Fiddleheads: The Yummiest Wildfood Ever

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Delicious!

Fiddlehead greens are the premium wild forage vegetable of spring. Fiddleheads are a yummy fern you can forage for yourself. Look for ostrich ferns emerging in clusters of about three to twelve fiddleheads each on the banks of rivers, streams, and brooks in April and May. Make sure that you have landowner permission before harvesting fiddleheads. They are delicious steamed and served with butter dripping over them. Fiddleheads taste like a cross between asparagus and dandelion greens .
Take a walk through the lowland part of the woods where there is moisture and you'll probably see lots of feathery, green ferns. There are many different kinds of ferns, but the ostrich fern, that grows about four feet tall, is what we can eat in the spring before they uncurl and open into those lacy-looking ferns. In this stage, they are still tightly curled up with a thin, brownish skin-looking layer over them. This is when they look like the end of the violin, hence the name-fiddlehead. Wash off the brownish, skin-looking layer (which just brushes off quite easily), and steam over boiling water in a vegetable steamer for just a few minutes and melt butter over them, then salt to taste. These are so delicious! I eat them every year. Here in Maine, they sell them fresh in the veggie section of our local grocers and at road side stands. They don't last too long, so you need to get them while they're available in the spring. They are not too plentiful, so can get very expensive. I paid $4.99 a lb. just this year. There is a company ( Belle of Maine, I believe) that cans them and other wild edibles, such as dandelion greens. There is a farm in Maine that grows dandelions just for that purpose! If you get a chance, try fiddleheads out. They are delicious!
Fiddleheads are the ostrich fern, and I was thinking of getting a bunch of the plants to grow my own, since I love to eat them each spring. They probably could be kept frozen too, to serve later. These plants like a moist, shady area, and I have a shady place out in the back where a brook runs along. But, again these plants seem expensive to me, especially since you would need to get a lot of them. But, they will grow back each year! You could also forage for wild ones yourself.

CAUTION!

If you go looking to pick your own fiddleheads to eat, make sure you have someone knowledgeable about wild edibles. There are many kinds of ferns, and not all are edible.

 

Ostrich ferns are also known as fiddlehead ferns. Fiddleheads are a traditional dish of northern New England (predom. Maine) in the United States, and of Quebec and the Maritimes in Canada. The Canadian village of Tide Head, New Brunswick, bills itself as the Fiddlehead Capital of the World.
Though available regionally in some supermarkets and restaurants, fiddleheads aren't cultivated and are available only seasonally. In rural areas, fiddleheads are harvested by individuals in early spring. When picking fiddleheads, three tops per plant is the recommended harvest. Each plant produces seven tops that turn into fronds; over-picking will kill the plant. Maintaining sustainable harvesting methods is important in the propagation of any non-farmed food species.
Fiddleheads have been part of traditional diets in much of Asia, Australia and New Zealand, as well as among Native Americans for centuries.

The Top Five Reasons Fiddleheads is the Yummiest Wildfood 

  • Delicious to eat.
  • Easy to cook.
  • Healthy for you.
  • Nice eye candy for your dinner plate.
  • Good for the whole family, including vegetarians.

Reader Feedback 

Is Fiddleheads the Yummiest Wildfood Ever?

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Yes

Tiddledeewinks says:

Yes,yes,yes! I love these steamed with butter and salt added.

No way!

 

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  • Reply
    WindyWinters WindyWinters Aug 17, 2009 @ 2:45 am
    Interesting Lens. I have heard of Fiddleheads but I don't recall ever seeing any. I really enjoy all greens so I would probably enjoy these too. I will have to take a look at the market. Thanks for sharing your info. I also didn't realize that some of these ferns are not edible. Very good point. Nicely illustrated lens! :)
  • Reply
    _Joan_ _Joan_ Aug 16, 2009 @ 10:18 pm
    Hi! I have never seen this plant before. I guess we don't get it here in Los Angeles. But the way you've written about them is making me jealous!

    You've been added to the "Squidoo lenses on edible wild plants" lens.

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Canned Maine Fiddleheads 

Belle of Maine Fiddlehead 15oz - 12 Unit Pack

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by Tiddledeewinks




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Hello world. This is my bio. I'm Jeannie from the New England state of Maine,vacation land and summer home of George Bush,and home of the world... (more)

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