ramps

[rubicon]

Does anybody else out there eat ramps? They are a real treat in the appalacian mountains every spring but when I mentioned them to my flatlander buddies they thought I was pulling their chain

[M.T. Pockets]

You'll have to enlighten this flatlander too. I'm not sure what a ramp would be.

[rubicon]

ramps are in the leek family the bottom looks like a spring onion and the top leaves out like a lilly. people eat them raw or fry them in bacon drippings like greens. they are the first green thing to appear in the spring on the southern side of the mountains and the hillsides almost turn green with them overnight. the mountain folk cook them just about any way you would use an onion. the churches and fire departments have organized ramp dinners and usually serve smoked ham , brown beans, fried potatoes, ramps cooked any way imaginable,salad,and a varity of homemade desserts along with sassafras tea. going rate is 5 bucks each, all you can eat. Then in the fall the same groups have buckwheat cakes and sausage dinners but that is another story. At one time the state of WV was going to put a limit on the amount of ramps a person could dig. I dont know if they grow anywhere else but if you are ever in wv in the spring time dont pass up a ramp dinner,

[DaMadman]

hey Rubicon,

What part of MD are you from? If I may be so bold as to ask.

[rubicon]

madman,
I lived most of my life as a hillbilly redneck in the mountains in Tucker county Wv in a small town with a population of 200
(I think they counted a few dogs to get the 200) but 4 years ago moved to Md on the bay near Annapolis. Like the salt water but Im still a hillbilly redneck!

[rubicon]

madman,
I just saw you are from Md. know where Deale is?

[DaMadman]

Yeah I have been over in the Deale area a few times.

Nice waterfront property over that way.

I am down in Southern Maryland. My property (1.5 acres) is in Charles and St. Mary's Counties. (the county line runs through my yard)

[rubicon]

My son lives in Lusby

[pawclaws]

Smell like somebody made an onion graveyard and seasoned it with garlic? You are within a hundred yards of a ramp patch!! Use them for seasoning or cook them like greens and add a little vinegar some bacon cracklins with drippings a little salt and maybee two or three sliced up boiled eggs. Go real well fried up with cat tail roots and some dandelion greens. Lay along side a roast squirrel or two,maybe a roast rabbit and man you'll never go back home!

[earschplitinloudenboomer]

pawclaws;

...you'll also know when you're around some one who has eaten ramps in the last day or so. Local rule of etiquate...if anybody eats ramps...EVERYBODY eats ramps!!!!!!!!!!

[pawclaws]

Good rule!

[earschplitinloudenboomer]

hey all...

...seriously, ramps have become very popular in Southern West Virginia. There are now 2 and 3 day festival weekends, dinners and field trips to "dig" ramps.

...my oldest son helps dig ramps and assists with a Ramp Dinner each spring at the Summers Co. Volunteer Fire Dept. and Rescue Squad, as a fund raiser. These guys work hard to finance their equipment and this is just one more way they can raise money.

...I always enjoy the dinners, lots of good food and lots of good folks.

...ya'll have a good 'un.

[larryours]

There are ways to fix ramps, that can be eaten without much smell. Pickled Ramps, Ramps and Potato Soup. Ramp cassaroles, Fried Potatoes & Ramps. Ramps were thought of as a "Spring Tonic" helps cleans the blood as alot of older people said. I enjoy a mess of ramps every spring, I try and eat them when I'm turkey hunting, and away from other people. It doesn't only smell on your breath but even comes out the pores of your skin when you sweat. One word of advice, if you eat raw ramps and drink whiskey, no one can stand being around you !

Rubicon, I'm from Grant County that borders with Tucker Co. and I know where ramp patches are located.

[rubicon]

I put ramps in my dehydrator and when they were dry crumbled them up and used them as a seasoning instead of onion or garlic powder. Not bad!

[rubicon]

A great vacation as a youngster:

Eat ramps on Monday evening

Kicked out of school for a week on Tuesday morning

Grounded by parents on Tuesday afternoon

Sneek out of the house and go trout fishing Wed, Thurs, and Fri.
with friends who also ate ramps on Monday.

Following week -Grounded again- caught going fishing!