Thinking of Spring: I Miss Ramps (Part II)

Ramps have become a favourite ingredient of mine in several recipes. In the early spring when we harvested them we made ramp butter, and it is still in my freezer, ready to be added to a variety of dishes. The ramp butter has kept well in the freezer, this will be my future go-to method for long-term preservation of this plant.

The only down-side to foraging that I have encountered is that plants/mushrooms are seasonal, and sometimes they are only harvestable for a brief window of time (i.e. fiddle-heads). The ramps I encountered were safe to collect for several weeks; however once they begin to flower you probably shouldn't eat them.

As much as I miss fresh ramps, I am very happy that there is still a little bit left in my freezer.

Prepare And Clean Your Ramps
Cleaning is simple. Get home and rinse under cold water and/or put them in a bath to get all the soil off. Trim the roots off the bulbs and dispose of. Depending on what you plan to use your ramps for, you can separate the leaves from the stalk and store them separately. They will most likely keep for a week or two, however I'm not sure since we ate these pretty quickly.

Bag full of cleaned ramps. Have you ever seen anything so wonderful?

Ramps can be used in place of garlic and/or onions. They have a strong flavour, so use sparingly depending on your taste preferences. Make your own recipe, or if you'd like check out the ones below that I have made.

Ramp Butter Mix
This one is easy. All you need is ramps, butter, and a food processor/blender/etc. You can use the entire ramp, or just the stalk. When I made this I used the whole plant, it gives your butter a beautiful green colour (note: this green colour will affect the colour of any meal you make using ramp-butter).

You can make this to any consistency/strength of flavour you want. We kept adding butter and ramps until we were satisfied. If you are using the entire ramp, you will probably want to add several individual plants to every 1/4 cup butter you are using. This is only a suggestion though.

With your butter at room temperature, put in food processor. Add the ramps, torn or chopped, and blend together. Drizzle in a little olive oil if you want your ramp butter mix thinner. When your ramp butter mix is at the right consistency, it should look wonderfully green and by slightly creamy since it's been blended. Freeze, or keep in the fridge for a little while.

What To Use Ramp Butter In
The easiest thing to do with ramp butter is to toast it on good bread. Just slather it on slices of bread and toast them in the oven (generally a few minutes at around 350F). Pretty tasty addition to some meals (i.e. soups, pastas, etc.).

When we foraged for fiddle-heads this year I also cooked them in ramp butter. However, I will post my recipe of this when I do a post on fiddle-heads.

Ramp butter is versatile and could be used in stir-fry dishes and pastas. I recently made a (mostly) lactose-free Alfredo-style seafood pasta sauce and sauteed the onions and garlic in ramp butter.

Vibrant green colour from ramps. The smell was delicious.

The ramp butter was a wonderful addition to the dish, but it did give the white sauce a mild green colour. I didn't mind, it was so delicious.

The next time I get a chance to harvest lions mane I plan on using it in a similar pasta dish. I would also like to sautee the lions mane in ramp butter, I think the garlicy-taste of ramps would compliment the mushroom's seafood-like taste and texture.

Escargot with Ramp Butter
The other thing I like to do with ramp butter is cook escargot in it. For this you will need:

• 1 can escargot (roughly a dozen individual escargot)
• equivalent number of mushrooms (caps only, remove stems)
• ramp butter
• small amount of olive oil to drizzle on baking sheet

Preheat oven to 350F. Drain can of escargot, rinse with water a couple of times. Rinse mushrooms and remove caps, place upside down on baking sheet that has been greased with olive oil (or use a legitimate escargot dish or other baking dish). Take softened (room-temperature) ramp butter and add roughly 1 tsp into each mushroom cap, spread around inside of cap. Place an escargot into each mushroom cap. Place dish in oven, cook for roughly 15 minutes (or until everything is thoroughly cooked and escargot/mushrooms begin to brown slightly). 

Escargot in mushroom caps with ramp butter. Served with baked balsamic tomatoes. Nice light meal.

