Ya learn something every day. Ever heard of a mountain delicacy called "ramp"? Neither did I. Apparently it's a wild leek or wild onion that grows in a relatively confined area of Southwest Virginia and northern North Carolina that is considered a delicacy by those who know of them and love them.Imagine ...
Anyway, there is apparently a Ramp Festival held each year down in Whitetop, Grayson County, that draws a crowd each year. Who knew?
Festival Celebrates Pungent Plant, Appalachian TraditionSounds like a good time. Good music. Good friends. And
By Debra McCown, Bristol Herald Courier
Whitetop, Va. – The world might be moving ahead at breakneck pace, but that’s one reason so many people come back here every year: to get centered again on down-home food, old-time music and unhurried fun.
“Stuff like this is going to grow, not die out,” said Ian Snider, 26, of Todd, N.C., one of hundreds who attended the Whitetop Ramp Festival on Sunday despite the chilly wind blowing through the remote mountain community.
While the ramps – wild members of the onion family that come up early in the spring – take center stage in a contest that reportedly leaves participants stinking for days, a lot of people say they come for the music.
“That’s been a big family thing for us since we were kids – the music, and I think the bluegrass music, it’s America,” said Mike Taylor of Bristol, Tenn., who came with his wife and other family members. “It’s a piece of who we are and where we come from. It tells the stories of who we are.” [link]
12 comments:
Around here, folks go to West Virginia for their ramps. I understand this delicacy is right hot to eat. The disadvantage is that you don't want to be downwind from a connoisseur as their breath will posivitely floor you. So, if you wanna stay friends with Paula, get her to eat some. Then, y'all go visit some folks whose friendship you don't value.
Jerry,
How long have you lived in this area? Must not have been here too long... I have heard of ramps my entire life, as well as morels and asparagus...
Just be warned, you cannot find any ramps for sale at the Ramp Festival, been there, done that... you must find a good spot of land where you can get your own...
The lunch/dinner at the festival is great, I highly recommend it! Best fried taters I have ever had...
Drew
Jerry is a yankee transplant who moved down here to be close to a national forest and the beautiful outdoors. He likes Virginia because our great Commonwealth keeps taxes low, personal property rights protected, and has some of the most wonderful people in the nation - and some of those wonderful people are liberals, union members, teachers, and horror of all horrors, Democrats. He's having trouble getting used to that thought.
WD,
You "understand" that they are right hot? You have never eaten them? Are you just that much of a wuss? Also, I shared good times with friends whose friendship I do value, yesterday after eating some ramps... it must be the conservatives that have friendships that are based on the scent of ones breath?
They are good, a blend of garlic and onion, with a little tang.
Drew
If being from Louisville, KY is being a Yankee, than I confess.
As for the national forest and the beautiful outdoors, they really had nothying to do with my decision to move here. It had to do with the fact that I took on a new assignment as regional sales manager and the company moved me here (just days before 9/11). I chose the immediate location mostly because my daughter had - just prior - married a doctor and they had settled in Wytheville.
I will admit that Virginia's taxes at the time were very attractive and I have not missed paying the outrageous taxes that were levied in Michigan, which is where I moved from. Should we talk about Michigan? Or what's left of it? I have a certain expertise on the subject. And the blog post attached is about Michigan in spades. It was imploding long before GM and Chrysler met their doom. Can you spell D-E-T-R-O-I-T?
And I'll freely admit to this: Southwest Virginia "has some of the most wonderful people in the nation - and some of those wonderful people are liberals, union members, teachers, and ...Democrats."
I love Southwest Virginians and I don't dislike you guys. After all, you'll think like I do when you grow up.
Gee droob, I would hate to miss one of your childish insults. The fact is that my innards do not tolerate hot peppers, etc. although I have obviously tried some to my regret. Ramps, by the smell, don't come near home-made Korean Kimchi. Alas, my innards didn't tolerate it either.
There is a distinct difference in chiles and onions, although I will let you go at that...
Drew
"After all, you'll think like I do when you grow up."
I HOPE NOT! :)
My dad was 62 years old when he died, and he was liberal... my Mom is still living and she is still a liberal (maybe even more liberal than I in some regards) I really don't agree with Churchill's famous quote...
Drew
Of course you don't agree with the famous quote--you exemplify it, droobie. Keep up the great corrective work though. The etc. in my earlier statement includes onions but I didn't think it necessary to recount the recipe for Kimchi. (In the interest of economy, the Kimchi you buy here ain't the same as the real, homemade stuff. It gets put in a stone crock and buried while it ferments.) Being downwind from a Kimchi eater is an unforgettable experience. But then, you knew that, right?
So, what tell me, does my Mom and late Dad exemplify?
Go ahead and recount the recipe for Kimchi... of course it depends on which region of Asia you were in when you tried it... Kimchi in Asia is akin to barbeque here in the US... there are many ways to do it and each region thinks theirs is the best. But you are right, it does stink... an odor that is produced by the fermentation...
Drew
Drew:
You are familiar with kimchi? I'm impressed.
I am familiar with kimchi... not intimately familiar with it, but I do know some...
I am a member of a BBQ email group, and there are members from all over, and a few expats from over in Asia, they share recipes from there all the time.
Of course kimchi takes a backseat to the goodness that is... barbeque!
Drew
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