Hey Woodsrunner

Bodine

I dined at a local eatery the other day, and they had pickled ramp.
Not near as good as fresh, but I found it interesting they had it.

woodsrunner

Perfect timing, that! I went up home the first of last week for a load of corn and talked with my old Buddy about getting ramps this coming April. He said he could load me up with as much as I wanted, and he gave me a couple of quarts his wife pickled last spring....got 'em here on the kitchen counter!

Back in the last of October as my okra was winding down, just on a whim I decided to pickle a 12 pint case and see if these would move at the Saturday Farmers Market. Sold like CRAZY! Everyone wanted more, so I pickled another 4 pint cases and sold three of these immediately. Have one case left for the family's use over the next few months. Makes me think that next year maybe I ought to put up a big bunch of ramps and augment these with pickled okra again.

Out of curiosity where did you find pickled ramps on the menu? They may need some Appalachian Blend Grits to serve!

Bodine

Little joint called Sage, near market street, kinda between market street and Maclay road.
Bet you could load them up with some.

woodsrunner

Tried a couple of times to interest them in my grits/cornmeal, but haven't gotten very far. Do yourself a favor and try the new "Lofty Pursuits" close-by. This used to be only an ice-cream parlor, but maybe a month or so ago it moved just across the street and became a restaurant also. Darn good, and not expensive as the ice-cream parlor was.

micci_man

Showing my intelligence or age, what are ramps?

stc1993

I never heard of them either. :shrug

I looked it up. It said it's a type of onion similar to spring onions or scallions.

micci_man

10 4 thanks

Bodine

Ramps look like a wild onion with wide leaves, like a lily.
Actually they are a member of the lily family, not an onion.
The flavor is a cross between an onion and garlic.
They have become trendy and are probably being over harvested as they
are only available in April and May.

woodsrunner

Bodine has it covered correctly, and ferris IS ALSO CORRECT :rotflmao! Kids in school would be disciplined for eating Ramps at lunchtime, and at home you would be excused from jury duty if you reported after eating fresh Ramps! Deal was, in Union County, you report for jury duty after eating Ramps, and you were automatically rescheduled for the fall session during hunting season! Worked every time!

Ramps are overharvested in some areas for sure. What is left is mostly on National Forest land....Chattahoochee and Nantahala National Forests....and harvesting is fairly well controlled though not completely. Gathering Ramps is a novelty to most, many from places like Atlanta and large cities, but to "Professional Mountain Men" (I think I'm one of these :rolleyes) it can be serious business. Ramps grow best at 3,200+ feet elevation, and on the northeast side of mountains, so it takes some climbing/walking to find them. People like my Buddies at home will selectively harvest them like we do hardwood timber in the Mountains, and have a spring harvest for years and years without depleting the growing stock. I know of one 15-20 acre cove on Chunky Gal Mountain that has been selectively harvested for years and years.

JFS

Woodsrunner, You going to be at the Saturday market on New years Eve? I'm needing some more grits n stuff and have a hard time passing through there on Saturdays....

woodsrunner

I'll be there Christmas Eve, next Saturday, but no one probably will be there New Years Eve. My grits and cornmeal is available at Southern Seafood there in Timberlane where the Market is, or in either of the New Leaf Markets, or in the Pigly Wigly in Apalachicola or on St. George Island. Or give me an address and I'll send what you want.....shipped to 19 states and 6 foreign countries so far.

Saltygatorvet

woodsrunner wrote: »

Bodine has it covered correctly, and ferris IS ALSO CORRECT :rotflmao! Kids in school would be disciplined for eating Ramps at lunchtime, and at home you would be excused from jury duty if you reported after eating fresh Ramps! Deal was, in Union County, you report for jury duty after eating Ramps, and you were automatically rescheduled for the fall session during hunting season! Worked every time!

Ramps are overharvested in some areas for sure. What is left is mostly on National Forest land....Chattahoochee and Nantahala National Forests....and harvesting is fairly well controlled though not completely. Gathering Ramps is a novelty to most, many from places like Atlanta and large cities, but to "Professional Mountain Men" (I think I'm one of these :rolleyes) it can be serious business. Ramps grow best at 3,200+ feet elevation, and on the northeast side of mountains, so it takes some climbing/walking to find them. People like my Buddies at home will selectively harvest them like we do hardwood timber in the Mountains, and have a spring harvest for years and years without depleting the growing stock. I know of one 15-20 acre cove on Chunky Gal Mountain that has been selectively harvested for years and years.

Chunky gal mountain sounds like place I may have visited back in the day:)