Ramps are my love language. When the calendar turns to April 1 each year, I find myself itching to know when they’ll show up at my local greenmarket. I know which farmers sell ramps, and as March turns to April, I start casually asking how the ramps are doing—while buying other provisions of theirs, of course.
That’s because there’s nothing like them. Spring garlic precedes ramps, and that’s a delicious varietal of garlic, for sure. But ramps, or wild leeks, have a taste and scent all their own. It’s not just oniony. It’s not just garlicky. It’s both.
Their special taste make their difficult cultivation worth it, I suppose. Their season is fleeting: usually 3-7 weeks, depending on weather. They grow in dark corners of the woods and grow slowly, at that. So yes, they’re absolutely a delicacy, and an expensive one. If ramps aren’t accessible, then this ramp butter will absolutely work with leeks, spring garlic or garlic scapes, whose season follows ramp season.
Ramp butter is a compound butter, which is butter that is combined with another ingredient for added flavor. And it’s quite simple to make and store for longevity. You can really freeze it for months and keep enjoying ramps.
And there are so many ways to enjoy ramps: on bread, on fish or meat before and after cooking, on eggs, on pasta—anywhere you might like garlic and butter. So, really, anywhere.
Some recipes for ramp butter call for blanching the ramps. I find that blanching dulls the ramp taste. So I leave them raw in this recipe and mix them with both lemon zest and lemon juice for a little acidic contrast. I add very little salt as I want the ramp flavor to be paramount—and generally prefer unsalted (vegan) butter. But certainly taste for salt and add more if you wish.
You may keep the butter in an airtight glass jar if you intend to eat it in a week or so. If you’d like to keep it for months, then freeze it either in a freezer-safe container or in a log, rolled in parchment paper or saran wrap.
The necessary tools for this recipe are a food processor and either an airtight glass jar or parchment paper for freezing the butter. Enjoy, and leave a comment below if you try it—or tag me on Instagram if you post it!
Oh how I love you, ramps: the wild leek delicacy with a fleeting season in the spring. Ramp butter is the best, most delicious way to preserve ramps' unique garlicky-oniony flavor, so you can enjoy them all year long.
5 minutes
5 minutes
Step 1
Wash the ramps thoroughly, and cut and discard their stems at the base of the bulbs. Chop the leaves and bulbs roughly.
Step 2
Add all ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth. Taste for salt.
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