Name: Ramps, also called wild leeks (Allium tricoccum) — a wild spring onion with broad, smooth green leaves and a slim, purple-tinged stem, tasting like a cross between garlic and onion.
Description
Ramps are native to eastern North America, especially the Appalachian Mountains, where they grow in shady, rich woodlands, and where Native Americans and later settlers gathered them as the first fresh green food of spring. The name ramps and the city of Chicago are linked, since the Native American word for the plant is thought to have given Chicago its name.
Ramps are celebrated in spring ramp festivals across Appalachia, and have become a prized ingredient for chefs. Because they grow slowly and the bulbs are often dug up, overharvesting has become a concern in some areas, and sustainable harvesting means taking only a leaf or two from each plant, leaving the bulb.
Main nutrition value
Ramps provide vitamin C, vitamin A, selenium and chromium, plus the sulphur compounds that give them their pungent aroma.
How best to be consumed
Ramps have a strong flavour, with the leaves milder than the bulbs.
- Sauté the leaves and stems in butter or oil, like garlic and spinach.
- Blend raw leaves into pesto, butter or dressings.
- Pickle the bulbs, or grill them whole until soft.
- Add to eggs, potatoes, pasta, pizza and soups.
- Buy from a sustainable source, or harvest only a leaf per plant, and use within a few days.
Overconsumption could cause…
Ramps are safe in food amounts but strongly flavoured.
- Bloating, gas or heartburn, since alliums contain fermentable carbohydrates (fructans) that bother many people with IBS.
- Allergic reactions or skin irritation in a small number of people sensitive to alliums.
- Overharvesting of wild plants, an environmental rather than a health concern.
- A strong, lingering garlic odour on the breath and skin.
Wikipedia — Allium tricoccum, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum
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