Easy Pickled Wild Ramps
Cook Time
25 minutes
RECIPE Ingredients
- ½ pound ramp bulbs with stems
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- ½ cup sugar or honey
- 2 dried red chiles
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- 2 to 3 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon of Piment d’Espelette, optional
- Splash of Armagnac, optional
Recipe notes
Enjoy the garlicky and pungent flavor of short-lived ramps in early spring and use this recipe to preserve the bulbs to for months to come. Serve on charcuterie boards, with burgers, cocktails (hello, Bloody Mary), and anywhere a pickle punch is needed.
RECIPE Preparation
- Soak and rinse ramps well. Trim off the roots and any loose membrane around the bulb, then discard. Cut the leaves off and set them aside for another purpose (pesto is great). Only the white bulb and a few inches of the pink stem will be pickled.
- It is optional to blanch the ramps in hot water for about 30 seconds. If you choose to, the pickled ramps will lose a bit of their crunch and tamp down their pungency. This is just a matter of taste.
- In a pot over medium-high heat, bring the vinegar, sugar, chiles, bay leaves, coriander, fennel, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and cloves (if using, add piment d’Espelette and Armagnac) to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the brine steep and cool for about 20 minutes.
- Sanitize a heat-safe quart glass jar with boiling water, and place ramp bulbs in it, leaving space at the top of the jar. This is not a true canning or fermentation process, so the jar does not need a canning lid - use any type of lid.
- Bring the brine back up to a boil, then pour it over the ramps to cover, leaving at least an inch of space at the top. Put the lid on top and close it tightly. Allow it to cool, then place in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- That should be enough time for the ramp bulbs to pickle. Keep them in the refrigerator and enjoy them for up to 6 months or until next ramp season.
