Recipes That Will Make You Love Ramps

If you've ever walked through the farmers' market this time of year, you know it's spring from the smell of ramps wafting through the air. Ramps (allium tricoccum) have a very unique, or shall we say pungent, aroma that's sort of like a cross between garlic and leeks. Some people confuse ramps for leeks, but in fact they can be called wild leeks or spring leeks (in Europe they're known as ramsoms). You'll recognize a ramp by its pearly white tuber, burgundy stem and wide floppy green leaves that look like lily of the valley. They can be used in a number of recipes, cooked or raw, just like onions. But where do ramps come from and why should we care?

Ramps have become the it vegetable of the spring season. There are even festivals celebrating it all over the East coast. In New York City, chefs go crazy over ramps and buy them up often before the rest of us can get to them, which means it's a rat race to the farmers' market to buy them. But nowadays even some supermarkets and online purveyors have begun carrying the wild leeks, but the operative word here is "wild." Ramps are not grown commercially -- rather, they're harvested from forests in the Northeast, from as north as Canada to as south as the Carolinas. But the availability of ramps has started to decline with the almost "gold-rush" mentality people have -- in Quebec it's now against the law to harvest them for sale and parts of New England are having a shortage due to overeager foragers.

However, not everyone loves ramps -- there are just as many who dislike the odiferous vegetable as there are those who adore it. Ramps have a flavor and aroma that you really have to love to enjoy. For the first-timer we recommend recipes where the ramps are sauteed, roasted or grilled -- these cooking methods tame the very strong flavor. For those on the adventurous side, try ramps raw or pickled. Whizz up a batch of ramp pesto and serve it over pasta. Pickle a jarful of ramps and enjoy their crunch and sharp and tangy flavor. There are so many ways to cook with ramps -- once you try them you'll have to decide for yourself whether they're worth all the hype.

Have you cooked with ramps before? Let us know what you think of them below.

Loading Slideshow

• Assertive Green Salad With Ramps, Bacon And Blue Cheese

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://food52.com/recipes/4351-assertive-green-salad-with-ramps-bacon-and-blue-cheese" target="_blank">Assertive Green Salad with Ramps, Bacon and Blue Cheese recipe from Food52</a></strong> Whoa. This salad is no joke.

• Ramp Pesto Pasta

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://norecipes.com/blog/ramp-pesto-pasta-recipe/" target="_hplink">Ramp Pesto Pasta</a> recipe from NoRecipes.com</strong>

• Crostini With Sautéed Ramps

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://food52.com/recipes/4347-crostini-with-sauteed-ramps" target="_blank">Crostini with Sautéed Ramps recipe from Food52</a></strong>

• White Cheddar Grits With Grilled Ramps

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/White-Cheddar-Grits-with-Grilled-Ramps" target="_hplink">White Cheddar Grits with Grilled Ramps</a> recipe from Saveur.com</strong>

• Fried Eggs With Asparagus, Ramps And Oyster Sauce

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://food52.com/recipes/11754-fried-eggs-with-asparagus-ramps-and-oyster-sauce" target="_blank">Fried Eggs with Asparagus, Ramps and Oyster Sauce from Food52</a></strong>

• Momofuku’s Pickled Wild Leek/Ramp Bulbs

  <strong>Get <a href="http://www.steamykitchen.com/4241-asian-pickled-wild-leek-ramp-bulbs.html" target="_blank">Momofuku's Pickled Wild Leek/Ramp Bulbs recipe from Steamy Kitchen</a></strong>

• Ramp And Watercress Soup

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://sweetpaul.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/ramp-and-waterc.html" target="_hplink">Ramp and Watercress Soup</a> recipe from SweetPaul.typepad.com</strong>

• Ramp Compound Butter

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://birdworms.com/2011/05/12/ramp-it-up-part-2-ramp-compound-butter/" target="_blank">Ramp Compound Butter recipe from Birdworms & Buttermilk</a></strong> This is our favorite way to enjoy ramps all year long. Just store the butter in the freezer!

• Wild Ramp Pesto

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://food52.com/recipes/4341-wild-ramp-pesto" target="_blank">Wild Ramp Pesto recipe from Food52</a></strong>

• Fried Eggs With Bacon And Ramps

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/04/fried-eggs-with-bacon-and-ramps-recipe.html" target="_hplink">Fried Eggs With Bacon and Ramps</a> recipe from SeriousEats.com</strong>

• Ramp Jerked Chicken With Roasted Ramps And Kale

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://food52.com/recipes/4349-ramp-jerked-chicken-with-roasted-ramps-and-kale" target="_blank">Ramp Jerked Chicken with Roasted Ramps and Kale from Food52</a></strong>

• Ramp Soup

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://learningandyearning.com/2012/05/05/ramps-or-wild-leeks/" target="_blank">Ramp Soup recipe from Learning and Yearning</a></strong>

• Pan Roasted Skirt Steak With Fingerlings And Ramp Leaves With A Pickle Sauce

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/michael-symon/pan-roasted-skirt-steak-with-fingerlings-and-ramp-leaves-with-a-pickle-sauce-recipe/index.html" target="_hplink">Pan Roasted Skirt Steak with Fingerlings and Ramp Leaves with a Pickle Sauce</a> recipe from CookingChannelTV.com</strong>

• Pickled Ramps

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/05/pickled-pickling-ramps-recipe.html" target="_hplink">Pickled Ramps</a> recipe from SeriousEats.com</strong>

• Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast With Morels, Ramps And Frothed Parmesan

