Ramp Pickles Ramp Up Flavor

A couple of years ago, a friend told me the story of a trip to New York City, where she met friends for dinner at a swanky restaurant.  One of the group was telling the others about a delicious "new" vegetable that was all the rage in the City.  When my friend learned the trendy vegetable was ramps, she chuckled as she thought about the wild ramps that grew in her North Carolina yard.  

Ramps growing in NC mountain forest

In season now and available to lucky farmer's market shoppers and adventurous foragers, ramps are wild edibles that are delicious on their own or combined with other vegetables or proteins.  Native to eastern North American mountain ranges, ramps, or wild leeks, appear in early spring and, although their season is brief, fans of this pungent bulb preserve that unique garlic/onion flavor in a variety of ways.  
 

Cooking ramp leaves is a show

Both ramp greens and bulbs are edible and tossing the flat leaves (think Lily of the Valley) in a bit of hot olive oil creates a show.  As the greens cook, they swell and deflate, writhing as if alive. With wild ramps increasingly in demand, it is imperative that foragers practice sustainable harvesting methods.  A tutorial about harvesting ramps is available at:
http://appalachianfoodstorybank.org/ramps-a-sustainable-harvest/ 

A couple of weeks ago, my husband surprised me with a basket of ramps he harvested during a trip to far western NC.  Thanks to that gift, we can look forward to enjoying compound ramp butter, ramp pesto, dehydrated ramps and ramp pickles.
 

Richard's ramp harvest, plus a Morel mushroom

One of my favorite ways to preserve ramp bulbs is to pickle them. Toss pickled ramps into salads or hot vegetable dishes, dice and add to deviled egg mixture or potato salad or just enjoy them alone. Because our family loves a bit of heat in pickles, I add whole hot peppers to the ramps before processing.  Since it is impossible to harvest fresh peppers while ramps are in season, I use peppers I froze in late fall.  For pickled ramps, a good choice is Fish pepper, which packs a nice heat that does not sear the tongue.  

Whole, frozen Fish peppers add heat to ramp pickles

Plan to enjoy ramps this season and if you are fortunate to find yourself with an abundant supply, pickling is a great way to preserve them.  Half-pint jelly jars are perfect for ramps and for pretty pickles, take time to pack ramp bulbs and peppers carefully before adding pickling solution.  
 

Pickled Ramps with fresh dill and Fish peppers

 Ramp Pickles
Prepare fresh ramp bulbs by removing outer skin and trimming leaves from bulbs
Place cleaned, trimmed bulbs in a large glass bowl and liberally add kosher salt.  Cover with water and place in the refrigerator for about 12 hours.
Prepare pickling solution.
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
4 tablespoons kosher salt
Heat pickling solution ingredients in a large Dutch oven and stir until salt dissolves.
Rinse and drain ramp bulbs
Pack bulbs, fresh dill sprigs and whole peppers into hot half-pint or pint jars.
Add hot pickling solution to cover, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Adjust lids and tightly screw bands.
Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Remove jars from water bath and invert on a heavy towel for 6 minutes.
Turn jars upright and cover with the towel.  
Allow jars to sit for 24 hours and check to be sure lids sealed.