Each spring for a very brief time, we smile when we see the green, curly fern tips known as fiddlehead ferns. Not only are they delicious, but they're a special treat as we can only get them during a short window of time each year.
Seasonal Spotlight: Fiddlehead Ferns
Fiddlehead ferns are harvested only in certain regional areas and only in the Spring. They're most commonly found in the Northeast and the Great Lakes states where the ferns grow in wet, brackish forests. Each spring when the snow melts, the ferns push their way up through the forest floor, uncurling slowly. It's at this moment just before they uncurl that they are harvested. Tender and with a taste that is reminiscent of a cross between a green bean and asparagus, they can be sautéed or fried.
A tip for the inexperienced: fiddlehead ferns contain a toxin that causes stomach pain in humans when ingested. The toxin is destroyed by the heat generated during cooking, so as a result, the fiddleheads must be cooked thoroughly before eating. Deer are the only mammals known to be able to eat the fiddleheads and not be affected by the toxin.
To prepare, wash the curled-up tips carefully and remove any brown chaff. The chaff is either furry or paper-like. Trim off the browned ends. We like them sautéed with some shallots in butter and lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper, or dipped in beer batter and fried in some olive oil.
We've been finding them at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market, but they can also be ordered online if you can't find them locally.
(Image: Kathryn Hill)
Tags
Spring, Ingredients - Vegetables, seasonal, in season, fiddlehead fern, fiddleheads, wild foodsRelated Links
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Is that $18 a pound? For that whole flat?
view cakekick's profile
That can't be $18 a pound for something that I used to pick from the backyard, can it? I felt guilty when I bought some rhubard for $3/pound this weekend (I love rhubarb and I ran out of my frozen stash mid-winter)!
view vera in dc's profile
Sadly, yes, $18/lb. EXPENSIVE here in CA.
view Kathryn Hill's profile
Fiddleheads are she-she. They are definitely $18 per pound.
Ramps are expensive too. They are weeds. Neither of these things are terribly delicious but they do represent the arrival of spring and they are wild so there is a bit of romanticism there.
view art's profile
They are a lot cheaper than that, hear in Ontario, and they taste wonderful, but the shape just gives me the willies. I have to really concentrate on not thinking about what they look like in order to eat 'em.
view Carder's profile
Carder, me too!
view cakekick's profile
shi shi or not - I love fiddlehead ferns (though, I don't think I've ever spent anything near $18/pound for them!) - they're great sauteed or even as a pizza topping!
In addition to causing stomach pain - fiddleheads also taste really bitter if not cooked long enough - so give 'em some time! Here's a recipe for fiddleheads where you blanch them for a few minutes first, to remove the bitter taste/toxins, before sauteeing in garlicky goodness.
http://jcarrot.org/resources/sustainable-passover-menu/
view The Jew And The Carrot's profile
I think ramps are very delicious. Haven't had fiddlehead ferns though.
view bubble's profile
I have never been so creeped out by something edible. But they look delicious. Thanks for sharing, I've never noticed these before.
view squidlette's profile
I had them in a wonderful green mole/pipian dish at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill a few years ago. They manage to absorb a lot of favor without going mushy from the long cooking.
view shikaakwa's profile
Love fiddleheads! Thanks for the reminder that they're coming 'round again.
view 2T's profile
Yikes! $18! I buy them at Trader Joe's for much less, though I haven't seen them yet this year.
view classiccook's profile
How long do you have to cook them before the toxins go away?
And me? I wait for the garlic scapes.
view lemonader's profile
I'm curious -- are ALL fiddleheads edible?? I live in Seattle, and we have tons and tons of sword ferns out here that are putting out their fiddleheads now. How long must they be cooked?
And, because I'm dense...what is it about them that is creeping you guys out? To me they just look like, well, vegetables.
view artsandletters's profile