VOA慢速英语--春天的野菜令美国人疯狂

Americans Go Crazy for Ramps² in the Spring

The spring season brings warm weather, flowers and other changes for people to enjoy.

For some restaurant chefs, the most exciting spring arrival is ramps.

Every spring, restaurants across the United States compete to be the first to offer the seasonal³ vegetable.

The excitement has even created a ramps black market in Canada.

So, what is the great appeal of ramps? Maybe you have never even heard of them.

Ramps, or allium tricoccum, are a wild plant native to the eastern mountains of North America. They are one of the first plants that grow in the spring, usually between April and May. They are part of the same family as leeks⁴ and shallots. They are recognized by their red stem⁵, and two long and broad green leaves.

They are also famous for their strong taste, similar to garlic, and other onions.

A spring treat

Ramps are not as well-known as other vegetables, but they have a long history in the United States.

In the Appalachian Mountains, ramps have been an important food for a long time. During spring, it is common for small towns in the Appalachian area to hold large ramp¹ dinners for the community.

David Townsend owns the Mountain Roots Market and Restaurant, in Weston, West Virginia. He uses ramps every year, spending as much as a couple thousand dollars buying the plants.

Townsend told us he uses the vegetable in many ways. At his restaurant, for example, he might make ramp burgers. He also likes to mix ramps with potatoes and egg dishes. And he dries them for seasonings⁶.

Townsend says you can also enjoy ramps fried, pickled, and even raw.

However, others might not enjoy the effect of ramps on your breath.

Townsend says, “The joke was that if you eat raw ramps, and you go to school, you would get kicked out of school because you stink⁸.”

One reason the plant is popular is that it grows in the wild.

It is difficult to grow ramp crops on farms. Most restaurants get their supply from foragers. They are people who gather ramps by searching forests for patches, areas where they grow.

Townsend said the competitive⁹ market for the plant means that when someone finds a patch, they do not tell others where it is.

Small towns to big cities

In the past, ramps were mostly eaten in small towns in the areas where they grew. However, over the last 10 years, ramps’ popularity¹⁰ has grown quickly. They are now a highly-desired vegetable for many nice restaurants in cities like New York and Washington D.C.

Adam Harvey is the chef at Little Coco’s, an Italian restaurant in Washington D.C. He has been using ramps on his pizzas for about the last 10 years.

When spring comes, Harvey says, chefs around the country get excited for the arrival of the plant. They try to prepare it in as many ways as possible, and try to include as many choices as possible.

“It’s one of those things where people go a little crazy,” Harvey said. He adds that the popularity of ramps in nicer restaurants is a combination of several things.

“First, it has a really great flavor that is very individual… and second, it’s wild. It has such a short season, and you can’t get them all the time.” Harvey said.

Harvey also noted¹¹ that many chefs want to keep their restaurant offerings seasonal. Ramps are the first “green thing” to grow after the winter, he said, so cooks feel a pull to use them.

Harvey said that his favorite way to cook ramps is to pickle⁷ the bulb, or bottom of the plant.

Problems with sustainability

Ramps have a short season. Within a few weeks of full growth, the plant is done for the year. This short life cycle is partly responsible for their popularity. And that popularity could lead to their disappearance¹² from Earth.

Townsend said, “A lot of the public places where ramps are [grown]… have been over-dug… because of the amount of money that a person can make off them.” He added that people who sell ramps to restaurants in New York can sometimes make as much as $20 for half a kilogram.

“In two-to-three months, you can make two-to-three thousand dollars,” he said.

Townsend also said that not everyone who forages¹³ for ramps obeys the guidelines¹⁴ for protecting future growth.

Foragers are supposed to leave some ramps in the ground to re-populate the area for the next season. But, Townsend says, some foragers still dig up the entire patch.

Black market

In the province of Quebec, Canada, ramps are called “wild garlic.” In 1995, the provincial¹⁵ government declared the plant a “vulnerable¹⁶ species” from over-harvesting. They also banned selling the plant to businesses.

However, the demand for the plant has caused people to illegally harvest the plant in the neighboring province of Ottawa. Canadian police deploy¹⁷ officers in the woods to watch for the illegal activity.

The season is short, but it has not ended yet. If you are in the right place, you still have time to try a taste of ramps yourself.

I’m Phil Dierking.

And I’m Caty Weaver¹⁸.

Words in This Story

black market - n. a system through which things are bought and sold illegally?

fry - v. to cook (food) in fat or oil?

pickle - v. to preserve (food) with salt water or vinegar?

stem - n. the main long and thin part of a plant that rises above the soil and supports the leaves and flowers?

vulnerable - adj. open to attack, harm, or damage

1 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

2 ramps   

resources allocation and multiproject scheduling 资源分配和多项目的行程安排

参考例句：

• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。
• He has the upper floor and ramps are fitted everywhere for his convenience. 他住在上面一层，为了他的方便着想，到处设有坡道。

3 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

4 leeks   

韭葱( leek的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Leeks and potatoes go well together in a soup. 汤中放韭菜和土豆尝起来很对味。
• When I was young I grew some leeks in a pot. 小时候我曾在花盆里种了些韭葱。

5 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

6 seasonings   

n.调味品，佐料( seasoning的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It emphasizes the use of seasonings, so no two dishes ever taste alike. 它对调味品十分讲究。因此，没有两个菜会有同样的味道。 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• The food made of flour and various seasonings is called moon cake. 中秋节的食品也是圆圆的，也象征着团圆，这种用面和各种作料做的食品叫月饼。 来自互联网

7 pickle   

n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡

参考例句：

• Mother used to pickle onions.妈妈过去常腌制洋葱。
• Meat can be preserved in pickle.肉可以保存在卤水里。

8 stink   

vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
• The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

9 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

10 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

13 forages   

n.牛马饲料( forage的名词复数 )；寻找粮草

参考例句：

• A long-term trial had been carried out on tropical forages. 选用热带主要牧草草种进行长期定位试验。 来自互联网
• A young fur seal forages amid bull kelp near Gansbaai, South Africa. 一只年轻的海豹在南非干斯拜附近的巨藻丛中觅食。 来自互联网

14 guidelines   

n.指导方针，准则

参考例句：

• The government has drawn up guidelines on the treatment of the mentally ill. 政府制订了对待精神病人的指导方针。
• Planners seem a little uncomfortable with the current government guidelines. 规划师似乎不太接受现行的政府指道方针。

15 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

16 vulnerable   

adj.易受伤的，脆弱的，易受攻击的

参考例句：

• He volunteered to protect her as she looked so vulnerable.她看上去很脆弱，他就主动去保护她。
• The company is in an economically vulnerable position.该公司目前经济状况不稳定。

17 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

18 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。