Ramps and the Foraging Tradition

Ramps (*Allium tricoccum*) — wild leeks that emerge in the Appalachian forest floor in early spring (March-April), with a broad green leaf, a white bulb, and a flavour that combines garlic, onion, and something wilder and more pungent than either — are the first fresh food of the Appalachian year. After a winter of dried beans, canned preserves, cured meat, and stored root vegetables, the appearance of ramps signals the return of fresh food. Ramp festivals across West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee celebrate the harvest, and the ramp dig — going into the woods to find and dig the wild leeks — is a spring ritual that connects Appalachian people to the landscape in a way that no grocery store transaction can. The Cherokee and other indigenous peoples of the southern Appalachians used ramps long before European settlement; the tradition is indigenous, adopted by settlers, and maintained by the mountain communities.

A wild allium with a broad, smooth green leaf (resembling lily of the valley), a slender white-to-purple bulb, and an aroma that announces itself from across a room. The flavour is intense — stronger than garlic, more complex than onion, with a sulphurous sharpness that mellows dramatically with cooking. Raw ramps are assertive to the point of aggressive; cooked ramps are sweet, rich, and deeply savoury. The entire plant is edible: the leaves are tender and can be used raw in salads or wilted like spinach; the bulbs can be pickled, sautéed, or roasted.

Ramps with eggs — scrambled eggs with sautéed ramps and bacon is the Appalachian spring breakfast. Ramps in soup beans — sliced and added in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Ramps with morel mushrooms — both appear at the same time in spring, and the combination (sautéed in butter) is one of the great seasonal pairings in American food.