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Herbs & Cultures

Cherokee medicine →

Ramps with eggs

The first wild leek of spring, fried with scrambled eggs: a spring dish of the Cherokee.

Traditional use

Time
15 minutes
Makes
2 people
Ramps

Ramps, a wild leek from the forests of the Appalachians, come up in early April as one of the first green plants. The Cherokee boiled or fried the young plants. Because they supplied vitamins and minerals after a winter without fresh food, they have long been seen as a spring tonic that cleanses the blood. Ramps with scrambled eggs or with fried potatoes are still a spring dish among the Eastern Band of Cherokee.

Ingredients

  • A good bunch of ramps (about 100 g)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp butter or fat
  • Salt to taste

Step by step

  1. Wash the ramps well and cut them into pieces.
  2. Fry the ramps in the fat until soft, about 3–4 minutes.
  3. Beat the eggs with a little salt, pour them over the ramps and stir until the eggs have just set.
  4. Eat straight away, while still warm.

Tips

  • Ramps do not grow in Europe. Use their European relative, wild garlic (ramsons), in the same way.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

Read more about effects and safety on each herb’s page.

  • Caution

    North America · Food · № 936

    Ramps

    Allium tricoccum

    A wild leek with broad leaves and a small bulb, related to European wild garlic. Leaves and bulb taste of onion and garlic.

    Haudenosaunee medicine+1

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.