These babies are only available for about a month and only in certain mountains. This happens to be the month when we have been traveling back and forth to Athens to visit our daughter and son-in-law. I love the food scene in Athens. Many restaurants always have ramps on the menu during this time. We love them.
I have never been able to find them but last weekend BINGO. What a great Mothers Day gift.
On our way home we found a stand that was selling these treasures. It was close to Crosby TN, close to where a Ramp Festival has been hosted on the first weekend in May since 1954. Our vendor told me that the ramps were near the end and that many chefs from Athens had been up last weekend to buy them and that the festival was great. So next year it is on my calendar.
We have enjoyed our ramps all week but a friend from WV told me that if we ate too many we would smell bad and lose our friends.
I think it is worth the threat.
When harvested young, the wild ramp has delicate, broad lily of the valley-like leaves and a thin spindly scallion-like stalk which trails into an indistinct bulb. The leaves are green and the stalk may be white or pink, marketed with its edible roots attached. The ramp has a piquant onion and garlic flavor with a woodsy, pungent aroma. The entire plant is edible, including the roots.
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