FishNHunt
03-05-2011, 11:01 PM
I don’t know how many of you fellow outdoorsmen and women dine on wild eatables but, I happen to LOVE wild ramps and it’s just about that time of year again. If you don’t know what a ramp is, it’s a leak and similar to an onion. They have a garlic – onion taste to them. The younger the ramp the sweeter the flavor and the old the ramp the stronger the onion taste. I will eat them until they are so strong I instantly develop heart burn with the first bite.**** A note of caution for those interested in eating a ramp, if you are on your first day, honeymoon, or are hoping to seek any affection from your significant other I would highly advise you not to. That is unless you can get the other to divulge in the fine eating them selves. That way they won’t smell your potent aroma as badly. **** Ramps are best fresh from the ground. Simply take them to the nearest creek to wash off the dirt, remove the roots and enjoy. I even save the leafy part for salads, “kilt ramps” (substituted lettuce), and bulbs sliced on a sandwich (substituting the onion) and the leaflets (substituting the lettuce). If you are feeling really adventuress you can pickle them for great eating months down the road. I do this for fall “man” camps where the cabin reeks of pickled ramps, beer, and other foul smelling fragrances.
Ramps are getting rather hard to come by as of late so a prime patch is kept as closely a guarded secret as the location of that 30 inch brown. I have a few patches that I regularly pick but, noticed an intruder had worked them over pretty unscrupulously last year. I presume that I will have to strike out and search other areas in order to keep from over harvesting my dwindling patch. Ramps are best found at high altitudes but, can be found and even grown at lower elevations. There are records of a patch of ramps 5 acres in size on Jake’s Creek just above Elkmont. I’ve yet to find remnants of it but, I’ve been told by some “mountain men” that it’s still there. This brings me to my question. Would it be illegal if someone were camping in the park and came across a patch of ramps and decided that they would taste wonderful with his fresh golden brown rainbow trout? Could that person pick a few as long as they were eaten within the confines of the Park? I’ve eaten black and blue berries from the park regularly and, never gave it a second thought. I assume that it most likely would be considering that one can’t pick a flower or destroy vegetation, even thou I see flower pickers every year
The question doesn’t concern me as much as others because my picking is done far from the park and golden brown crispy trout. If you don’t have the time to search out and find a ramp, and they can be a challenge to find, there is a “ramp festival” every year in Cosby (my computer isn’t allowing me to access it right now for the dates) that could entertain your taste buds. If you want something to “spice” up that cast iron skillet fried, corn meal dredged, crispy gold, rainbow trout give a hand full of ramps a try. I love them.
Ramps are getting rather hard to come by as of late so a prime patch is kept as closely a guarded secret as the location of that 30 inch brown. I have a few patches that I regularly pick but, noticed an intruder had worked them over pretty unscrupulously last year. I presume that I will have to strike out and search other areas in order to keep from over harvesting my dwindling patch. Ramps are best found at high altitudes but, can be found and even grown at lower elevations. There are records of a patch of ramps 5 acres in size on Jake’s Creek just above Elkmont. I’ve yet to find remnants of it but, I’ve been told by some “mountain men” that it’s still there. This brings me to my question. Would it be illegal if someone were camping in the park and came across a patch of ramps and decided that they would taste wonderful with his fresh golden brown rainbow trout? Could that person pick a few as long as they were eaten within the confines of the Park? I’ve eaten black and blue berries from the park regularly and, never gave it a second thought. I assume that it most likely would be considering that one can’t pick a flower or destroy vegetation, even thou I see flower pickers every year
The question doesn’t concern me as much as others because my picking is done far from the park and golden brown crispy trout. If you don’t have the time to search out and find a ramp, and they can be a challenge to find, there is a “ramp festival” every year in Cosby (my computer isn’t allowing me to access it right now for the dates) that could entertain your taste buds. If you want something to “spice” up that cast iron skillet fried, corn meal dredged, crispy gold, rainbow trout give a hand full of ramps a try. I love them.