Ramp foraging info + tips
Info + tips on foraging the first spring offerings/onions
Ramps! Do you know where to find them? We’re not telling where our secret spots are, but they’re everywhere, we even found some on the side of the Taconic and Sprain Brook!
These early spring treats have long been used as a traditional folk remedy as a tonic with its mineral-rich leaves believed to cleanse the blood and ward off ailments accrued in hibernation. Not to mention they have become a popular delicacy for their limited availability and bright taste imbued with hints of garlic and onion.
The most important thing about harvesting ramps: LEAVE THE BULBS. It takes 5-7 years for a ramp patch to establish their roots, so to make sure they come back year after year, leaving the root base and bulb while harvesting ensures that your secret patch produces even more the next spring. To forage the delicious green leaves of the ramp, snap the bottom of the stem with your forefinger and thumb. Using a small knife also helps make a clean cut, which ward away disease to the bulb. If there are two leaves popping up, harvest only one to encourage bulb growth for future foraging.
So, where can you find ramps? Like much of the Hudson Valley, real estate of allium tricoccum can be a treasured hunt. While many locals keep their ramp sources under wraps, the bright green broadleaf patches can be found in shady parts of the woods, usually near water on north embankments, or as we have found, sprouted unsuspectedly on the roadside. These wild, spring onions have two broad and smooth light green leaves that pop up from purple-tinted stems. The ramp’s onion-garlic aroma differentiate from Lily of the Valley, which look similar, but are poisonous to consume. (Lily of the Valley has a white bell-shaped flower that grows from the center of their stem, and do not have the pungent garlic-aroma of ramps.)
RAMP TIPS:
⚠️ Where to find them:
You don’t need to go far into the woods to find ramps - they’re everywhere! Don’t trespass, just look! We’ve seen them on the side of the Taconic, right near a stop sign on the way to my mom’s house, and there was a huge patch on the Sprain Brook in Westchester. Or the farmers market :)
Short season from mid-April to mid-May
Grows in high elevations in colonies of several plants
Grows in rich, moist, loose soil, high in organic matter and low in pH
⚠️What to look for:
1 or 2 broad leaves measuring 1 to 2-1/2 inches wide and 4 to 12-inches long
⚠️What to look out for:
Poisonous imposters like Lily of the Valley, which look similar, but are poisonous to consume. (Lily of the Valley has a white bell-shaped flower that grows from the center of their stem, and do not have the pungent garlic-aroma of ramps.) Poison ivy also hangs around ramps as well. Trout lilies, with their spotted leaves, look similar to ramps, grow next to ‘em and are edible.
IF YOU AREN’T SURE DON’T EAT IT!
Do not trespass on privately-owned land. Look around for better/legal options, or make a new friend with that neighbor.
⚠️ How to harvest ramps so you can come back year after year:
LEAVE THE BULBS! Use a knife to cut off the stem about a 1/4-1/2” above the bulb, leaving the roots in the ground to promote future growth.
If there are two leaves popping up, harvest only one to encourage bulb growth for future foraging.
⚠️ What do you do after harvesting a few leaves?
Ramps can be prepared in a variety of ways, I will put them on anything especially eggs and pasta, and many local eateries offer specials highlighting the spring greens; Rhinebeck Bagel, for example, makes a delicious cream cheese every year. Melina Hammer of Catbird Cottage makes pickled ramps with a pate and elderberry gelee(!), and a ramp salt made with about 4 cups of ramp leaves and a cup of kosher salt. Get the recipe.
100 recipes for seasonal, locally sourced, and foraged dishes from the owner of the idyllic Catbird Cottage B&B in Ulster County.
“Melina Hammer shows us that there is beauty all around us when we cook seasonally. . . . A joyful, inspiring book for cooks, bakers, artists, and dreamers.”—Amanda Hesser, founder and CEO, Food52
At the foot of the Shawangunk Mountain Ridge lies the hamlet of Accord, New York, dotted with orchards and farms, population 562. There, Melina Hammer welcomes guests from near and far to stay and eat at Catbird Cottage, a B&B run out of her charming home. Her eclectic table is set with meals that showcase stories and ingredients from her own garden, New York’s wild landscape, and her travels around the globe.
In her debut cookbook, Melina shares the beloved recipes from this special place, all presented seasonally just like the meals at Catbird Cottage. These recipes are organized by season, since the seasons dictate what’s on the Catbird Cottage table. Whether it’s Wild Salmon Gravlax, Scallop-Shiso Ceviche, Buttery Scrambled Eggs and Chanterelles, Sour Cherry Pie, or a fall-apart persimmon served with triple-cream cheese and freshly baked sourdough bread, Melina’s food is deeply satisfying and sustaining—and emphasizes cooking and living in a more connected and joyful way.
Melina also shares her foraging and preserving know-how, allowing readers to stock their pantries, cupboards, and freezers. But these recipes don’t require you be a fully-fledged homesteader, expert forager, or connoisseur of global flavor. The book takes the foundations of these sustainable practices and integrates them into an accessible kitchen vernacular of complete nourishment. The food of Catbird Cottage is community on a plate—grown, harvested, persevered, and presented with love—and shared with cherished companions.
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