W. Va. Ramp Festivals

[vengroff]

I was reminded by another thread that the short ramp season is all but upon us. As long as I have known what a ramp was, I have looked forward to this time of year.

A quick google shows that there are a number of ramp festivals coming up. In particular, there are several in West Virginia that seem close enough to DC to be worth a trip. These include the Mason-Dixon Ramp Feast in Morgantown, the International Ramp Cook-off and Festival in Randolph County, and the Feast of the Ramson in Richwood.

I've eaten ramps at home when I can get them and at upscale places like Gramercy Tavern, but this seems like a chance to get back to the roots, as it were. Ramps on their home turf, freshly pulled from the mud.

Have any eGulleteer been to one of these? Am I overly romanticizing what these events are like?

[Edit: Note that a couple of those web sites are from last year, but the festivals are on for this year.]

Edited March 12, 2003 by vengroff (log)

[vengroff]

Looks like I got scooped by the Post!!! The Great Ramp Hunt by Lynne Shaner.

I swear I had not seen this article when I started this thread.

[hjshorter]

I've never before had the urge to drive to West Virginia for any reason, but this article piqued my curiosity. Give a full report if you decide to make the trek.

[vengroff]

I've never before had the urge to drive to West Virginia for any reason,    but this article piqued my curiosity.  Give a full report if you decide to make the trek.

The only thing I'm scared of is running into Tyler Florence's film crew. At least I know I won't run into him, since he doesn't actually go to the festivals he covers; he just does the voice overs later. I'm afraid it's Tyler Florence, not Emeril, who is the true the anti-Bourdain.

[hjshorter]

I'm afraid it's Tyler Florence, not Emeril, who is the true the anti-Bourdain.

I think you're right. Aside from his obnoxious TV personality, Emeril can really cook. Scott has eaten at NOLA, his place in the French Quarter. He still raves about the food.

Tyler, on the other hand, merely flies around the country showing hopeless losers how to make pie crust and potato salad.

[Malawry]

The article made a trip awfully tempting. Normally, around now, I'd be planning the first camping trip of the season with my partner, my housemate, and whoever else wanted to come. Now that I work weekends, though, camping trips are unfortauntely on hold. I may be able to get out this summer, but the ramps will be long gone by then.

Maybe we'll wait until fall and look for morels instead.

[jamesglu]

I was fortunate to be in Berkeley Springs one year during the ramp season and was amazed by the flavor of those things! I to this day recall the wonderful flavor of a ramp-infused vinegar that this one guy was selling (I bought a bottle, which quickly got used up). I would happily drive to WV to get some, but unfortunately am just swamped now!!

[Malawry]

Really? So you can just, like, buy ramps and ramp-related items in Berkeley Springs?

I wonder if BS is doable, there and back, in a single day.

[hjshorter]

Really? So you can just, like, buy ramps and ramp-related items in Berkeley Springs? 

I wonder if BS is doable, there and back, in a single day. 

I think it is - not more than three hours. I've certainly driven to the farthest reaches of Western Maryland in a couple of hours.

[tedwin]

I wonder if BS is doable, there and back, in a single day.

Very doable. It's about 2 hours from DC. Book the "treatment" at one of the hot spring spas while you're there and take in a meal at Lot 12.

[jamesglu]

It's a bit late now, perhaps, but B.S. is a nice place and they certainly had ramps when I was there about 8 years ago this time of year. But if you get there and there are no ramps, don't come yelling at me!

[vengroff]

So, we're heading out to Elkton for the International Ramp Cook-Off and Festival next weekend (26 April). Watch this space for a report upon our return.

[Al_Dente]

I highly recommend a trip up to Shepherdstown WV. It's only about an hour and a half from DC. I was there last weekend and saw ramps all over the place when hiking around.

While you're out there you can check out Harper's Ferry and Antietam. There is an excellent restaurant in town called the Yellow Brick Bank Building.

It's a funky little town-- you got your rednecks, but also a quirky student population and a lot of older hippy dippy types. They have a small but interesting selection of produce/bread/cheese/herbs at their farmer's market on Sunday mornings-- I bought some tasty kale pesto.

A great place to go when the weather is nice... check it out.

