I must confess a shameful secret: I love Chicago best when it is cold.
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
The arrival of spring is official once we celebrate our favorite pungent harbinger – the wild leek! The 2019 Ramp Up Peninsula Festival was a sunny success, it was a joy to share our love of these little stinkers with many happy guests.
Of course, ramps have been greeted as a welcome tonic after the harsh winter long before we discovered these delicious, ephemeral alliums. The southern shores of the Great Lakes were a springtime gathering place for the earliest Americans, in order to harvest the springtime tonic pikwute sikakushia or skunk plant – what we now call ramps (or wild leeks). The best gathering place was called the skunk place, or shikako. Eventually, that prime ramp location on the shore of Lake Michigan grew into a midwestern metropolis still named for this stinky springtime gem – Chicago.
Chicagoans aren’t the only folks who love a “dragged through the garden” hot dog. We think these ramped-up pickles make a perfect topping for your favorite hot dog!
Bread and Butter Ramp Pickles
Fill a very clean 12 oz jar as full as possible with ramp bulbs (the white and purple stem of the ramp).
Simmer:
- ½ cup vinegar (white, apple cider, or red wine vinegar all work),
- ¼ cup water,
- ¼ cup honey (or sugar),
- 2 teaspoons pickling salt,
- 1 teaspoon pickling spice.
Pour simmered brine over the ramps and seal jar. Store in refrigerator for at least 48 hours before opening.
Enjoy these refrigerator pickles for up to three months.