Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Ramps

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/04/enough-with-the-ramp-rage-rant.html

Feelin like this dude at serious eats hits the nail on the head with his post about ramps. Ramps aren't life changing. They're no foie GRAS. Chefs probably do overhype them a little bit, but can you blame them?

So many foods are so readily available year-round that to be able to get your hands on a new ingredient to work with, and experiment with, and attempt to use in a new way must be exciting for that one month time slot.

It's probably more the foodies like me who do the overhyping. Cause you know, we just pick up on the demand from chefs without really knowing the value of a product ourselves. So then I go and brag to my friends I "just had these fresh picked ramps. Those things are like the holy Grail to chefs" and they stare at me in awe as if I were Zeus of Mount Orampus.

4 comments:

Carol said...

Hi Nick...love your blog, and I would love to hear about your school food. Now about ramps, I was disappointed in the taste. After hearing them called wild garlic, and finding a family friend who could give us all we wanted, they just seemed like a mild scallion. How did you prepare them?

Nick N said...

I literally just fry em in some oil and then eat them with scrambled eggs

colinthechef said...

Love ramps and disagree with you Nick.
I think the trraction of ramps for chefs is that they are the first new food of the season. they peak through the griund every spring even when there is snow on the ground. Cooked correctly they are sublime and a step above any of the other alum family members.
Pickled they are a phenomenon, add them to salads and use the pickled brine in dressings and you have an amazing cold plate
Even better......they are free if you know where to forage!

Anonymous said...

I have a wild ramp tattoo!