I’d almost forgotten about them when they started showing up on menus and cooking shows last year.

One thing I won’t forget is the “pungency” you describe. EVERYONE in my high school could tell when a classmate had eaten ramps the night before. The smell comes out of the pores and seems to intensify the next day. It is a testament to the power of the ramp that far from being ostracised, the usual response among my classmates was “where did you find them, and are there any left?” (Usually we would find them in the woods, no one thought to cultivate ramps.) The next day, no-one in school would notice the ramp smell, because by then, we would *all* smell like ramps.

I lived in Korea for two years and I know that their kimche process would be a *perfect* marriage for ramps and am DYING to try this recipe.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen an actual ramp since I left West Virginia. The whole foods market never has them, and the local chefs work back room deals with the local suppliers to snap up the supply. I recently found out that a co-worker’s husband works at a local organic farm and that they got rid of the last of this season’s ramps this last week. So I have to wait for next year yet again to stink all of my co-workers out of the office!