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/michael-symon/pan-roasted-breast-with-morels-ramps-and-frothed-parmesan-recipe/index.html" target="_hplink">Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast with Morels, Ramps and Frothed Parmesan</a> recipe from CookingChannelTV.com</strong>

• Rustic Ramp Tart

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://chompdown.blogspot.com/2011/05/rustic-ramp-tart.html" target="_hplink">Rustic Ramp Tart</a> recipe from ChompDown.blogspot.com</strong>

• Buttermilk Ramp Biscuits

  <strong>Get the <a href="http://earthydelightsblog.com/earthyblog/?p=412" target="_hplink">Buttermilk Ramp Biscuits</a> recipe from EarthyDelightsBlog.com</strong>

From our partners

• The Best Grills For Your Needs - Real Simple
• An Insanely Good Grilled Ham And Cheese Sandwich - PopSugar Food
• How To Quickly Chill Wine - Real Simple

Comments

[Rural Living Today]

02:13 PM on 04/14/2013

Here on the west coast I had never heard of ramps till recently. They sound delicious and I wonder if we could plant some out here? Other alliums--onions, garlic, chives--grow here.

[alleypanther]

03:46 AM on 04/11/2013

One of my uncles was a state senator in N. Carolina back in the 60's. He tried to have the ramp named the state vegetable and there's a funny pic of him in the senate eatin' ramps raw, not another senator for 30 ft. in any direction! That side of the family are from up in the Smoky's and have been there for 200 yrs. You have to be over 4,000 ft. to find them, they won't grow below that and some of our friends told me they haven't been able to grow them in gardens either under that elevation.

[Jane Mazesky]

04:10 PM on 04/10/2013

Ramps are a part of life in WVa. They taste like a strong onion and the odor stays on your breath for days, longer then garlic. It's something you will either like or hate.

[BCorn24]

12:09 PM on 04/10/2013

I never had them. What do they taste like?

[Debra Vigh]

07:44 PM on 03/22/2013

Have them all over here in West Virginia, and I happily dig them and enjoy, raw or cooked. But you'd better not have pressing social engagements the next day. ;)

[Ananta Yoga]

07:05 PM on 04/29/2012

I had them cooked once at Mario Batali's restaurant, but I never cook them! Although after reading this I might try. Bear's Garlic fresh, in a salad- that's the taste of spring! YUM

[prfktstrngr527]

07:17 PM on 04/24/2012

I think I pulled some of theses out of my flower bed last week. I thought they were small onions.

[Catlady1NJ]

05:32 PM on 04/19/2012

All the years on the internet, and this is my first time seeing mention of ramps!! When my sisters lived in marlinton west virginia in the 70's, there was a Ramp festival every year - rumor had it that if the children ate too many, they could not attend school until the odors were gone! Interesting how a food can bring about so many memories, kind of like the mention of Poke Salad! :-) Happy Eating everyone!

[Debra Vigh]

07:41 PM on 03/22/2013

I live in Elkins, WV, and there are still ramp festivals everywhere! Ramps and Rails (at the Elkins trainyard) in April is the absolute best--- local food vendors compete for the best ramp recipe, and it's awesome eating! :)

[rightasrain]

08:07 AM on 04/19/2012

I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina. Eat ramps? I never did. But the kids from the ridges and 'hollars' did. They must have eaten them for breakfast! That odor came out of the pores of their skin in school. It's a distinct odor that garlic pales to.

[drblair]

09:52 PM on 04/18/2012

This is a fun story about ramps. About 40 years ago, I was on a May backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail along the Tennessee/North Carolina border. We met a pair of elderly local "ridge runners" (euphamism for Hillbillys) who were out on a ramp collecting expedition in the high mountains. Their leader showed us how to pick ramps. "Don't pick that! That's crow pizen (poison) (false hellebore, I think)". I (a young stud around 40) complimented him on still being out in the mountains at his age. He said, "I's tared, (tired) but I jes' keeps a'goin'!" We had ramps with our dinner that night What a delicious memory!

[gregjlock]

05:54 PM on 04/18/2012

If cattle get into ramps their "flops" smell terrible. They are a big part of spring in Spain, roasted on a grill.

[Alexis Elizabeth Drob]

04:53 PM on 04/18/2012

I have never heard of these things but I am also not eager or brave enough to even try them. I think I will just stick to what I know, that being.... garlic, onions and scallions!!!

[testoftime66]

03:25 PM on 04/18/2012

NEVER cook leeks (aka Ramps).... it takes away the special flavor of Spring....
Simply wash and cut them... Then pile them up on a piece of fresh baked break with a little butter or mayo and top with a bit of salt and pepper.
OH is my mouth watering now !..... : 0

[metusmetu]

03:10 PM on 04/18/2012

Wow, onions and garlic all in one plant that's great, except in some pictures there they look like stringy little weeds, and in others they look like green onions or leeks. They can keep the "stringy" ones.

[Cody Wandel]

01:14 PM on 04/18/2012

Haven't heard of these in years. My friend from West Virginia told me about them. He said you have to chop them good, because they are very stringy. He said when he was a kid, his little brother had to have his dad help him more than once, get it all out if you know what I mean. Like a dog draggin on the carpet. Yeah, like that. Eat Ramps!

[Irish georgia peach]

01:23 PM on 04/18/2012

Now that's funny! They are awesome if you use them in tapenade with kalamata olives which require them to be chopped finely in a food processor. They are like having onions and garlic all rolled into one.