Ramp Season is Here

What even is a ramp you might ask yourself? It’s a wild onion that grows in the mountains. It looks like a scallion, and tastes like a cross between an onion and garlic. The bulb of the ramp looks very similar to a spring onion, but the leaves are wide and flat. Ramps are usually harvested in late March, or early April. The season will end mid-May, but sometimes beginning of June depending on the weather.

In our farm market we sell ramps two ways- “dirty” and “clean.” Not sure which ones to buy? It’s just a preference thing on whether or not you want to wash them up when you get home, or be ready to throw them right on the grill without any prep work. Once you get them home if you’re not using them right away, you’ll want to make sure you store them properly. Wrap the roots in a damp paper towel, and place them in a Ziplock bag, or an air tight container. Wrapping them up properly is an important step, otherwise your whole fridge will smell like ramps, which might not be a bad thing depending on who you are…LOL  Stored correctly, your ramps should last 4-5 days in your fridge.

Now onto the fun part, eating them! You can eat ramps raw, or cook them several different ways. My personal favorite way to make this delicacy is to grill them. I lay them out on a cookie sheet, and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I make sure my grill is nice and hot, and toss them on. You only need to cook them for 2-3 minutes tops, making sure to flip them occasionally. Once I pull them off, I drizzle again with some more olive oil, and then it’s time to enjoy! Grilling chances the flavor just a bit. It tends to enhance the sweetness of the ramp.

Another recipe I’ve come to love recently is Katie Workman’s ramp pasta recipe. Orr’s Farm Market also has a Ramp Recipe Pinterest page with lots more recipe ideas. Happy Ramp Season!