Fiddlehead Ferns

[chickensducks&agoose]

My kids and I went out foraging, and found about a half gallon of Fiddleheads. We picked responsibly, only 2 from each crown, so the plant won't die... I need advice though on preparation. I tried sauteeing them in butter, and it was kind of gross.. the kids were not pleased, and I ate them, but didn't enjoy it really.

 

[freemotion]

I used to fry up some salt pork (bacon will do) and then simmer the fiddleheads with the pork and grease. Can't remember how long, not as long as collards, more like green beans. It has been a couple of decades since I had fiddleheads, but I used to get gallons and gallons of them.

 

[Wifezilla]

What was gross about them? Texture? Flavor?

 

[Garp94]

I was told to blanch them and toss that water to take out some of the bitterness. they still tasted pretty bitter to me.

Since we are talking about them, are 'fiddlehead ferns' a particular kind of fern, or just the uncurled developing leaf of ALL ferns? I've never myself gone collecting in case there was a fern i should avoid.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

did you brush off all the brown stuff first?

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

yeah, we washed them really well, got all the brown skin stuff off, and then sauteed them. the texture is a bit like asparagus, but the taste is to ME, strong, like asparagus plus grass... the kids were not convinced that it wasn't poison...

 

[Suezanadanna]

Interesting! I just spoke with someone the other day about eating fiddleheads and was wondering the best way to prepare. Have you figured out your favorite way yet?

 

[ORChick]

My Korean sister in law loves fiddleheads. A friend of hers here in Oregon apparently has a special place where she collects bushels, and sells them, dehydrated, to other Koreans. My SIL gave me some of the dried fern, but I haven't used it yet. I think she said to boil it in several changes of water (my brother suggested that this is best done outdoors ), and then she serves it with a marinade/sauce of (I think) soy sauce, garlic, and chile flakes (the standard Korean trilogy). Its good when she does it, but I haven't felt compelled yet to give it a try - I love her cooking, and she loves mine, and so far neither of us have done much copying of the other .

 

[freemotion]

recipe: http://www.terriau.org/cuisine/foug1.htm

The best ferns for eating are ostrich ferns. These grow near running water and are fat and have a brown papery covering when very small, it starts to loosen as they grow. You need to get them while they are still very tightly closed up, as they become poisonous as they unfurl. Never eat them raw.

I used to use a saucer sled in front of a box fan to winnow out the brown papery things. Serious fiddlehead collectors have been known to put them in the clothes dryer!

I would blanch them and freeze them in quart bags.

Interrupted ferns can be mistaken for ostrich ferns. Both are large, common ferns. Interrupted ferns have a section in the leaf that looks shriveled in the mature plant, hence the name. The fiddleheads of this fern are hairy with no brown papery covering and can't be cleaned.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

We avoid the hairy ferns. My little girl calls them Fiddle Furry Fed Ferns. instead of the regular Fiddle Fed Ferns...