Looking for Ramps (Wild Garlic)

[madmapler]

I was pulling taps today and found myself in a large patch of Ramps. I thought I'd post a thread about them because this is the time of year to get them. I did'nt get a pic but they're pretty easy ID. They usually cover quite an area and grow in clumps. The forest floor may be green with them. The leaves unfold off a shoot and are long and blade like. They are about 1/2 to 1" wide. The stem going into the ground is white and underground is a small tuber that is almost nonexistent at this stage. They are usually one of the first things to come up through the leaves.Their most identitying charicteristic is the smell and taste.(I'd smell them first). Its a cross between garlic and onion and its very strong. They are pretty sweet as well. The entire plant is edible but the leaves are the easiest to harvest. They are becoming very popular(and pricey) in restaurants and in Canada I believe there is a law banning or regulating their harvest. The only two places I know to find them are in the hardwoods where there is abundant Maple trees so I thought it might make tap pulling a little more interesting for some. We freeze them and my wife makes a pretty awesome Pesto with them. If you should happen to find a patch I would'nt let it get around. If you google it you can get pics and more info.

[Run Forest Run!]

Hey Sean, I googled ramps and saw a picture and read the description. I'd never heard of them before.

Your advice to smell the plant as you pick it is likely a good idea as they look like a dead ringer (no pun intended) to Lily-of-the-Valley which I'm sure makes a memorable, and toxic, pesto.

[madmapler]

You're right Karen. At first glance they look a lot like Lily of the valley even by the way they cover the ground. The leaf is a little thinner though.

[Rhino]

Sean, Wife and i love them to, she loves the leaves in salads and we both like the bulbs pan fried in butter with salt and pepper. The bulbs get bigger as the spring drags on but when the leaves start to shadow the woods floor the leaves turn yellow and dry up. Would love to sell them at our farmers markets but way to much time invested cleaning them. We call them wild leeks, same thing though. There are books out there that have lots of wild plants you can eat and the books show pics how to identify them. Ever try stinging neddle leaves steamed? taste like spinach with a hint of lemon. good luck foraging!!!!

[maplerookie]

I ate them as a kid--- raw. we used to do a lot of playing in the woods. army, combat, rat patrol, cowboys and Indians etc so we always knew where the good stuff was. My mom used to joke that she could smell me coming from a mile away. I used to love them. probably still would if I could find any. Oh, I know where they grow ... one of my childhood haunts...miles away. We call them leeks as well.

[happy thoughts]

Sean, pesto sounds great. Any chance of a recipe?

I came across this all ramp menu a few weeks ago for anyone interested in ramp overkill

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/03/s...mps-ramps.html

[madmapler]

Wild leeks is the other name I was trying to think of. Instead I came up with garlic. Heard about the nettles but never tried them. They're around here but are kinda rare. Next for me will be fiddleheads then morels. I'll be glad to post the recipe in a few days when my wife gets home from visiting family....... Rat Patrol! I thought we were the only ones who played that!

[RileySugarbush]

I have patches all around the sugar house. They are another indicator of when to pull the taps!

[bigschuss]

I knew them as wild leeks when I was a kid. My buddies in the military from the South all called them ramps. I enjoy picking them in the spring. The pesto idea is a great one. I freeze some every year and use them in homemade salsa, venison chili, and on pizza. Fry some up in a little butter and with some fresh fiddle head ferns….oh man, so good it will make your tongue slap your brains out!

[Michael Greer]

I always take a little trowel to dig them, and have transplanted them with great success. Anywhere you plant even just one will multiply in a very short time. They bloom with tiny white flowers that kind of resemble a miniature Queen Anns Lace. If you remember where you found them, you can return in the fall to find little four inch stems with a cluster of black seeds on the top which are easy to plant also...just sprinkle them in the sugarbush and stand back.