I found millions of them in the woods as I mushroom hunted and wondered...I read they are edible and always wanted to try them...anyone know how to fix them and are they any good? I just read the post about cooking dandelion flowers and I am so gonnna try that tomorrow !!! Will let you all know how they were!!
Fiddlehead ferns....anyone know how to prepare them???
- Thread starter mmtillman
- Start date
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
They're edible, but you have to be sure they are actually from the correct fern, not just similar to it. I've never eaten them but have read about them 
Hard to imagine anything being ruined by a quick stir-fry with olive oil and garlic. Enjoy!
Hard to imagine anything being ruined by a quick stir-fry with olive oil and garlic. Enjoy!
freemotion
Food Guru
You need to use the fiddleheads from the ostrich fern. These will grow near a stream or river that floods in the spring. They will be quite large and fat, and will have a bit of "paper" clinging to each side. It is brown and clings to the fiddlehead. The hairy or fuzzy ones are not worth eating.
They must be fully and tighty rolled up, and must be cooked well to neutralize the bit of poison that is in them. I learned about that after nibbling a few raw in a salad. Inconvenient more than dangerous, but never repeated! I would cook them by frying up some cut up salt pork until brown, then throw in the washed fiddleheads with a little water and simmer on low for a while.....can't quite remember.....half an hour? Depends also on the size, as it can vary quite a bit from patch to patch.
To get the paper off, you can tediously pick each bit off, or I would use a box fan and a "flying saucer" sled and let them dry for a few minutes, then winnow them by simple picking up handfuls and letting them drop slowly in the air flow of the fan. Do this outside or in the garage in front of an open door! And don't be too rough on the fiddleheads. You want to maintain that shape somewhat.
Enjoy! I envy you!
They must be fully and tighty rolled up, and must be cooked well to neutralize the bit of poison that is in them. I learned about that after nibbling a few raw in a salad. Inconvenient more than dangerous, but never repeated! I would cook them by frying up some cut up salt pork until brown, then throw in the washed fiddleheads with a little water and simmer on low for a while.....can't quite remember.....half an hour? Depends also on the size, as it can vary quite a bit from patch to patch.
To get the paper off, you can tediously pick each bit off, or I would use a box fan and a "flying saucer" sled and let them dry for a few minutes, then winnow them by simple picking up handfuls and letting them drop slowly in the air flow of the fan. Do this outside or in the garage in front of an open door! And don't be too rough on the fiddleheads. You want to maintain that shape somewhat.
Enjoy! I envy you!
freemotion
Food Guru
Here is a link with great pictures for identification: http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/PMCwebsite/PMCPublications/Fiddleheads.pdf
Also learn the difference between mature Ostrich ferns and Interrupted ferns so you can scout for patches throughout the summer, when they are more easily seen. They are similar, but the Ostrich tend to be taller sometimes and the Interrupted have a spot midway on each frond that looks like it died, hence the name. Those are the fuzzy ones, you don't want those.
Also learn the difference between mature Ostrich ferns and Interrupted ferns so you can scout for patches throughout the summer, when they are more easily seen. They are similar, but the Ostrich tend to be taller sometimes and the Interrupted have a spot midway on each frond that looks like it died, hence the name. Those are the fuzzy ones, you don't want those.
freemotion
Food Guru
Nope, they shouldn't be gritty. Someone was sloppy in collecting or handling them. Then charged you $6 per pound for the extra minerals in your diet! :/
