Ramps aka wild onion

[that_guy]

HA! I'm going back to where I was mushroom hunting yesterday...I found a decent sized area covered with those guys! I looked at them and thought "hey, that looks familiar" then proceeded on my way.

Now to just find some shrooms!

[pike79]

that guy,good one.I haven't had any luck with the mushrooms either.

[Selmer]

I found those ramps in an area hunting for shrooms. The soil seemed pretty fertile, no real mix of sand in it. Low lying area with with swamp close by. Lots of leaves on the ground in a mix of big oaks, walnut and elm trees.

I'm on my quest to find morels in areas nearby. I've got some great looking spots near my house in Montevideo, but haven't found a single morel yet. What I didn't find is the motherlode of ramps! Thousands of plants on a west-facing fertile hillside with lots of oak trees. I plucked off some leaves, very tasty! Now I have to take a small spade along to get at the bulbs!

[pike79]

Jackpot selmer,enjoy the wild food.

[Selmer]

My folks are coming over tomorrow for lunch and grandparents' day at the elementary school. We'll be having grilled fish with roasted potatoes, ramps, peppers, portabellas, and zuchinni. And salads with fresh greens!

[A.W.Wolfram]

[reinhard1]

Nice batch!!! ok, i've never picked them or seen any yet. is now the best time to pick them or do they grow larger during the year with the taste being the same, or is it not worth the time to look for them later in the year? good luck.

[pike79]

reinhard, from what I read the bulb is good all summer long. It is getting harder to see them in the woods with everything else growing.

[flipper]

IMO now is the time.

[Selmer]

Has anyone ever tried transplanting them? I have a nice hardwood lot right behind the house, but haven't found any ramps there. Less than 2 miles away I have the motherlode of ramps. I'm thinking about digging a couple dozen up with soil included and transplanting them to the woods out back. Then I could just walk out and get them when I want to use them. We used them in several different dishes and salads in the last few days - I snuck them in and my wife just thought they were really good onions! I also learned by looking online that those things are EXPENSIVE if you purchase them!

[Fishdeer]

I planted a couple last year next to the house out of curiosity and they did pop up this spring, so im going to try some more.

[Matt Breuer]

:drool:

[Selmer]

I fried some up yesterday with baby bella 'shrooms. Simply amazing. Chopped the whole plant (minus the roots) and tossed it into the pan with butter. Sauteed, then added the 'shrooms with some salt and pepper. I'm transplanting them to the backyard!!!

[A.W.Wolfram]

I like to sauté them with my Morels. I course chop the bulb only. Add two tablespoons EVOO and half a stick of unsalted butter in a pan at medium high heat. Add Morels with a pinch of sea salt and some fresh ground pepper then sauté until they start to sweet, add Ramps then cook until the Ramps are clear and caramelized.

If I am packing them in the freezer for a later date I will pull them off the heat when the Ramps start to sweat and put the sauté in a bowl that is on a ice bath to stop the cooking process and then when cool bag, label and freeze.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Good advice AW.

[jerkin'm]

I guess I am a snob purist.. I would never cook my ramps in with the morels...I think the morel flavor is too delicate to combine with the ramps...grill the ramps with the steaks and saute the morels with a little butter and salt and pepper...Got these on Sunday..

[A.W.Wolfram]

Tonights haul and my new Ramp Fork

[MN Mike]

NICE!

Found a few myself last weekend looking for morels, very tasty! Might have to go back for more this weekend.

Thanks for the heads up guys!

Finally getting another shot of rain, maybe we'll see some Morel's show up.

Mike

[pike79]

Jerkin looks likie you hit the wild buffet. A.W. where did you find a fork like that? That looks like it could work pretty slick.

[A.W.Wolfram]

A.W. where did you find a fork like that? That looks like it could work pretty slick.

It at one time was a 4 tine potato fork. A cutoff wheel on a grinder works wonders

[pike79]

I thought it looked familiar. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled at the flee markets and garage sales this year for one of them. Maybe haggle some guy down a buck or two.

[updecreek]

Here's my leek patch. leeks

[jerkin'm]

Wow! Nice looking plot o' ramps! I don't know if I have ever seen them all so big and dense before. I like the fork ramp digger too..I use a short handled dandelion digger and it works good but could use more leverage at times. Some of my areas have too many wildflowers (jack in the pulpits) to use something that big though...

[leech~~]

Here's my leek patch. leeks

Ok I've tried! Where are we looken? Wet, dry, high, low, South North? Help!

[jerkin'm]

Mine are all in fairly dense woods, good soil and partial sun/shade mix. Mostly hilltops for me. That picture is really what it's all about, some sun, some shade, some underbrush. Always fighting some growth to get at em it seems. None of my spots are lowland areas.