Ramp & Potato Soup

The day that we harvested most of the ramps was a cold, wet, typical Southern Ontario early spring day. We were out hiking with the dogs for hours in the mud and rain, covering tons of ground off-trail to find ideal patches of ramps (that also were at a low chance of being harvested by other people). We also harvested a bunch of fiddle-heads that day, but as I mentioned before I will do a detailed post of foraging for fiddle-heads in the future. 

I planned to make a ramp and potato soup for dinner, and after spending so many hours cold and foraging it was the best way to end the day. Warm, comforting, scrumptious. 

I should also mention that I'm lactose intolerant, so my recipes will typically call for lactose-free alternatives. Just substitute milk or your own dairy alternatives if needed. That being said, I love butter and cooking with it.

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2-4 cups of chopped cleaned ramps (entire plant, bulb, stalk, and leaves) (amount used depends on how strong you want your soup and how successful your foraging it)
• 4-6 small to medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
• roughly 1.5 litres of chicken or vegetable broth
• 1-2 cups un-sweetened almond milk (or regular milk or cream)
• salt & pepper
• optional: grated Parmesan cheese or other delicious cheese
• optional: bacon (or fried ham), crumbled or chopped into small pieces
• optional: thicken with a small amount of flour

Sautee chopped ramps in butter until it becomes aromatic and the stalks are beginning to turn translucent. Add copped potato and broth; cover and bring to boil. Once at a boil reduce to simmer and cook for roughly 30 minutes (or until potatoes are soft). Remove from heat and pour into blender or food processor. Puree until smooth; add to pot and heat up again. Add almond milk (or alternative); stir in. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Spoon into bowls. To create (in my opinion) the ultimate ramp and potato soup, grate Parmesan cheese in bowl and garnish with some crumbled bacon. Serve ramp butter toast alongside soup.

This soup is delicious. But you might have some pretty garlicy-breath after. A small price to pay for such yumminess.

Ramp soup. Ramp butter toast. Ramp butter sauteed fiddle-heads. Trout.

There are few things in life that I have experienced that are as satisfying as going out on the land, harvesting wild plants, then making a home-made delicious meal out of those things.

Thinking of Spring: I Miss Ramps

Today we are staying in, relaxing and making soap later. Outside the trees are turning beautiful golds and reds and browns. This colourful feast for the eyes is reminding me of spring, when the world erupts in a palette of bright greens, pinks, and reds. 

Spring Flowers
Southern Ontario has an awesome diversity of spring flowers. There are several beautiful flowering plants that are among the first things to grow in early spring. Don't pick wildflowers; some plants will die if you pick even a single flower.

Trout lilies.

Trout lilies are gorgeous, the hanging flowers are beautiful warm shades of buttery yellows and pinks. The leaves are speckled and resemble brook trout, giving the flower its name. They can carpet the forest floor and seem to prefer old growth Carolinian forest and moist soils (from my observation), but not low-lying and marshy areas. Trout lilies are found throughout eastern Canada in wooded environments.

Mayapples.

If you find trout lilies, good chance you will find mayapples. They are tall (under 50cm) with broad leaves. They also flower and produce fruit; the fruit is edible but can cause adverse reactions which is why I haven't tried is. The rest of the plant is inedible, however mayapple is reported as having certain medicinal properties. I plan on doing some in-depth research on this plant over the winter, and maybe will harvest some next year if I can find something useful to do with it. 

Trillium, Ontario's provincial flower.

And of course there is the beautiful trillium. Do not ever pick or damage these plants, the entire plant dies if the flower is picked. They range in colour from white to pink to red. They can occur densely and blanket huge swaths of forest floor (like trout lilies). Trilliums are also called "birthroot" as they have been used as uterine stimulants.

Cool symmetry, bro.

Blue cohosh. Sorry for poor photo quality.

There's another spring woodland plant that is a uterine stimulant. Blue cohosh is a flowering plant with multiple uses. In the spring when the leaves are new it looks purplish-blue, but eventually turns green over the course of the season. It has tiny, unusual looking flowers.

