habitat in which most farmers are unused to cultivating crops. They also divide quite slowly. The rule of thumb when foraging a hidden, private patch of ramps is to only take — at most! — up to 1/7 of the plants each year, to allow for regeneration and maintenance of the patch. If a patch is being foraged by others, take far less. To be absolutely sustainable, a forager should only take one of the bright green, broad leaves (which are unusual for Alliums) and not disturb or remove the bulbs at all. Both the leaves and the pale, slender bulbs can be consumed though. Ramps have a milder, more delicate flavor than other wild onions, but are more pungent and flavorful than cultivated leeks or scallions. The best ramps boast notes of garlic as well.
Ramps are a much-treasured harbinger of Spring. Often the first green vegetable to sprout after the long winter — and a healthy one at that — they are so beloved that many towns up and down Eastern North America celebrate a "Ramp Festival" upon their arrival. They have recently become a highly sought-after luxury item too, available for sometimes $25 per pound at high-end greengrocers from Brooklyn to Chicago (which actually got its name from the Algonquin word for ramps!) — leading to major fears of over-harvesting. Yet for generations these were considered "peasant food," and they are typically foraged from the wild rather than cultivated. The main reason they are rarely grown is simply a lack of patience: like other perennial vegetables, ramps from seed take years to reach full maturity — and need a deciduous woodland habitat in which most farmers are unused to cultivating crops. They also divide quite slowly. The rule of thumb when foraging a hidden, private patch of ramps is to only take — at most! — up to 1/7 of the plants each year, to allow for regeneration and maintenance of the patch. If a patch is being foraged by others, take far less. To be absolutely sustainable, a forager should only take one of the bright green, broad leaves (which are unusual for Alliums) and not disturb or remove the bulbs at all. Both the leaves and the pale, slender bulbs can be consumed though. Ramps have a milder, more delicate flavor than other wild onions, but are more pungent and flavorful than cultivated leeks or scallions. The best ramps boast notes of garlic as well.
Ramps are a much-treasured harbinger of Spring. Often the first green vegetable to sprout after the long winter — and a healthy one at that — they are so beloved that many towns up and down Eastern North America celebrate a "Ramp Festival" upon their arrival. They have recently become a highly sought-after luxury item too, available for sometimes $25 per pound at high-end greengrocers from Brooklyn to Chicago (which actually got its name from the Algonquin word for ramps!) — leading to major fears of over-harvesting. Yet for generations these were considered "peasant food," and they are typically foraged from the wild rather than cultivated. The main reason they are rarely grown is simply a lack of patience: like other perennial vegetables, ramps from seed take years to reach full maturity — and need a deciduous woodland habitat in which most farmers are unused to cultivating crops. They also divide quite slowly. The rule of thumb when foraging a hidden, private patch of ramps is to only take — at most! — up to 1/7 of the plants each year, to allow for regeneration and maintenance of the patch. If a patch is being foraged by others, take far less. To be absolutely sustainable, a forager should only take one of the bright green, broad leaves (which are unusual for Alliums) and not disturb or remove the bulbs at all. Both the leaves and the pale, slender bulbs can be consumed though. Ramps have a milder, more delicate flavor than other wild onions, but are more pungent and flavorful than cultivated leeks or scallions. The best ramps boast notes of garlic as well.
Ramps are a much-treasured harbinger of Spring. Often the first green vegetable to sprout after the long winter — and a healthy one at that — they are so beloved that many towns up and down Eastern North America celebrate a "Ramp Festival" upon their arrival. They have recently become a highly sought-after luxury item too, available for sometimes $25 per pound at high-end greengrocers from Brooklyn to Chicago (which actually got its name from the Algonquin word for ramps!) — leading to major fears of over-harvesting. Yet for generations these were considered "peasant food," and they are typically foraged from the wild rather than cultivated. The main reason they are rarely grown is simply a lack of patience: like other perennial vegetables, ramps from seed take years to reach full maturity — and need a deciduous woodland habitat in which most farmers are unused to cultivating crops. They also divide quite slowly. The rule of thumb when foraging a hidden, private patch of ramps is to only take — at most! — up to 1/7 of the plants each year, to allow for regeneration and maintenance of the patch. If a patch is being foraged by others, take far less. To be absolutely sustainable, a forager should only take one of the bright green, broad leaves (which are unusual for Alliums) and not disturb or remove the bulbs at all. Both the leaves and the pale, slender bulbs can be consumed though. Ramps have a milder, more delicate flavor than other wild onions, but are more pungent and flavorful than cultivated leeks or scallions. The best ramps boast notes of garlic as well.