Ramping Up Local Food Consumption

A lot has changed in our food culture since Barbara Kingsolver first wrote her memoir about eating locally sourced food. The cultural movement to eat locally and organically has a long history which has had ebbs and flows in the popular consciousness over the years. In the 15 years since Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was first published, farm-to-table restaurants have become more prevalent around the country, including one opened by Kingsolver herself.

Another change is the fact that ramps are no longer an Applachaian “secret.” In May of 2021, Vox published an article headlined “Ramps, spring’s trendiest produce, explained,” stating that “Ramp-obsessed urbanites have turned what was once a relatively obscure allium most popular in the Appalachian region into something that bougie New Yorkers hunt down at restaurants and farmers markets every April.”

“Relatively obscure” is of course a subjective description. Urban New Yorkers have a long history of being confused about what exactly the plant is. In 1985, a New York native wrote to the Monterey (Va.)-based newspaper The Recorder asking for clarification after seeing a picture in the paper:

Of course, ramps are known to those close to their natural growing grounds (ranging from northern Georgia to southern Canada) and have long been foraged by the Cherokee peoples. Known as “wild leek” in some parts of the country, Allium tricoccum comes in two varieties both generally found in wooded areas. A perennial, it grows small clusters of about four bulbs and when left alone to flower produces a small group of blooms that range from white to yellow. But they are not prized for their beauty, instead it’s for the pungent bulb. Ramp festivals have a long history in Appalachia where it is plentiful during April and May. Richwood, West Virginia, holds the title of “Ramp Capital of the World” and is home to the National Ramp Association.

 In Virginia, they supposedly once overran (to some visitor’s chagrin) the lawn of Capitol Hill in Richmond. Today it is the focus of many festivals such as the Whitetop (Va.) Mountain Ramp Festival, which benefits the Mt. Rogers Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad each year and several other events that similarly spread the love and help raise money for local causes.

How does one cook a ramp? Well, you can just eat it raw if you wish but perhaps warn those around you so they can hold their breath when you speak. Otherwise, an article in Mountain Laurel from Meadows of Dan, Virginia, suggests, “fried, boiled, in soups, stews and omelets, minced and added to beans or home fries.” Barbara McCallum, author of Reekin’ Ramp Recipes, has recipes for the more basic ramp soup, ramp chef’s salad, and Spanish rampin’ meatloaf as well as ramp vichyssoise, rampion raiponce, and boeuf chou fleur et ramps.

Somewhat ironically, the intense want for ramps by those outside their local growing area has caused some of the very issues Kingsolver discusses in her book. At the time of her writing, ramps were still a relative “secret” nationally, partly due to their short harvest time, but as more people in urban centers chase down the wild onions they have begun to be over-harvested. Eat your veggies, but also make sure you ethically harvest them so you can continue to eat them in the future.