Ramps (Wild Leeks)

I did a search I didn't see a forum for this anywhere else.  Anyone getting out and picking ramps?  What do you do with them?  Any good pickling recipes?

Lots of ramps popping now.  Found a whole bunch right in my backyard last night.

Dug up some leek behind my house in the woods for leek, spinach, white bean soup, also spotted a group of fist size morels, picked a lb at least.  I use leek also in a beef roast for seasoning.  Can look up on the net recipes for leek use.

pretty good cracker spread right here

https://wildernessfolk.com/wildleekdip.html

Here is a link for some first-timers interested in harvesting sustainably 

I think most State parks and forests are illegal to go foraging for eatables

Good point about sustainable harvesting Lakeshiner. I usually take just one leaf and leave the second one and the bulb per plant. 

I pick some every year but I usually cut them off and leave the bulb.  I may dig one up to make sure it has a bulb, not that they are lily of the valley.  Watch Breaking Bad, the episode where Walt poisons the kid if you want to learn about that look-a-like haha.

From what I read though ramps are technically in decline due to people digging the full plant up.  Based on how they reproduce and how long it takes for them to mature (7 years), you can remove patches forever pretty easily.  

That being said I'm sure there are big patches in many places.  I find a ton of them when turkey hunting.

Mmmm made with freash ramps .

I put a decent pile of ramp leaves on a venison bacon BLT last night and it was incredible. I chopped and sautéd them prior to adding to sandwich. Good in omelettes, on potatoes etc... I plan to harvest some this weekend, dehydrate them and grind into a powder for shaking on to potatoes, popcorn, whatever.

I like them drizzled with olive oil and salt then grilled the best. Sliced up in a salad. Pretty much anywhere you'd use an onion. Haven't tried it yet but saw a recipe to batter and fry the root part. Can't imagine that would be bad.

Just a question about harvesting wild leeks . Some say to not disturb the roots , while others say not to just harvest the leaves while they are green . And yet others claim harvesting just the leaves hurts regrowth of the plant the next Spring . Anyone have thoughts on this ?

I hit the mother load this year on ramps!!! I grill them tossed in olive oil and salt and pepper and also pickled them as well!!! Yummo!

We harvest wild leeks (ramps) in Spring . We have made pesto with them , cooked with hash browns . Used them in potato soup etc. I find the leaves to be better flavor than the bulbs but, taste is different with each person .

I picked a pretty good pile the last weekend in April, Forest county. I like them in hashbrowns and omelettes. I cooked some with asparagus on the grill and that was good too. I didn't get to the cabin last weekend but will pick more when there this coming weekend. 

I have a patch of ramps in my woods but haven’t looked to see if they’re up yet. 

I found a bunch of wild onions a couple years ago and transplanted them to my garden. They’ve been going good for at least a month. I probably planted 100 and now there are many 100’s of them. They really took off. I actually prefer them to ramps. Sweeter and more mild. Plus they’re a lot more abundant than ramps. 

A great spring recipe I created with ramps or wild onions is to sauté some morels in butter, when they’re just about done, add a handful of ramps or wild onions, when they’re wilted, add a pound of fresh spinach and some petite peas. Cook a couple minutes until spinach is wilted. I haven’t tried it but some fiddleheads would go good in there as well.