Whoa, this past week was really fucking ridiculous. I’ve done so many things that I never thought I’d do: shovel mountains of poop, thrust my hands into mud hundreds of times and — pertinent to this post — foraged for food in a forest. I’ve actually never really been in a forest, let alone eaten anything straight from one. I know, however, that I love ramps.

Ramps (Allium tricoccum) are also known as wild leeks. They seem to be at their best for only a few weeks of the year, when the forest floor is at the right amount of shade and sunlight. After they flower, or bolt, they’re not so good to eat. It never really occurred to me before that, once a leafy plant bolts, all of its nutrients go toward going to seed, so the leaves aren’t going to be as nutritious.

You can definitely buy ramps at farmer’s markets in the city, but I don’t think any farmers actually grow them. I could be wrong. Anyway, based on a tip from Jen, the wife of the farmer we work for, Chris and I drove out to a wooded lot near the farm to try our luck. It’s hard to discern them at first, but once we found one it got a lot easier. I had stupidly forgotten to bring a trowel to dig them out, so it was all by hand. We got about 15 good ones, though!

Ramps can be super pungent, especially the bulbs. They’re more on the garlicky side of the Allium family, so you should definitely spread them out if you’re going to eat them raw. To preserve mine, I made an improvised ramp butter! It’s good on pretty much anything: sauteed vegetables, bagels, pasta, whatever. I might go again this week and maybe we’ll even find morel mushrooms! That would be so killer.

Ramp Butter

  • 15 ramps
  • 3 sticks softened unsalted butter (if you’re using salted, nix the additional salt)
  • salt and pepper
  • orange zest
  • orange juice

Mix it all up and spoon onto sheets of saran wrap. Roll them up to make a tube shape and twist the ends to keep closed. Freeze until you want to use one. Makes about 4 1/2 butter rolls.