Why Chefs are crazy about ramps (and why you should be too!)

A classic meme going around the internet is of young hipster chefs going crazy at the delivery of a case of ramps. Their mouths water, and their menus are suddenly full of ramps in every possible configuration. But what is the big deal about these weird garlicky green leaves, and why should the average person take notice?

To first understand this, we have to go back to the beginning and talk about seasonality.

Despite the modern grocery store’s display cases, every kind of fruit and vegetable doesn’t grow at all times. Plants are finicky and particular, and depending your location, their growing seasons can be short and specific. This can be challenging if you have the urge to eat asparagus in January, but its worth the wait and self-restraint, because when asparagus does finally arrive in late April, you know its flavor and nutrition is at the all-time high.

In warmer climates like the Bay Area of California, the temperature is warm enough to allow full-year growth. But in the Midwest, temperatures frequently drop below 15 degrees in the winter, creating a deep freeze that pretty much kills all plant life. This means that in order to eat local produce at this time, you are confined to root vegetables that farmers have placed in cold storage, as well as preserved and pickled products from the previous summer.

As spring starts to warm and flirt with us, vegetables begin their annual sprouting routine. Usually March is filled with warm days that counter with freezing nights making the final reveal of spring produce a bit of a dance. The tension is real, because those of us attempting to eat closer to the seasons are SICK of apples, turnips, and potatoes. Ramps are the first edible plant to pop up, and as such they are always greeted with celebration!

The ramp is a perennial plant (meaning that it grows back each year through an established root system) and its culinary and medicinal uses go back thousands of years to the indigenous peoples of the American continent who used them as a spring tonic to aid the digestive system. Ramps are an allium, which means they are in the same family as garlic and onion, and have a similar wild-oniony smell. Because of its elaborate root system, they are typically foraged in the wild - for the most part found and sold by regular folks who happen to know where to look.

From a chef perspective, we tend to use the ramp in two different ways. The leaves and stems are separated after the plant is meticulously cleaned (they are always delivered DIRTY.) The leaves are typically treated like a fresh herb or leafy green  (basil or spinach for example) and turned into pesto or mixed into pastas and cheese fritters. The stems are usually cold pickled and used on a fall day to add flavor and punch to vegetable and meat dishes.

So understand that indeed ramps are a cause for celebration. Go find yourself a seasonal restaurant or a forager and try some for yourself!