The roots of this plant were used by Native Americans and Europeans to induce labour, treat menstrual cramps, and induce an abortion. It is used as a general laxative or muscle relaxant as well. Apparently part of the plant can be used a coffee substitute as well. As much as I would love to try out cohosh root as a treatment for menstrual cramps, it's properties as a uterine stimulant scares me a little too much. I would definitely have to get in contact with an expert with a lot of experience in using cohosh before I tried it.

Skunk cabbage.

You might be walking through the woods in the spring, enjoying the wonderful, earthy smells of damp soil and growing flowers. Suddenly, a pungent scent fills the air, with a distinct skunk-like odour. You panic and make sure your dog hasn't been skunked. Then you notice large, leafy cabbage-like plants growing in the low-lying swampy area near you.

That smell is skunk cabbage, and if you break a leaf or crush any part of the plant it releases it's strong skunky odour, that has a hint of onion or garlic mixed in. It's unpleasant, but the plant is very beautiful. This is one of the first plants to start growing in the spring, and will start emerging in swampy areas immediately after snow melt. It can be incredibly abundant in marshy areas. 

Skunk cabbage was traditionally used by Native Americans as food and medicine, but consumption of this plant is not recommended. It contains calcium oxalate crystals in the leaves, making it extremely irritating and can cause intestinal discomfort. The large leaves were also used for food preparation and storage; however due to the strong skunky smell I don't think I will ever use the leaves for fear of it imbuing its nasty scent on food it came in contact with.

So, Is There Anything Yummy Growing in the Spring?
Yes! There most definitely is. There are a few things to watch out for, but I will start with the first thing you will probably encounter.

Ramps, Allium tricoccum. One of the large patches I found in old growth Carolinian forest. Large patches could be several meters of diameters and contain hundreds of individual plants.

Ramps (also know as wild leeks, spring onions, wild garlic, etc.) are among the first edible plants to pop up in the spring. They can be abundant and grow across much of southern Canada and throughout much of the USA.

They are beautiful, having one or two vibrant green, blade-shaped leaves growing from a white-red stalk and with a bulb buried a few centimeters below the soil surface. Ramps smell like garlic; if you crush the leaves, chop the stalk, or just pick them you will smell the garlicy-odour. It's very distinctive and useful in IDing these plants. The leaves are several centimeters long, approximately 15cm (or roughly the length of my hand). The stalks can be up to 1cm in diameter and several centimeters long. They may be small, but they are very flavourful.

Unfortunately, ramps can be somewhat rare, and in places there is legislation protecting how they can be harvested. Depending on where you live, you should check with your local authorities/conservation groups to see if there are limitations on harvesting ramps or if they are rare in your region. Don't harvest them if they are rare/endangered in your area.

If you find abundant ramps and are going to harvest some, do so responsibly. The ramps I found were typically growing in huge patches, numbering hundreds of individual plants within a patch. I would harvest from these large patches, as opposed to the small clumps of ramps I would find scattered around the bases of trees. I could collect a few dozen at most from large patches, and I would spread my harvesting over the entire patch (i.e. not just harvesting from one section). Then I would move on to the next big patch of ramps I found and harvest more. I have read that you shouldn't harvest more than 5% of a patch, but I always harvested less than that (a little bit of ramps goes a long way in a dish!).

Scissors and Leatherman for scale. Notice how the stalk turns from red to white near the bulb.

When you pick ramps, pinch the stalk as low as you can and pull it out of the ground. Sometimes you need to trim the roots if they are particularly big and tough. The entire ramp plant is edible. The leaves are good in salads, and the stalks/bulbs are good in pretty much anything you would add garlic and/or onions to. The flavour of the stalk and bulb is oniony and delicious.

Cleaned ramps, with a couple of fiddleheads.

Ramps are considered a delicacy. I can attest to this, they are a wonderful addition to a variety of dishes. They are easy to harvest once you find a large patch.

I made several different dishes with ramps, and I use ramp butter in a variety of dishes (I still have some frozen ramp butter in my freezer that I like to add to special meals). My next post will describe how I used and prepared ramps, and I will provide several recipes that I made. 

