By Lorin Gaudin

I’m a garlic and onion lover. Bad breath be damned, there are always other eaters who appreciate the odor, or in the worst-case scenario, there is no shortage of breath mints and freshening products out there on the market. Bad breath is simply not a good enough reason to forego one of Natures most tasty and healthy greens.

When spring makes its appearance I know its time for me to go on a Ramp-age. As a native Chicagoan, ramps really get me happy, happy, even if they no longer grow wild along the Lakefront (more on the Chicago connection below). It’s April, time to run ramp-ant about ramps.

Ramp is a native edible plant that grows wild throughout eastern North America, ranging from the rich, moist woodlands of Nova Scotia and southern Quebec, south through New England and the central Appalachian states, down into the cool upland portions of Georgia, and as far west as Iowa and Minnesota.

“Ramps,” as they are known, are closely related to the garlic family and often referred to as Wild Leeks. The name comes from the British Isles, where a similar plant grows wild. Legend has it that ramps are named because they appear in mid-March through mid-April, during the zodiac sign of Aries (the ram). In another account, ramps come from the folk name “Ramsen,” the plural form of an Old word for garlic, hramsa.

A member of the lily family (like garlic), these are the first edible wild greens that appeared following winter. Early settlers welcomed ramps as a “spring tonic” following months of dried or salted foods. In late winter or very early spring, each bulb sends up two or three broad, smooth, ovate leaves, similar to those of lily-of-the-valley. Eventually growing 8 to 12 inches tall, these leaves show deep maroon streaking at the base and up along the parallel veins. Usually clusters of the plants blanket a hillside.

Tender green ramp leaves with their strong onion-garlic taste are said to be a breath killer and blood cleanser all in one—sound familiar? They are a good source of Vitamin C, and prostaglandin, a fatty acid known to be therapeutic in the treatment of hypertension. Studies have also linked these plants to increases in the production of high-density lipoproteins, which in turn are believed to combat heart disease by reducing levels of cholesterol in the blood.

Native Americans used ramps for medicinal purposes, to treat coughs and colds, and they made a poultice from the juice of the strong summer bulbs to alleviate the pain and itching of bee stings. The Menominee Indian tribe called ramps pikwute sikakushia (skunk plant) and referred to an area near the southern shore of Lake Michigan where ramps grew abundantly, as CicagaWuni or shikako (skunk place). Ahh, sweet home Chicago.

Throughout Appalachia ramps are considered the best of the wild onions. More delicate than the typical wild onion or garlic, ramp greens are decidedly more pronounced and lingering in flavor (though less hot) than ordinary cooking onions. Stories abound regarding the ramp’s legendary stink. High school students are said to chew the plant before school in the hopes of being sent home due to offending breath called “ramp odor”. One teacher, quick to catch on to this “trick” simply puts stinky students in a “class” all their own—the hallway.

The late newspaper publisher Jim Comstock of Richwood, West Virginia decided that everybody needed the opportunity to smell a ramp. He had a chemist friend duplicate the ramp’s odor and added to the ink he used to print his paper. That paper was then mailed all over the country to former West Virginians residents. Just one of Comstock’s tainted papers could contaminate a whole sack of mail with the ramp’s stench. Ultimately the Postal Service stepped in and threatened to revoke his mailing permit if he continued to his stinky ink ways.
Clever marketers and gourmands have figured out a variety of ways to enjoy the ramp. Via mail order or the Internet, curious tasters can get their hands on ramp products like jellies, seeds or freeze-dried ramps. At www.gritlit.com, you can get pickled ramps that make an interesting martini garnish.

Cooking ramps is a breeze. The most popular method is making a “mess” or wilted ramps. Typically ramps are wilted along with other greens like wild lettuce, but on their own, they become quite a delicious “mess.” Ingenious chefs have created many, many ramp recipes ranging from ramp kabobs to ramp-burgers and even ramps and eggs. Get your hands on these bulbs and let the chef in you run ramp-ant. In the meantime, below are a few recipes to get started.

BABY RAMP AND NEW POTATO SOUP

RAMPS AND EGGS

WILTED BRANCH LETTUCE AND RAMPS

PICKLED RAMPS

Filed Under: Food Talk