Every spring in Muskoka, before the forest fully wakes up, a handful of plants pop up before the rest in patches of green. Trout lily, trillium, bloodroot push through the leaf litter while the woods are still mostly brown and bare. Wild leeks, aka ramps, are among them, and honestly, they're my favourite of the early risers.
You've certainly spotted them, maybe without even knowing it. Driving through Muskoka in early to mid-spring, you'll notice sudden patches of intense, glossy green on the forest floor. The pop of colour is unmistakable against all that grey and brown. That's them. And if you're out hiking and catch the scent of something earthy and garlicky, you're close. Wild leeks have a distinctive pungent aroma that tends to find you before you find them.
Wild Leeks in Muskoka.
They prefer hardwood groves…shady in summer, but wide open to the sun in spring before the canopy fills in, making the most of that brief window of bright light.
Around here, ramp season has its own social ritual. It’s not uncommon for conversations between friends to start with "Have you seen any yet?" and end with very vague directions to a favourite patch. There's a shared excitement to it that feels like a distinctly Muskoka kind of spring.
A Note On Harvesting
Wild leeks are worth protecting. They grow really slowly (it can take five to seven years for a plant to fully mature) and their popularity has been growing more recently. If not harvested sustainably, we risk losing this awesome native species. If you do harvest, I would suggest only taking the leaves rather than pulling the whole bulb. The leaves have plenty of flavour, and leaving the bulbs in the ground means the patch will still be there next year. A good rule of thumb: take no more than a third of any one clump, then move on. Tread lightly and they'll keep coming back.
Just the leaves were harvested, leaving the bulbs to regenerate.
Leeks 5 Ways
Personally, wild leeks have become woven into my spring in a very specific way. Every year around my birthday, Ben makes a meal he learned many years ago from chef Everett Bell, when Everett ran the kitchen at Sherwood Inn. The recipe is called Leeks Five Ways, and it is, without question, one of my favourite meals to eat. It’s made even better by the fact that I never have to cook it.
Every year on my birthday we head out into Muskoka to hike and forage the wild leeks for dinner. This year Ben had already collected them earlier in the week, so we left our baskets at home, but we still got outside for a proper birthday hike in the sunshine, which honestly is half the point anyway. The dinner had a little something extra this year too: Ben and our son Oliver, who's currently in a culinary program, cooked it together. Ben taught Ollie the recipe, and watching the two of them in the kitchen might have been the best part of the whole evening.
My birthday meal. Leeks 5 ways.
The meal was as good as it's ever been. We paired it with a Cabernet Sauvignon from Two Sisters Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake - aged over 30 months in French oak, with dark fruit and notes of tobacco, cedar, and cocoa. It was definitely a splurge, but it was my birthday!
The Post Birthday Blues Are Real
After a day outside, an incredible dinner, and a games night with the family, I always wish I could stretch it out a little longer. The post-birthday blues are real, but so is the gratitude. I'm sad it's over, and so glad it happened.