[vengroff]

This weekend, I attended the 14th Annual International Ramp Cook-Off and Festival in Elkins, WV.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of tasting ramps, let me provide a brief introduction. Ramps are a species of wild leek native to Appalachia. They are not, as of yet, commercially cultivated, but they are eagerly gathered from the forests where they appear each spring. Their flavor is like a combination of leek and garlic. Raw, they are quite potent, but they mellow with cooking. Ramps can be sauteed, roasted, or grilled, and can be used in almost any recipe that calls for leeks or onions and garlic. The greens are also edible. Quickly sauteed, they resemble spinach sauteed in garlic.

There was a lot going on at the festival, so I'll post descriptions and photos in a series over the next few days.

For starters, here is a pristene raw ramp as presented to be at breakfast at the Iron Horse Manor B&B. (N.B. If your PC has speakers, be sure to turn them on when you visit this site.)

The standard way to eat a raw ramps is to dip them in a small pile of salt and then eat the white and purple parts straight. They are definitely strong, but no more so than a good strong red radish.

[vengroff]

Here are some ramps fresh from the woods just outside of town:

One of the gentlemen I spoke to at the festival told me how important he remembers ramps being when he was a child. They represented the end of a long hard winter. He and his siblings would fan out into the woods and gather all the ramps they could carry home. His mother, who always prepared for the worst, would then give in and release the extra stock of bacon she was hoarding in case winter went another six weeks. The ramps were treated like greens, and cooked to within an inch of their lives in a big cast iron pot. Beans, bacon, and cornbread completed the meal.

In more recent times, home cooking of ramps has waned, but the traditional ramp dinner has become a stable at community fundraising events for churches, volunteer fire departments, and other civic organizations.

At the festival, ramp dinners sold out quickly. The older attendees were particularly enthusiastic about them.

Cast iron remained the cooking vessel of choice, although the hearth was replaced by a gas-fired grill.

Here's the complete meal, festival style, with plenty of extra pork in the beans:

[vengroff]

One of the more popular ramp dishes being prepared at the festival was ramp egg rolls. I'm not precisely sure what the cultural origin of this dish is, but there were several variations either entered in the cook-off or for sale. This one was prepared by a group of ladies from the local historical society. It was filled with ramps, cabbage, and carrots, and was served with a honey mustard dipping sauce.

[Varmint]

Thanks, Vengroff, for the great photos. The ham & beans with cornbread brought back many childhood memories. I recall eating raw ramps one day, and my mother refused to let me in the house for 4 hours. They're pretty powerful when raw.

[vengroff]

Before we move on to the cook-off portion of the festival, there were a few more fundraising vendors to go along with the ramp dinner and ramp egg rolls. First up was the Rotary Club, which brought in a 17' grill trailer and grilled 100 chickens marinated and mopped in a secret recipe ramp oil.

Fresh coals were added at regular intervals, as the chickens were flipped over and mopped with the ramp marinade from a recycled bucket that originally contained sheetrock joint compound.

Included with every half-chicken purchased was a brownie from the women's basketball team at the local college.

[jparrott]

That's it...I'm starving...

eG field trip next year!!

[hjshorter]

Thanks for the report, and the great pictures, Vengroff. The chickens looked fab - how did they taste?

[vengroff]

OK, here's the last of the pre-competition posts.

Although there was plenty of deep frying going on at the festival, including twinkies and oreos, as mentioned in another thread, there was on dish that stood head and shoulders above anything else that came out of a vat of bubbling fat. Not only was it the king of all things fried, it was one of the absolute best ramp dishes I've ever had. For the past several years, this man

has been driving in from Ohio, to the delight of festival goers, to share his crispy batter-fried ramps.

Think of the best onion rings you've ever had. With a light crisp tempura-style batter and thin slices of onion. The kind that form a tangled network of crunchy onion as opposed to discernable individual rings. Now add the flavor of garlic and some crisp greens, and you've got these ramps. Several inquiries over the years have somehow failed to convince Bobby Flay to come out and try them. Food Network's loss is eGullet's gain. These things are phenomenal.

Behind the scenes, these things are fried up by the bushel. First it's a quick dip in the batter

and then into the fryer

until cripsy golden brown.

They are served hot, with a creamy ramp dipping sauce.

[vengroff]

Thanks for the report, and the great pictures, Vengroff.  The chickens looked fab - how did they taste?

Rampy!

[bigbear]

Great reporting. Thanks, vengroff.

[Varmint]

Does anyone know how ramps got their name?

[vengroff]

Does anyone know how ramps got their name?

No, do you know? I asked around a bit at the festival, but there was no clear answer. One wise-ass said, "I don't know, why's an effin' potato called a potato?"