With Spring finally in the air here in Stowe, Vermont, all those first foragable items are a buzz among folks. I’ve been hearing a lot of people talking and posting via social media about looking for ramps. I’ve also heard a quite a few people say that they don’t really know how to identify wild ramps. So I thought I would put together a few simple tips and tricks to help embolden budding foragers in their foraging adventures.
Tips and Tricks
- 1) If it is early in Vermont, especially in a place like Stowe which is at a comparatively higher elevation than some other places in the state, you need to find warmer areas to forage. The best tip I can give is to look for south facing slopes. A nice, gradual, but prolonged south-facing slope is ideal, and will be where the first ramps are found as the air warms. South-facing slopes receive the most sun exposure, and so naturally they are significantly warmer than everywhere else early season.
- 2) Know the look-a-likes. As with every foraged food, it is always important to know that you are foraging and eating what you think you are. The best way to do this is to learn what else may look like the desired wild food. In the case of ramps, this would be Lily of the Valley. A dead give away is to look at the roots. The ramp emerges from a bulb, where as the lily of the valley does not, and just has some smaller roots. The other big difference is the leaves. Ramps have 1 or 2 leaves that come from the base, where as Lilly of the valley will have multiple leaves that whirl around the stem.
- 3) Smell them! Ramps definitively have an unmistakable smell. If you were to rub the leaves in your hand, you will recognize the onion /garlic smell that characterizes many plants of the allium family.
- 4) Look in the right place. If you really want to find ramps, it helps if you look where they like to grow. First of, make sure you are in a deciduous forest. Forests that are primary composed of evergreens and meadow type landscapes will not produce ramps.
- 5) Practice sustainable foraging with Ramps! OK, so this isn’t really a tip or trick to help you, but instead it will help the ramps. Ramps are very slow to grow and reproduce, and with all the hype surrounding them, it would not be hard to over forage these wonderful plants. Also, ramps are very strong flavored, and you really never need more than a few to go along with any dish. Even if you are going to make a pesto, it will be too strong if you just replace all the basil with ramps. Less is more!
For more on ramps and more pictures, check out the Ramp page.
