The most delicious plant you'll ever eat - RAMPS are back!
rf1170
Posts: 180 Member
Have any of you mountain-dwelling (notice I didn't say "hillbilly") folks seen ramps coming up in your neck of the woods? These weren't around last week, but they jumped up with all the warm weather. This photo is from last year, but I'm sure there will be just as many - if not more - this time around!
I picked about two pounds today (and have a half pound left), and I'll be back for more soon!
I hope everyone else is getting a great haul too, and if you've never had the pleasure, ask an old-timer if they'd be willing to share some with you.
I picked about two pounds today (and have a half pound left), and I'll be back for more soon!
I hope everyone else is getting a great haul too, and if you've never had the pleasure, ask an old-timer if they'd be willing to share some with you.
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Replies
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Have you read -Animal, Vegetables, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver ?0
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Where do these ramps grow? What plant family do they belong to?0
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I just googled. Looks like they are a wild leek? Interesting.0
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Yes, ramps are wild leeks. Part of the onion family.0
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Where do these ramps grow? What plant family do they belong to?
Like others have said, they're part of the onion family, which I learned as Alliaceae (but I believe the taxonomic name has been changed since then). I learned that ramps were Allium tricoccum, but who knows what they're called now. They grow from a bulb, they're one of the first plants to make an appearance in the early spring, and they form a pretty flower toward summer. You dig them up when the leaves first appear, and after washing and trimming the roots, you can eat the whole shebang!0 -
Have you read -Animal, Vegetables, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver ?
I have! It's been a while, though; do they dig ramps on their farm? I remember her story about the morels in the goat's yard... and I would be THRILLED to find some of those bad boys next month! That's one wild edible I haven't had much luck with around here.0 -
Yes Ramps and Morels can't be far off!0
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I love ramps. I'm from WV where they grow everywhere but I understand that they're common across Appalachia.0
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I love ramps! My favorite is ramps, potatoes and sausage. Not a good diet food but definitely a comfort food!0
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wild leeks sound great! x0
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I love ramps! My favorite is ramps, potatoes and sausage. Not a good diet food but definitely a comfort food!
Mmm - I'd say that's a worthwhile indulgence! I'm making bean soup and cornbread for lunch today, and if I don't finish off the few I have left with that, I'm making liver and onions with gravy tonight. I bet if I fried some of those ramps with the onions and liver, it would be divine!0 -
Sounds yummy,but they for sure don't grow around here. However, I can pick nopales soon...also very tasty. And I'm hoping to get up north during huckleberry season this year...I know a place that makes a huckleberry Monte christo sandwich. To die for.....0
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I've never eaten them, but I used to eat Poke Salad when I was a kid! Ever try it? I remember that my Grandmother loved that I would eat it with her when no one else did!
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I live in Ky right next to the WV border. Iv'e never tried them, but I love onions of any kind. So I will definitely be finding me some of these
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Had these once, they're really good, like onion but with some spiciness.0
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I haven't seen any yet, but I love ramps! They are an onion, but have more of a garlicy taste.0
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I've never eaten them, but I used to eat Poke Salad when I was a kid! Ever try it? I remember that my Grandmother loved that I would eat it with her when no one else did!
My husband grew up eating Poke. I didn't realize it was edible. Apparently it become poisonous as it matures so you can only eat the early leaves.0 -
I had never heard of ramps until last year. I was visiting my daughter at WVU, we're from Iowa, and I was at a local shop that was selling ramp jelly and ramp butter, since I had never heard of it, I had to ask the clerk what ramp was. I bought a jar of the ramp butter and used it for sauteing and browning, it gave a nice taste to my Iowa porkchops!0
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I've never eaten them, but I used to eat Poke Salad when I was a kid! Ever try it? I remember that my Grandmother loved that I would eat it with her when no one else did!
My husband grew up eating Poke. I didn't realize it was edible. Apparently it become poisonous as it matures so you can only eat the early leaves.
It is poisonous if it's not done properly... guess I should have put that in my 1st post just in case....
I'm not brave enough to try to cook it myself, but thinking about eating it with my Grandmother makes me smile.0 -
I've never eaten them, but I used to eat Poke Salad when I was a kid! Ever try it? I remember that my Grandmother loved that I would eat it with her when no one else did!
My husband grew up eating Poke. I didn't realize it was edible. Apparently it become poisonous as it matures so you can only eat the early leaves.
It is poisonous if it's not done properly... guess I should have put that in my 1st post just in case....
I'm not brave enough to try to cook it myself, but thinking about eating it with my Grandmother makes me smile.
Yeah, you have to get the young leaves (they're not up yet here in MD) or boil them in a few changes of water. My dad's made it before, but since we have so many other non-poisonous greens, it's just not worth it for me. I have to think that, if hill people had had enough to eat, they wouldn't have had to be so ingenious! There's a proverb in one of my cookbooks that goes,
A full stomach says, "a ripe guava has worms."
An empty stomach says, "let me see."0 -
I had never heard of ramps until last year. I was visiting my daughter at WVU, we're from Iowa, and I was at a local shop that was selling ramp jelly and ramp butter, since I had never heard of it, I had to ask the clerk what ramp was. I bought a jar of the ramp butter and used it for sauteing and browning, it gave a nice taste to my Iowa porkchops!
Lovely! I tried making some ramp pesto last year, but it was just too strong. Maybe I should make a compound butter.0 -
FIDDLEHEADS are coming back soon too! Get these while they are fresh!0
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Sounds yummy,but they for sure don't grow around here. However, I can pick nopales soon...also very tasty. And I'm hoping to get up north during huckleberry season this year...I know a place that makes a huckleberry Monte christo sandwich. To die for.....
Ooh, I'm jealous! I learned that I love nopalitos when I went to Mexico as a teenager. I tell people that they're like a cross between green beans and okra. But really, they're nopalitos, and they're delicious in their own right! Do you have luck finding tunas later in the year, then?
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FIDDLEHEADS are coming back soon too! Get these while they are fresh!
Now there's one I don't know how to find - am I looking for a specific kind of fern? I see curly ferns coming up, but since I've never identified them, I haven't been brave enough to eat one.0 -
When I saw your foraging for goodies, I just thought of her. Happy ramp hunting!0
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