As we move in to winter, spring seems far away. But I recommend that when spring does arrive, that you keep an eye for this delightful wild onion!

Autumnal Variations

I've been reflecting upon the changing season and variation in weather lately. In much of Canada this past year has been unseasonably cool. Here in southern Ontario we had a short return to normal temperatures in the fall when it got quite warm. But of late it's been cool (and we've had several frosts this past week).

Over the last week I watched the Hericium go from prime for picking to a state of decay. It is probably due to the frost, as the only lions mane I found that was edible was a tiny clump on the underside of log hidden and protected by leaf litter. 

Only a few centimeters across.

The rest of the lions mane was browning and wilting.

:(

So I looked up my photos from last fall when I first stumbled upon Hericium. Last fall (and most of last year) was warmer than this year's autumn. Night time temperatures didn't go below freezing until the end of October to beginning of November, much later than this year's first frosts. From looking at my photos from last year, the Hericium I found was prime for picking in mid-October, and started to go past it's prime into November. A much later and longer season for Hericium than we had this year!

October 12, 2013. Hericium coralloides (sp.?), approximately 25 cm across.

October 20, 2013. Hericium erinaceus (sp.?), 10-15 cm across.

November 5, 2013. Same mushroom as above.

Perhaps where you live, the weather has been warmer and you may be able to harvest some lions mane still. The season for these mushrooms is obviously very dependent on weather. A warmer fall may allow for a longer season, while a cooler one will mean getting on the trails earlier in the autumn to look for these awesome mushrooms.

Other Interesting Things To Watch For
As for other edibles I've seen some probable shaggy manes and jelly mushrooms. I have not collected any to try, as I feel I need to do more research on these kinds of mushrooms before I eat them (they have inedible look-a-likes).

Luckily though, autumn mushrooms offer up a feast for the eyes! I have been slightly disappointed this year as I haven't found many large, impressive turkey tails.

Coriolus versicolour, roughly 40 cm across. Scientists are currently researching it's ability to fight cancers. This mushroom is edible but does not taste very good though. It's common name is turkey tail because it looks like a turkey tail...

More turkey tail. October 12, 2013.

Pholiota is a common, inedible mushroom that seems to pop up everywhere in the fall. These little cuties may be poisonous, so seriously don't eat 'em.

Pholiota scamba. Caps are roughly 2-5 cm in diameter. These cuties grow in mossy/grassy areas. October 2013. 

Pholiota adiposa. Caps 3-8 cm in diameter. Found these cuties growing on an old, dying birch. 

Another cool mushroom I found last year, but have yet to see this year, was a bracket fungus commonly known as conifer blueing bracket. It prefers growing on coniferous trees, as you can probably tell from its name. Its scientific name is Postia caesia. 

Several cms across. October 2013.

I have read that these are edible, but have no taste, but other sources claim they are inedible. In cases like this I abstain from eating the mushroom, I will only try it if it widely regarded as edible and uncommonly causes adverse reactions in humans.

I have found mushroom identification to be very challenging and rewarding. Sometimes I find something that I can't ID.

They're just cute, OK.

Oh ya, and other stuff is pretty too. Tulip trees have become a favourite of mine.

Hericium: Magical Mushrooms (Part II)

Unfortunately, for those of us in southern Ontario (and I would imagine in most other places in Canada and the northern Hemisphere), Hericium season is coming to a close. I was out for a 10 mile hike with the dogs yesterday (October 9) and the lion's mane I saw was starting to decay. I blame this in part to the unseasonably cold weather we've been experiencing, and the early frosts we have had.

In places though, Hericium may still be able to be harvested. 

Can you spot the lion's mane?

If you do find some, and it's starting to brown or look "wilted" it's probably best not to collect it. You will know where to look next year though.

Edges are starting to brown and teeth and "branches" look like they are wilting. Roughly fist-sized growth of Hericium.

What Makes Lion's Mane Too Cool for School?
All species of Hericium are edible, and this genus of fungi is considered to be one of the safest to forage for due to it's unique morphology. Different species of Hericium are known by a variety of common names, including: lion's mane, comb tooth, coral spine fungus, monkey's head, bear's head, etc. Hericium is a choice edible, and is common in Asian cuisine.

