Ramps: the Cookbook: Cooking with the Best Kept Secret of the Appalachian Trail

(Hardback)

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Description

This is the only ramps-dedicated cookbook, for everyone who has ever savored this wild seasonal plant at a spring ramp festival or in a fine city restaurant and wants to bring this tasty relative of garlic and leeks into their own kitchen. Ramps have become one of the most sought-after wild-foraged plants from eastern North America, and now available overnight to any chef and home cook from coast to coast.

The editors have gathered 50 mouth-watering ramp recipes and photos from well-known chefs, foragers and food bloggers across the Ramps Nation (from Georgia and Tennessee to Toronto and Quebec). In recent years, ramps have become the culinary harbinger of spring, an IN vegetable, celebrated in dozens of ramp festivals and special events in the Appalachian states and beyond. Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Martha Stewart, Emeril and many other big names have paid homage to the wild ramp. This ancient wild leek is finding fans far beyond its native wooded hills. RAMPS includes a brief history and lore associated with this colorful and highly aromatic plant.

Reviews

This book is for anyone who has ever savored this wild seasonal plant at a spring ramp festival or fine restaurant, and wants to bring ramps into his or her own kitchen dishes. * Ramps: The Cookbook *
Perhaps one of the best cookbooks about ramps is Ramps, The Cookbook: Cooking with the Best-Kept Secret of the Appalachian Trail (St. Lynns Press, 2012). The fully illustrated book brings together recipes from chefs, food writers, and bloggers around North America. For those who havent yet heard, the ramp also called a wild leek is a species of wild onion (Allium tricoccum) that is native to North America. The bulbs resemble a scallion, but the leaves are wide and flat. They cover Appalachian forest floors before trees fully leaf out. The flavor is a mix of garlic and onion. A staple of Appalachian cooking for centuries, todays chefs are incorporating them into their menus. Theyre good with eggs for breakfast or in a curry for dinner, and they are delicious in soups, fritters, and jelly. Or, try pairing Cream of Ramps with Wild Asparagus soup with ramp pesto cornmeal muffins. -- Paris Wolf

Author Bio

The Editors of St. Lynn's Press have a combined 50+ years of publishing experience. St. Lynn's specializes in books on organic and sustainable living, including recent titles on vegan cooking and wild foraging.

Chef Todd C. Gray (Foreword) was already a star chef when he opened Washington DC's acclaimed Equinox restaurant, that has quickly become a leader of the sustainable and seasonal food movement (in ramp season, Equinox showcases Chef Gray's favorite ramp recipes). With a mission of using local, community-farmed ingredients whenever possible, Gray works with local farmers to develop food of all varieties, making him the perfect partner for St. Lynn's Press' own mission toward sustainability and green living. The Virginia native graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America and has won many regional awards for excellence. He also works with Michelle Obama on her Chefs Move to School program to improve children's nutrition.

Glen Facemire (Introduction) lives in Richwood, WV, The Ramp Capital of the World, and owns the world's only ramp farm. Mr. Facemire is an advocate of sustainable practices in cultivating the wild ramp, since the ramp's popularity is threatening its very existence in some unprotected areas.