Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

While walking in early spring in Eastern Canada with your dog, or if you have no dog, with your feet, you may come across a rare edible plant delicacy known as a Fiddlehead.

This is my first experience of locating, cooking and eating such a unique and "tasty" fern:-

1.. Find a stream in or near the woods

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_01.jpg

2.. Or a river in or near the woods

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_02.jpg

3.. Look for old dead, vibrant stalks such as these:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_03.jpg

4.. Or, up close, like this:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_04.jpg

5.. Or this:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_05.jpg

6.. Or a clump like this..

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_06.jpg

7.. Can you spot the clumps here?

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_07.jpg

8.. Or here?

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_08.jpg

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

9.. Here they are:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...ead/FH_07b.jpg

10.. And here:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...ead/FH_08c.jpg

11.. When uncovered early in their growth cycle:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_09.jpg

12.. Sometimes they grow straight through the sandy soil:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_10.jpg

13.. They're pretty small right now:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_11.jpg

14.. Here's one we harvested:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...ead/FH_12c.jpg

15.. It's sat on a plate, brown husk removed. Smells a bit like the freshness of mint but not like mint (or anything else I can think of):

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...ead/FH_13c.jpg

16.. I boiled it in a pan. The water turned green then brown. There are health warnings on how to cook or prepare these things as there were some food poisoning scares. Search the internet or seek professional advice if you're concerned!

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...head/FH_14.jpg

17.. It seems tender and I don't want it to get mushy or lose its flavour. I'm gonna eat it now:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...ead/FH_15c.jpg

18.. Tastes like raw brussel sprout to me. Others say it tastes like grass. Others say it only smells and tastes like "Fiddleheads", i.e. very unique.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...ead/FH_16c.jpg

I'll reserve the next post to do a follow up in a couple of weeks when the Fiddlehead season really gets under way (with more words and pictures).


This is in no way professional advice on finding, harvesting, cooking or eating Fiddlehead ferns... just a personal experience.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Are you Ray Mears?

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

More like Bear Grylls (as the adventure was really close to a highway) :rofl:

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Cheese graters can also be used to grate carrots.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

I'd rather eat the quarter.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

That's a useful time saving tip. I've always chopped them into small pieces when making coleslaw or something like that - who'd have thought that something designed for cheese would work on other food-stuffs.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

You picked that fiddlehead far too early.

What a waste.

And what are those bright red spaghetti loops?

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Tastes like raw brussel sprout to me. Others say it tastes like grass.

You're not selling it to me :D

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Actually ... I saw these at our local grocery store (Metro in Toronto) frozen in a 350 g package. Never tried them ... but I do like brussel sprouts... Maybe I should go for them... Never knew where they come from! Thanks for the pics!

There are surely some nice recipes out there... must be very Canadian! :thumbsup:

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Will that work? I thought only mods could edit stuff after more than a few hours.

Its a life saver for me...the only perk of this job:D

How rare can fiddleheads be? I've seen them seasonally in the supermarkets here! I've always thought it a newfie thing, like seal flipper pie!

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Not a Newfie thing at all. Rarey seen here. Seal Flippers now available from Taylors fish van on the harbourfront. Not sure whether they do mail order to Ontario.;)

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Maybe "maritime" would have been more appropriate.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

You're right, of course, I can't edit it... if I PM you the post when I get it done would you mind pasting it in? (Just to keep it all together at the top of the thread... I'm sure someone will find it useful :confused:)

I'm just really starting to learn about fiddleheads myself right now. A few years back someone told me it was the season and I should look out for them but, until trying them recently, I hadn't heard much more about them.

I know they're rare enough to be classed as a "delicacy" in some parts of the world and the season for harvesting them is very short.

A quote from wikipedia: "..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."

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Sure, no problem. Bound to be a hot topic for discussion:unsure:

By the way, you missed the (critical) last step... "Now, wash the dog!"

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Fiddleheads are harvested in eastern Canada, right? We get them here in Vancouver, but I don't think they're harvested here. They're young fern fronds of a certain species of fern, right? I've eaten them before. They don't have the cabbage flavour of brussel sprouts. I'd say a similar flavour would be cooked asparagus or artichoke hearts. It's a mild green vegetable and goes well with melted butter. :thumbup:

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Correct on all points.
You can buy them frozen too. I think it's MacCains that packages them. They are in the freezer case in grocery stores here almost all the time. Much easier than prepping them from scratch.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Interesting, I'll have to look in the freezers. I've only seen them fresh (while in season) in specialty shops. I don't think they're very common here in the west.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

It`s been a month since we first noticed fiddleheads growing down by the river. It`s now the middle of May and the harvest time is pretty much over, however we did manage to get a few today, cook them up and make up our minds about them. I wouldn't exactly call it an adventure; more a theme on walking the dog with 'free' food as a bonus. Hope you enjoy the pics..