These mushrooms are used for medicinal purposes as well. Hericium has been used as a cancer treatment and also to treat digestive/stomach problems in traditional Chinese medicines. Apparently you can get this mushroom in pill-form as a dietary supplement, and is believed to act as an immune stimulant and improve cognitive functioning.

The exciting thing about Hericium is that modern research shows that this mushroom may actually be useful in treating several different illnesses. Two compounds found in Hericium, hericenones and erinacines, may stimulate the protein nerve growth factor. This protein is crucial for proper brain function, and a lack of nerve growth factor may be connected to cognitive impairment diseases like those that fall under the umbrella of dementia (a study on rats showed enhanced growth of nerve cells when treated with compounds derived from Hericium erinaceus). A double-blind study on Japanese men and women diagnosed with mild dementia showed improved cognitive functioning in those who were orally-administered Hericium erinaeus.

Hericium may also be useful in treating some cancers. Antitumor-active compounds have been found in Hericium erinaceum. And also in Hericium laciniatum. 

But wait, there's more! Antimicrobial derivatives have been isolated from Hericium erinaceum. Certain compounds in Hericium erinaceus have been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels.

And the list of studies goes on and on. These are just some of the most interesting I've seen. Especially the studies in regards to treating dementia as there currently aren't any effective treatments for Alzheimer's.

Of course, eating Hericium won't cure cancer, dementia, diabetes, etc. But perhaps this mushroom will prove to be useful in treating some of these illnesses.

The overall nutritional value of Hericium (besides it's possible ability to fight cancer, treat dementia, repair nerve cells, etc.) is pretty awesome. It's a high-protein, high-carb mushroom with lots of good fibre and amino acids. Hericium has a high water content, which makes cooking it a bit tricky. (If it's being sauteed, then cook off all the water and let it start to brown a bit before adding in extra goodies like butter and garlic).

And seriously, it tastes delicious.

Small clump of Hericium growing on end of fallen Beech tree branch, Sorry for poor image quality, this was taken pretty much at sunrise.

Any Concerns?
Hericium is considered to be pretty safe. Some edible mushrooms are known to cause adverse reactions in some people, but this has apparently never been widely reported for Hericium. 

From what I've read about Hericium, it is of "conservation concern" in 13 or 23 European countries it occurs in. Here in Canada there are no conservation concerns. It is not a very common mushroom, so finding it is a real treat apparently.

As with anything you want to forage, do your research. Consult experts. Don't consume something if there is a tiny iota of doubt in your mind. 

Hericium: Magical Mushrooms

You're walking through a cool, wet, old-growth Carolinian forest in the fall. Something catches your eye, it's bright and white and stands out among the dark rotting legs and leaf litter on the forest floor. It kind of looks a like mini-tree, or a land coral, or maybe a mushroom. Or maybe it's an extraterrestrial life-form from deep-space that's bent on world denomination.

Actually, it's Hericium, a wonderful late summer to fall mushroom found across much of the world!

Hericium americanum (sp?), also known by the common name "Lion's mane". Approximately 30cm wide.

The fruiting bodies of the genus of mushroom Hericium are among the most easily identified edible mushrooms. Hericium kind of look like white and fleshy trees; a "trunk" grows from dead hardwood logs, with "branches" extending from the trunk which are covered in hanging spines (teeth) that look like stalactites. These mushrooms lack a distinctive cap and stipe ("stem"). The fruiting bodies can range from less than ten to over 30 cm in diameter. As they age the teeth will begin to brown. Spore print is white.

There are many species of Hericium, but they all share the same basic characteristics. The most common species of Hericium found in Canada include H. erinaceus, H. coralloidies, and H. americanum. All species of this genus are edible and considered a choice mushroom.

This H. americanum is growing on a dead Beech tree in an old-growth Carolinian forest.

