Gothamist: What's Fresh - Fiddlehead Ferns

blah

Wed, 17 May 2006 23:35:26 -0500

Toxic ferns: be careful http://tracksandtrees.com/articles/fiddlehead.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,,1299844,00.html

solidago

Wed, 17 May 2006 21:15:46 -0500

Those don't look like ostrich fern fiddleheads to me -- what's with the red? My guess is that those are sensitive fern or lady fern fiddleheads. I prefer braken fern fiddleheads, which are abundant in the Adirondacks when the trout are biting (now -- I'll be eating both of them next weekend). They also taste like asparagus but are mucilagenous and have a much better texture than ostrich fern, which can be like a wad of tree leaves. They have been linked to stomach cancer, but I'll start worrying about that sometime after I give up smoking.

yaya

Wed, 17 May 2006 20:20:35 -0500

VEGAN SPERM anyone?

famdoc

Wed, 17 May 2006 19:34:06 -0500

I have tried fiddleheads a half dozen times, including at one of their earliest purveyors, Toque in Montreal. I hate them. Let me get this straight: this flora is inedible. Don't even try to encourage others to try them.

VT_Annie

Wed, 17 May 2006 14:49:48 -0500

Hi there, I live in the land of fiddleheads, where we go out and pick our own (sustainably harvested, of course, because you have to leave some grow to make next year's crop, so not to worry, FIddlehead). But the recipe you gave was too complicated and missed the best addition. 1) get them small and barely unrolled. bigger means bitter. 2) fry 'em up with garlic and olive oil - and no need to char them. Just enough to break down the cell walls a bit. Yum.

FIddlehead

Wed, 17 May 2006 14:18:57 -0500

I love ferns and I (honestly) feel bad for the death of these young fronds. Maybe I'll start a non-profit to save the fiddleheads.

joe

Wed, 17 May 2006 13:46:25 -0500

Great photo, btw.