Wynn Westmoreland is Georgia born and bred, and she knows from Vidalia onions. And yes, she does say "y'all" a lot.

Hey y’all, it’s Vidalia onion time. And that is big time. What other onion has its own museum, state and federal law of protection, festival, YouTube channel, website, Facebook page and Twitter account?

The Vidalia actually started as a fluke as farmers in the Depression tried different crops. In a small section of Georgia with the right soil contents, an onion grew that wasn’t hot but very sweet. Folks flipped over them and soon word of those sweet onions from Georgia got out.
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Scorpacciata is a term that means consuming large amounts of a particular local ingredient while it's in season. It's a good way to eat. Let Mario Batali pronounce it for you.

Quick! Eat them before they escape!

Garlic scapes - the twirly, curly, electric green shoots that emerge from the earth as garlic grows below - are in season for cruelly few weeks each year and tend to be snatched up quickly by their rabid fans. That's why it's always a delightful surprise to see them still gracing farmers market stalls and menus across the country, several weeks past their usual window of opportunity, which slides shut in mid-July.
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Scorpacciata is a term that means consuming large amounts of a particular local ingredient while it's in season. It's a good way to eat. Let Mario Batali pronounce it for you.

"Ramps...huh?" "What the heck is ramp puree?"

As soon as we posted the menu for last night's White House State Dinner, the question began rolling in from my colleagues, commenters, folks on Twitter - and I realized I oughta get my head out of my ramp patch and explain.

Ramps are a member of the allium family (Allium tricoccum if you care to get all categorical about it) and are akin to a wild onion. The flavor is pungent and slightly nutty - somewhere between garlic and leeks, and both the leafy tops and tender bulbs are edible.

Food fanatics get all het up about them because they're, well, incredibly delicious - but also because they're somewhat of a rarity. They're difficult, if not impossible to cultivate, so they must be foraged from the wild or as is often the case, bought at a premium from someone else who's gone out to do the dirty work.
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