Ramps-Spring Time Treasure and Tonic
- Vince Crotta
- Apr 19, 2024
- 6 min read
When I first started to forage, Ramps were something that everyone seemed OBSESSED with and normally as I don't typically hop on trends and the fact that people kept telling me Ramps were endangered I stayed away from them. I will also wait for the spirit of a plant or mushroom to reach out to me before I do a ton of research or scouting around looking for it. It feels like the wild is introducing itself to me slowly so that I may meet each new friend in turn and spend adequate time to learn about them and the wonders that they offer. Ramps had taken their time to get to know me but this year my patience had paid off.
As years went by, I made some friends to forage with in different areas of the state; and they had been foraging Ramps sustainably for years and said that they would be happy to take me when the season returned.
I eagerly awaited the return of spring time, so that I could play with this wild vegetable everyone seemed to think was the 'be all end all' of spring foraging. We would be visiting a couple of different spots over the week and the first one we found the ramps at we actually weren't looking for Ramps at all but Morels. Anyway climbing over some rocks and picking Red Trilliums I had found my first patch. The Ramps were growing near the water but not in it; but it was definitely a place water would run during a heavy rain; also known as a "wash." They kind of reminded my of green rabbit ears sticking out of the ground. The leaves grow typically in pairs but I have seen them in as many as five leaves on one single plant. They also have a central vein and a matte finish to their leaves. They are a beautiful pale spring forest green and had either a white stem or purple one.
Each plant typically only has 2 leaves; you want to only pick one of the two leaves. This is a sustainable foraging practice for ramps as it will allow the plant to continue to grow and also allow you to forage for the leaves for food. Additionally, early spring is not a good time to sustainably pick the bulbs of the ramps. Firstly, they are usually smaller at this stage as the energy of plant is focused on growing and putting out new leaves to help capture even more energy to store for the long dormancy period. Like any other bulb, tuber, or rhizome; you will want to harvest ramps when the energy of the plant returns below the soil to the bulb for storage during the dormant period. Bulbs are best gathered in the rule of three: one for the animals that need the plant for food, one for the forager and one for mother nature so that the plant may live on into the future for everyone to continue to enjoy. I will update this article when bulb harvest season comes in a few weeks.
As far as medicinal qualities go, Ramps have a lot of vitamins C and A and also contain a lot of antioxidants making them a great tonic for a spring cold and to help support your immune system, and skin during the change of seasons. Vitamin C is thought to help shorten the duration of colds and flus, and Vitamin A can help keep your eyes, hair, skin, and nails healthy. The change of seasons is a time of change for your outer body--eyes, hair, skin and nails. The moisture levels change and so do the temperatures, these changes can cause stress on your body, and by providing your body with the necessary nutrients to handle this change you will be helping to reduce those seasonal stressors.
Ramps can be eaten fresh and are really quite tasty fresh. They can also be preserved and this is probably going to be a necessity depending on how many you pick. Ramps can be preserved in a number of ways and I would encourage you to try them all out for yourself to see the one that you prefer. Typically, they are frozen, salted, or fermented but you can try other preservation methods should you desire. Freezing has its limitations; most notably that it requires electricity everyday and that it takes up space that is usually quite limited. Salting the ramps, after they have been chopped up, allows them to be stored at room temperature but it can alter their favor and may cause you to add the extra step of rehydrating them or soaking them to remove excess salt. Fermentation, my personal favorite, allows the food to be kept in a cool place like a basement or a closet in the northern part of your house, it imparts a new flavor, and the food becomes probiotic and easily to digest.
To freeze the ramps: boil a large pot of salted water and cook the ramps for 1 minute. Remove from the boiling water and place in an ice bath until they are stone cold. Then squeeze out as much of the water as you can, place in a suitable container for the freezer and store them in the freezer for up to a year.
To Salt the ramps: chop the ramps into very thin strips by cutting them horizontally across the main vein of the plant(the long line that runs down the center of the leaf). Pour a layer of salt across the bottom of a glass jar; then place a layer of ramps on top of the salt. This layer should be a little thinner that the salt layer. Pour another layer of salt over the ramps; repeat this process until you have run out of ramps. Make sure the top layer is salt and that no green is poking through. The ramps will keep for a long time if you have done this correctly; the salt removes the moisture from and absorbs the flavor of the ramps. You can either use the salt and the ramps together or separately.
To Ferment the ramps: Chop up the ramps or squeeze and beat them so they are quite bruised. Then weigh out the total mass of the ramps and divided that number by 2% to find the weight of the salt. For example: 100g of ramps would require 2g of salt. Mix the salt into the ramps and let them sit until the juices come out of the ramps. Then place them in a jar to ferment with their juices. Place something heavy on top of the ramps to keep them below the level of the liquid and add a little water to the jar if the liquid doesn't cover the Ramps. The ramps will begin to ferment and will be done in 3 to 6 weeks depending on how hot the space is and how strong a ferment you want. To slow down the fermenting place the new ferments in a cool dark place and they will keep till you are ready to use them.
Lastly, here is a recipe for Ramp pesto:
1 1/2 cups of fresh ramps
6 T toasted sesame seeds
2 T maple syrup
6 T Olive Oil
1 T salt
6 T cheese; You can use anything from soft fresh cheeses like Ricotta, and Cream Cheese to aged dry cheeses like Parmigiana and Romano
Blend all ingredients in a blender/food processor until a smooth paste is achieved. This pesto can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and used in a multitude of ways from a sandwich spread to pasta sauce to a marinade for meat or fish.
Last weekend a friend and I made this pesto to flavor some baked salmon and as a sauce for some duck egg pasta.
Duck Egg pasta:
About 2 cups of all purpose flour
about 3 duck eggs
Place the flour in the bottom of a bowl and then make a well in the center. Crack the duck eggs into a cup and pour them into the well. Mix the eggs into the flour with a fork until a shaggy mass forms. Then need on the counter with your hands until a soft pliable dough forms. You may need to add a little more flour depending on the size of the duck eggs. Once the dough is formed; allow it to rest on the counter under a towel for about 45 minutes.
Once the time has elapsed, roll out the dough using a pasta machine until it is as thin as possible and then cut into your desired shape. Toss the fresh cut pasta in flour over a bowl and place it on a lightly floured towel. Continue this process until you are out of dough.
Boil the pasta in salted water for about 3 minutes--you are looking for still al dente but no longer eggy tasting pasta.
Toss the pasta with the pesto until it is completely coated and has turned a pleasant spring green color. Place the finished pasta in a bowl and top with the baked salmon.
To bake the salmon:
We did a whole side of salmon and used a rather thick layer of the ramp pesto.
Take your salmon side and lightly season it with salt and black pepper; shmear the pesto generously over the top. Heat the oven to 425 and place the salmon in a baking dish. When the oven has come to temperature, bake the salmon for 20 mins and then serve it immediately over a bed of pasta with pesto.
#Ramps #springforaging #foraging #foragingnewengland #foragingct #foragingconnecticut #alliumtricoccum #sustainableforaging
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