ramps

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ramps are in the leek family the bottom looks like a spring onion and the top leaves out like a lilly. people eat them raw or fry them in bacon drippings like greens. they are the first green thing to appear in the spring on the southern side of the mountains and the hillsides almost turn green with them overnight. the mountain folk cook them just about any way you would use an onion. the churches and fire departments have organized ramp dinners and usually serve smoked ham , brown beans, fried potatoes, ramps cooked any way imaginable,salad,and a varity of homemade desserts along with sassafras tea. going rate is 5 bucks each, all you can eat. Then in the fall the same groups have buckwheat cakes and sausage dinners but that is another story. At one time the state of WV was going to put a limit on the amount of ramps a person could dig. I dont know if they grow anywhere else but if you are ever in wv in the spring time dont pass up a ramp dinner,