Ready to harvest..

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00648.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00658.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00659.jpg

Bag full of fresh quality product...(free to us but $5/lb at Superstore/Sobeys and a local fruit'n'veg store had them on sale for $3/lb)...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00660.jpg

Husks removed and fiddleheads washed...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00683.jpg

Boiled for 10-12 mins (with a change of water after 5 mins). We all agreed they were actually pretty good, just served plain like this...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00688.jpg

(all the following were parboiled for 5 mins before frying for a further 3-5 mins)


On the left they're getting cooked with bacon, in bacon fat, on the right they're getting fried in butter...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00687.jpg

This is the butter fried version, no one picked it as either a favourite or second favourite, although no one disliked it...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00693.jpg

This is the 'fried with bacon' version. It got two votes as favourite and one as second favourite.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00694.jpg

This is a sauté version (butter, onion, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, paprika, salt & pepper). One top vote but the general consensus was that it would have won if it had bacon instead of sugar.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...d/DSC00695.jpg


I would say they do have an interesting and somewhat unique flavour but personally I prefer some of the more traditional vegetables. My kid loved them though which, for me, is two thumbs up.

I also did follow the guidelines for cooking them (regarding the food poisoning scare) but they were all, IMO, a bit over-cooked.

There was also a recent news report suggesting that they're "Rated higher than blueberries for antioxidants".

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

If they taste a bit like brussels sprouts, I think I will pass... as far as I am concerned, sprouts are one of the most vomtastic vegetables known to man.

Even the smell of them cooking is enough to make me hurl!

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

I think I will pass too. The idea of eating them reminds me of when I tried samphire, another regional vegetable. They were billed as having a taste similar too asparagus. Heck as like - they just tasted of seawater.

ps your pictures are very very big

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Do they give you wind? brussels sprouts make me fart like a dog.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

I'm slightly confused about the type of fern.... wikipedia says,

"The fiddleheads of certain ferns are eaten as a cooked leaf vegetable; they must be cooked first to remove shikimic acid. The most popular of these are:

Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum, found worldwide
Ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, found in northern regions worldwide, and the central/eastern part of North America
Cinnamon fern or buckhorn fern, Osmunda cinnamomea, found in the Eastern parts of North America
Royal fern, Osmunda regalis, found worldwide
Zenmai or flowering fern, Osmunda japonica, found in East Asia
Vegetable fern, Athyrium esculentum, found throughout Asia and Oceania"

... but other sources state that only the ostrich fern is edible and anything else will make you ill.

I think I'll stick with brussels sprouts and asparagus. These little things seem too much like hard work to be worth the effort and are potentially hazardous! :unsure:

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

When i read the title of this thread I thought it might be promising. How silly did I feel when it turned out to be just a few weirdos discussing eating bushes.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

I think it was more like a very, very mild brussel sprout flavour (to me). For everyone I've spoken with about them, there's typically a personal description e.g. "tastes like asparagus", "tastes nothing like asparagus", "tastes like fiddleheads and nothing else", "delicious, nice, mild vegetable flavour", "a pleasant 'green' flavour, not bitter, not strange..." etc

One thing I noticed about them though, they really seemed to pull in the flavour of whatever they were cooked with. And they might be really good with a cheese sauce.

No, not with us (at least no one told me otherwise ;)). Everyone seemed to be normal and feeling ok this morning.

Each should fit just within the screen when viewing, no matter how big the screen or resolution (at least so I'm told). You might be able to modify this by holding down CTRL and moving the mouse wheel, or by holding CTRL and pushing + or - on the num pad... this will alter the size of text too, though.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

I'd go along with this too (after what I've learned about them). There are a couple of other ferns that have a similar appearance to fiddleheads and grow in the same places at the same time but, so I've been told, eating them will make definitely make you sick. Not sure about the bracken thing either, this might be one of those 'don't trust wikipedia' things :confused:

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

They do fit the screen but they are still ruddy huge and I really dont want to have to fiddle with CTRL keys. Just want nice normal size images.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Gordon Bennett woman, aint you a moaner.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

If you say so.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

I like a moaner. Under certain circumstances.

I also like fiddleheads. They taste like fiddleheads.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

I hear ya with the brussel sprouts. I can't even be in the same room when they are being cooked. As far as eating them, I'd rather get shot in the head.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Flederman calls them the devil's food and says you get fed them in Hell. I grew some last year, by accident, they were billed as broccoli. It was hard to give them away but eventually I found a victim. They even said they were delicious.

They are ok cold and grated into salads but why would you want to do this?

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Do they taste too irony?

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Wassamatter wit' you and the f-mann? Brussell sprouts rock.

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

What he said ^^^ :thumbsup:

Re: Field guide to Fiddleheads
 

Is this what Canadian gypos eat?