Where can you find Hericium? These mushrooms are parasitic and like to grow on dead or dying hardwood logs (sabprobic), specifically on beech, maple, birch, walnut, oak, and sycamore. So far most of the Hericium I've seen has been growing on dead American Beech tree logs.

They are native to North America, Asia, and Europe, and are considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. I have even read that Asian grocery stores commonly carry this mushroom (I haven't found any yet, but now that I know how tasty Lion's mane is I will be looking for it in grocery stores).

Harvesting the Lion's Mane
This mushroom is one of the best to harvest, in terms of ease of identification and quality of deliciousness. Hericium do not resemble any other edible or inedible mushrooms, so it's fairly safe to collect and eat this fungi.

Foraging for Hericium requires a knife, bag or storage container, and access to old-growth Carolinian forest or hardwood stands (here in Ontario at least). Go for a hike in late summer or fall (Hericium will grow year round in more southerly locations) and keep your eye out for this ghost-like mushroom. Look on fallen trees and large branches. Don't harvest Hericium if it is starting to brown or decay. The more miles you cover the more Hericium you will find. If you find one clump on a log chances are there will be more growing on it if it is a large log. Look for Hericium on the top, ends, sides, or growing underneath the log in the leaf litter.

Once you have found a large, tasty Lion's mane, use a knife to but the base of the mushroom from the log it's growing out of. Try not to cut into the log, and do try to leave a bit of the base of the mushroom intact and still on the log. Place your Hericium in a bag and do not crush your precious mushroom while you finish your hike.

Eating the Lion's Mane
Once your home from your fantastic hike, refrigerate your Lion's mane. It will most likely keep for a little while, but this mushroom is so tasty that you will want to eat it immediately, trust me.

To prep your Lion's mane, give it a rinse in the sink under cold water. Once you've gotten most of the wood debris and bugs out of it, fill your sink with cold water and let your mushrooms take a quick bath to get rid of other bugs and dirt in hard to reach places (and there are many in hiding spots for dirt and insects in Hericium). Pat your mushrooms dry with paper towel once they are clean and let air dry for a bit. Hericium have a high water content and you want them to be fairly dry before cooking.

Lion's mane post-rinse and pre-bath

Up close and personal with Lion's mane. Still needs to have some woody pieces trimmed off.

There are a lot of ways to cook Hericium. I cooked mine as simply as possible to experience the flavour and texture of Hericium. But if you want to get cray-cray, Google can show you a multitude of awesome looking recipes you can try.

After washing, make sure you trim off any woody-bits or parts that look bad (i.e. browning). Using a knife or your hands, cut or peel the mushroom into bite size pieces:

Roughly 2-3 cups of chunks o' Lion's mane

In a frying pan heat about 1 tbsp. olive oil on medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot add the mushrooms. Hericium has a high water content so it will take a bit of time to cook off the water.

After I cooked my mushrooms for 5-7 minutes most of the water had evaporated and the teeth were beginning to brown. When I do this again I will cook it a little longer, maybe 10 minutes. Make sure the water is mostly evaporated out, but don't let your precious Hericium burn. Now add about 0.5-1 tbsp. of butter and some minced garlic (I used one clove).

The magic is happening

Cook to suite your preference; Hericium is best when it is browned and the teeth are slightly crispy. 

Voila! You have one tasty mushroom dish!

First Impressions: Hericium
Both Tom and I LOVED this mushroom. It is probably the tasty thing we have foraged for. 

The texture of the fleshy parts reminds me of crab legs. Tom said the Hericium was reminiscent of escargot, which I agreed with. The taste was distinctly like seafood, but a very light and mild seafood taste. The addition of butter and garlic nicely complimented the seafoody-mushroomy taste and texture of Hericium. 

This is definitely something I look forward to foraging for again. Here in SW Ontario the season is starting to get a little late, but Hericium may be edible for another couple of weeks. When we are out hiking again I will update as to the condition and growth of any Hericium we find.

What Makes this Mushroom Magical?
No, this mushroom won't make you "trip balls", but it apparently possesses a number of attributes that make it worthy of super food status. I will update shortly on the benefits of eating this delicious mushroom!