The Ramp Hunter
By Patricia Racine
May 2025
This is the time of year when the woods come alive after the long slumber of winter, and it is truly a wonder to go out on the trails to experience in person nature’s awakening. I enjoy hiking all of the seasons, as they all present a different beauty, but in the spring, I am out there not only to enjoy nature, but to also hunt for my favorite foraged plant – ramps.
Foraging is the act of looking for, identifying and using wild foods that grow naturally in the wild. It was the first way that humans fed themselves. Everyone has been out in the woods and come across a berry patch or lone apple tree that they have snacked on, making them unaware foragers. These days foraging and gardening are getting more and more popular as we try to feed ourselves better food than we can get at the grocery store. I myself have become increasingly distrustful of what big business is putting in our food. But beyond some recognizable berries and apples, foraging is actually an art and you should know what you are picking before you put it in your mouth.
Ramps. Photo: Patricia Racine
Now I, myself, would never pick a mushroom to eat; one because those are dangerous things to forage and two, I can’t stand mushrooms. Why anyone would want to voluntarily eat fungus is beyond me! (Says the person who is currently a cheese monger.) And more often than not I stand in front of a bunch of unfurled ferns trying to figure out if they are fiddleheads, only to leave them because I just am not confident in picking out the correct plant. But ramps, I know ramps!
Ramps are a type of wild onion, kind of a mix between spring onion and garlic, and can be used in a ton of different ways. May is the optimal time to forage these elusive little onions, and you can find them in heavily wooded areas (not pines) with nice sunny patches. They pop up through the dense leafy ground in clumps and, if it has just rained, you can smell them before you see them. Once you find a patch of ramps you need to either keep that to yourself or share the location with just one person you trust with your life, because people will go crazy foraging these things and the last thing you want is for your precious patch to be decimated. Me, I have five spots and have shared just one with friends. Generally that spot isn’t even where I tend to forage regularly. I also make the person I take to the ramp patch promise to only take one leaf from each plant and never the bulbs. Ramps take about five to seven years to grow from seed and over foraging can destroy a patch for years. Hence the reason I never take the whole plant, I want to go back the next year to feed my addiction for this yummy plant.
You can also find ramps at some farmers’ markets and a certain local grocery store in Great Barrington, but chances are you will pay somewhere between $25-$30 a pound for something that is just out there for free. I highly suggest you grab a bag and pair of scissors and go for a walk to find these delicious plants; just be careful to check yourself for ticks afterwards because it is their awakening time too. I hate those things!
