Ramps are an extremely pungent "oniony" vegetable that grow wild during the spring. They are similar in appearance to a green onion, but shorter and skinnier with flat, broad, green leaves (tops). The heads are white and some have a purplish tint. Apparently, at this location in WV where the Ramp Festival is held, these things grow wild like weeds all over the place -- the "Ramp Capital of the World", I suppose. I would imagine that they crown a Ramp Queen, have a Ramp Cookoff, and sell ramp-themed clothing and wares. Typically, in high-falutin' restaurants, one will begin to see ramps start to appear on the menu at about the same time as (see above) morels, fiddlehead ferns, sugar snaps, and asparagus. To me, this is the true sign that Spring has sprung. If you ever come across any of these babies, you've got to give them a shot -- ramps are to onions what wasabi is to horseradish (or, on-topic, what habaneros are to chiles). Matt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T. Matthew Evans Graduate Research Assistant Geosystems Group, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology URL: www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte964w ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -----Original Message----- From: owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com [mailto:owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com]On Behalf Of Gary Bellinger Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 2:57 PM To: mstevens@exit109.com; chile-heads@globalgarden.com Subject: Re: [CH] Morels, Ramps, and Fiddleheads Okay, i'll bite. What is a Ramp Festival. ----- Original Message ----- From: <mstevens@exit109.com> To: <chile-heads@globalgarden.com> Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 8:10 AM Subject: RE: [CH] Morels, Ramps, and Fiddleheads > At 10:02 AM 5/16/02 -0400, T. Matthew Evans wrote: > > (isn't there a "Ramp Festival" somewhere in WV around this time of year?) > > ====================================================== > > It was held late last month at Elkins City Park, Elkins, W Va. > > =Mark > > > >