Wild leeks (Allium tricoccum), also known as ramps are a member of the onion family (Alliaceae). Both the white root and the broad green leaves are edible. They are found from the US state of South Carolina to Canada and are especially popular in the US state of West Virginia when they emerge in the springtime. Their smell and taste has been described by Akron Beacon-Journal food columnist Jane Snow as "like fried green onions with a dash of funky feet." Another description of the flavor is like a combination of onions and strong garlic.
The community of Richwood, West Virginia holds an annual ramp fest in the spring which brings hundreds of ramp fans from considerable distances to sample foods featuring the plant. It is most commonly fried with potatoes or scrambled with eggs, but can also be used in soups, puddings, ketchup, guacamole and other foods, in place of onions and garlic. True fans like them raw, but the aroma of raw wild leeks stays with one for days.
Unfortunately, the leaves of the wildleek wither with approaching summer, and they fall away completely by the time June arrives, leaving only a thin naked stalk which grows as high as twenty inches before a creamy-white globe of blossoms appears at its tip.
And wildleek leaves can usually be found unblemished by worms and insects, due to their early arrival in the spring, which lends to exceptional culinary use as well as natural beauty.
Because the wildleek tends to be rather tenacious when attempting to pull it from the ground, a long knife or dandelion digger works best to free it.
While it is reported that the Chippewa Indians used the wildleek as an emetic, for medicinal purposes, this is a peculiar contradiction, for eating the wildleek, raw or cooked, induces no "ill" effect whatsoever.
And wildleek leaves can usually be found unblemished by worms and insects, due to their early arrival in the spring, which lends to exceptional culinary use as well as natural beauty.
Because the wildleek tends to be rather tenacious when attempting to pull it from the ground, a long knife or dandelion digger works best to free it.
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