haywood

Ramps sound delicious. Have heard the mountain people call them shallots, pronounced
'shallos'. Sure I have had ramps, just didn't know they were called ramps.

Another good vegetable that grows easily (and sometime is hard to get rid of) is bamboo. My neighbor planted it years ago and now I go out in the yard around this time of year, late March or early April, when the new shoots are just coming up. When they are about a foot tall, I gather them by cutting them at their base. I take off the rough outside to the tender inside. I then slice them and boil until tender. I then put them in the frig and fry them later with brown rice and onions. Yum-m-m-m-m!

Back in the 70's when I used to work at Lowe's of Morganton there was a co-worker who told me that there was a yearly celebration of the "delictable" RAMP, a plant somewhat akin to what many folk's call a "Green Onion" or "Shallots" in some parts of the state.

Except that in the case of the lowly Ramp, it was said that as the citizens of Haywood county prepared the "tasty" vegetable in all of the various forms known to the chefs of the mountains, one could smell all of the numerous styles of editable preparations go "wafting" down through all of the trails, stream beds, river banks and other open areas of the forests that would allow the fumes to wander and plunder their ways through the pine and oak trees, giving the enticing odors that blended with just about any type of wild game, a taste that remained indescribable but yet all so delicious.

So I was told the festival had origionally began as an early Spring occasion for neighbors to congragate as the thawings of the mountain streams and tributaries of various rivers brought an awakening of the wild foods, herbs and newborn game that brought forth much yearned for replacements to dried and preserved foodstuffs that had been stockpiled to feed the large familes that populated the ridges and gorges of the western mountainous parts of the "Ole North State"!

I am wanting to know if this tradition still exists and during what time frame and actual place does the event occur? I do remember Hugh (name of my co-worker) brought me a "mess" of the pungent wild food with instructions to "stirfry" them just as you would do to peppers, onions, celery and other "veggie's" that some would refer to them as the "Holy Grail" of any beginnings of stew, soups, etc., etc.

Thanks for any information anyone can provide and also a hearty "THANK YOU JASON!" for a continuation of adding other counties to the origional "Go Wilkes", "Go Ash" and "Go Yadkin" series. I'm sure that our neighboring, soon to become "New Go/County's" will become fast friends just as the early "G/W'ers" have since the enception of your family of unknown neighbors!