BY DAVE BECK

Better than any found in the produce section

I’ve mentioned many times that morel mushrooms and wild asparagus were favorites in my house when I was growing up. Mom noticed when one of us five kids brought home a bagful of golden ‘shrooms or wild asparagus. I always thought of it as a hunt, even if it was a plant that I was after. When asked if I ever hunt for something called a ramp, my initial reaction is to ask: “What the heck is a ramp?”

A ramp, sometimes called a leek, is actually a naturally occurring wild onion. Its leaves are shorter and wider than tiger lily leaves but clump together in a similar pattern. The bulb part of the onion is always underground just like the domesticated garden cousin onion, but the wild bulb is usually much smaller.

As far as the taste of a wild onion goes, the easiest way to describe it would be to say that it tastes just like the garden brand onion, but just a little bit sweeter. I'm not sure if that taste varies with the time of year it’s picked, but would guess that the spring is probably the best time to harvest it because it’s the most pleasant time of year to be in the woods.

Some have told me that there is value to this wild plant as high end chefs will pay upwards of $20 per pound, but I don’t know any personally so don’t take that as gospel.

It took me a long time to find some ramps in the woods. That could be due to the fact that I was never sure when I was looking at an actual wild onion. A chance meeting with Mushroom Mel finally solved any mystery be cause he had some growing in his backyard. I quickly graduated from Mel’s two-minute crash course of identifying ramps.

All spring I kept an eye open for ramps but just never came across anything remotely close, with the exception of tiger lily leaves. I really did look. The epiphany came as I was leaning up against a fence pole convinced that the tom turkey that I was trying to call in had bested me. I was listening with my ears but my eyes re-focused to a green leafy plant ten yards away. I forgot about the tom turkey as quickly as he forgot about me. I eased over to the plant and started digging. Without too much trouble I pulled two ramps from the ground, wiped them clean and ate them on the spot.

Maybe if I close my eyes the next time that I eat an onion from the produce section it will taste the same. Well, it may taste similar but it sure won’t feel the same, know what I mean?

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