The woods are alive with the greens of leeks! My, how the
mountain people of the Southeast honor and savor these plants,
which they call ramps, each early spring before the leaf canopy
begins to develop in the woods.
If all of us today had to subsist on a diet such as our
ancestors in this region did, as well as those mountain people,
we too would have welcomed the first wild highly edible greenery
to appear. A rather bland winter diet of dried fruits, pickled
vegetables, nuts, beans, potatoes and dried beef or salt pork
eventually got to those frugal people who didn’t have
refrigerators or freezers and who couldn’t do their shopping at a
supermarket.
Their blood needed "cleansing" and their strong
belief was that a healthy spring tonic of both the leaves and
bulbs of the wild leeks was just what their bodies craved.
Interestingly modern science supports that popular folk
tradition. Wild leeks, or ramps, one of several species in the
genus Allium, are an excellent source of Vitamin C, an
important nutrient that often was lacking in early people’s
diets.
Furthermore, research has linked the consumption of plants in
the genus Allium with increases in the production of
high-density lipoproteins, which in turn are believed to combat
heart disease by reducing blood serum levels of cholesterol.
Those early mountain folk surely did discover a valuable
nutritional supplement.
All leeks, native or otherwise, are generally alike. They
belong to the large lily family, containing about 325 species,
and are close relatives of the onion, garlic, shallot and chives.
Their genus, Allium, is Latin for garlic. Indeed, I have
always felt that the flavor of wild leeks is considerably more
like that of garlic than onion.
Other native wildflowers of this region related to the leeks,
and often growing in the same woods, are wood lily, bellwort,
trout lily, asparagus, clintonia, Canada mayflower,
Solomon’s-seal, twisted stalk and trillium.
It’s been said that wild leek and garlic are
"outlaw" members of the lily family. Their flavor and
odor are due to an oil-like vegetable compound of sulfur which is
volatile and dissipated by heat, making them more palatable when
cooked. In fact some people boil their leeks in three different
waters. It is my estimation that this is totally unnecessary.
Others relish a few wild leeks eaten raw, a perfectly safe way
to consume a small quantity, but one that will leave you with
strong enough breath to keep your family and friends at a safe
distance for two or three days!
The intriguing Appalachian name of ramp is thought to have
come from the British Isles back in the 1500’s or earlier where a
related plant, Allium ursinum, grows wild. One
interpretation has the English folk name "ramson" (son
of Ram), referring to the plant’s habit of appearing during the
sign of Aries, the Ram, from March 20 to April 20.
Early English settlers to America were immediately reminded of
their native "wild onion" when they came across the
quite similar-appearing and tasting plants in their new home – so
"ramson" they became, later shortened to
"ramps."
Not only is the wild leek noted for its excellent edibility
but also for its beauty. Many compare its two or three long,
tongue-shaped, lightly drooping leaves to the foliage of
orchids. Yes, the orchid family is closely related to the lily
family. The wild leek shows little similarity to its larger
domestic cousin, Allium porrum, the common garden
variety. The bulb of the wild leek seldom grows more than
one-half to one inch in diameter, and its strikingly colorful
magenta stem is always less than pencil thin.
One wild leek recipe of the South I came upon, called
"ramps’n taters," immediately reminded me of one of our
family’s favorite potatoes and eggs recipe my mother made quite
often when times were tough following the depression. There were
five children in our family and money was on the short side then.
It consists simply of fresh-fried potatoes and small bits of
onion, and, when thoroughly cooked, a few eggs fried in with the
mixture. Charlotte makes it today too.
The southern recipe, made in an iron skillet, calls for 4 or 5
large potatoes, diced, 1 lb. of bacon, 1 ½ lb. of ramps (wild
leeks) including both leaves and bulbs, cleaned and cut up, 6
eggs (optional), salt and pepper to taste.
You fry the bacon in the skillet, remove from pan and set
aside. Next put cut-up potatoes in bacon grease and let fry 3 to
4 minutes. Add cut-up ramps and continue frying until potatoes
are well done. Put previously fried bacon on top of potatoes and
ramps; let simmer for about 2 minutes. If you want to add
scrambled eggs, add after potatoes and ramps are done and before
adding bacon. UMMmm!
Assuming that you have discovered a beautiful, quiet, remote
maple-beech woods and have received permission from its owner to
hike in it at your leisure, to witness and celebrate the
"spring woods awakening," be wise, don't let your
secret "leek" out even though your breath will reveal
what you have been nibbling upon.
One of the most edible and savory native plants,
the wild leek, virtually carpets many hardwoods now.
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate
on 05/09/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
