Fiddlehead Ferns: The Topic

[francois]

I just love fiddleheads in a salad, blanched (I change the water half way), cooled (to keep the color), with a vinaigrette and a few ramps. The season is so short!

It is just a great way to start a spring meal.

[mrbigjas]

my dad says he's been eating fiddleheads raw, off the plant, for years. and he's not known for having an iron stomach.

last time i made them, we just cleaned them and sauteed them in butter with lemon. no blanching, no nothing.

but we live on the east coast of the u.s.--if the food poisoning is only taking place on the west coast, that would explain it.

[NulloModo]

I tried fiddleheads last year, no blanching, just sauteed in EVOO with some garlic and shallots. They weren't bad, but they weren't really good either... I agree the texture is pretty cool, they look nifty, and my oh my, they smell incredible raw (I just stood over the sink sniffing them as I washed them), but the taste... hmmm, sorta like a cross between undercooked green beans, grass, and nothing.

[Tepee]

A Malay recipe, for the pic, scroll up the thread. Edited May 5, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[hotMeat]

I REALLY wish I had read some of this advice before I mad dinner last night. I quickly sauteed them with some shrimp in olive oil with garlic. I thought, "simple, light". The quick sautee was not enough to really cook them and as I was eating them i thought "these are undercooked, next time, maybe ill blanch." I didn't even finish eating them before they hit me. It was a long and unpleasant night.

They were purchased at the US farmers market in NYC. Next time I will cook them. Thoroughly.

[Nyleve Baar]

Don't give up on them though. They're really nice when they're not poisonous.

[alamut]

Now is that rarest of seasons for those of us in the eastern united states when Fiddlehead, Ramps, and Morels are all in season. This evening I was shocked... schocked... to find that my humble supermarket had beautiful fresh fiddleheads in the produce section. I love these little wild baby ferns, but I have had only limmited success in preparing them. As that they are only around for 3 weeks of the year (at most) I'd like to get it right the one or two opportunites I will have to cook them before next year. So... is there anybody out there with suggestions on their preperation? Any fiddlehead (or ramps for that matter) related suggestions you can through my way would be most appreciated.

[Nyleve Baar]

We have had fiddleheads for dinner two nights in a row now, and I expect that tomorrow we may have them again (I pick as I walk my dog in the woods). I consider myself to be something of an expert on fiddleheads - they can be nasty if they're not done right. Most people who say they don't like them have not had them cooked well.

First, fill your sink with cold water and throw in the fiddleheads. Swish them around to loosen the brown papery skins. Scoop the fiddleheads out into a colander to drain, leaving water and brown bits behind in the sink. YOu may need to do this twice if they're really messy.

Next, fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil and throw in the fiddleheads. Let the water return to a boil, cook for just a minute or two, then drain. Repeat the boiling a second time with fresh water. There is a lot of bitterness in a fiddlehead that just doesn't go away unless they're boiled. I boil literally no other vegetable - but fiddleheads: always. Boiling them twice (as I do) isn't absolutely necessary - but once definitely is.

After boiling, drain well and saute in lots of lovely butter and salt. Maybe a bit of garlic. Or, better yet, add some delicious ramps - that's how we had them tonight. Sauteed the ramps in butter first, then threw in the pre-boiled fiddleheads and cooked just for a minute or two.

Once the fiddleheads have been boiled, you can use them in soup, stir fry, pasta, risotto - anything. You can even chill them and serve with vinaigrette as a salad.

Nothing says spring like a fiddlehead.

[Toasted]

I so love fiddleheads! I like a little balsamic vinegar dripped over them and a little butter too. Definitely boil them, drain and cook again like the last post suggested. Some of my family in Maine have a great spot and gather tons and then blanch and freeze them. They taste as good as the fresh stuff I can get around here. A lot of people like to mix them into omlettes or other egg dishes. You might try that. Oh, my aunt likes to throw some type of ham thing in the water while she boils up the fiddleheads. I think it's called a hawlk? I don't know, I'm a vegetarian and I wish she'd told me before I gobbled all that good stuff up! : Still, it was the only vegetable dish at the reunion and it was really good.

[budrichard]

Your fiddleheads need to be blanched in boiling water and then cooled in cold water. Next rub ALL the coating off the fiddleheads. Use however you want after that. -Dick

[francois]

I just love fiddleheads (blanhed, of course) in a vinaigrette, specially with a bit of ramps. Very seasonal. It only lasts in few weeks in the spring. Great salad to start in nice dinner.

[SheenaGreena]

are fiddleheads native to new england? I love foraging for food and have been looking around Massachusetts for morels with no success

I would love to pick some fiddleheads or ramps, or better yet morels around my area.

Do you know if fiddleheads are similar at all to Korean fernbracken?

[alamut]

Yes:

Fiddleheads, ramps, and morels for that matter should be available in your New England. Fiddleheads can be found into Maine, and Canada. However, this wild vegetable trifecta of eastern North America are most common farther south in the Applacatian hills of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, & West Virgina.

I'm pretty sure that fiddleheads are a pretty different creature than Korean fernbracken. I say this cautiously, because of my lack of familiarity with Seoul food. (who could get tired of that pun?). I think that fernbracken refers to the roots & stems of a very different plant generally purchased dried. Fiddleheads are the Baby shoots of the ostrich fern, and they look like a fern.

[Khadija]

We're getting fiddleheads right now. So far, I have tried them twice. They were only okay, but maybe I could have done a better job cooking them. I blanched them, and then sauteed in butter with garlic.

This article in the Globe and Mail (Canadian National Newspaper) suggests that fiddleheads are disgusting, no matter what you do with them: http://www.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/...60520/COWENTE20

[Toasted]

We're getting fiddleheads right now.  So far, I have tried them twice.  They were only okay, but maybe I could have done a better job cooking them.  I blanched them, and then sauteed in butter with garlic.

This article in the Globe and Mail (Canadian National Newspaper) suggests that fiddleheads are disgusting, no matter what you do with them: http://www.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/...60520/COWENTE20

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Wow, that writer sounds bitter. Fiddleheads were a big deal when I was growing up it ME. We knew that they only were around for a short time so we had them every night and it was fun and exciting. Do a google search and you'll find many recipes. I just found a new recipe for fiddleheads and gnocci in a celery broth. I just bought five lbs. of fiddleheads at our local store. We'll eat some tonight but I'm blanching and freezing the rest and I plan to keep doing so until they stop coming in. BTW: there is a place in ME where you can order canned fiddleheads. I think it's Belle's? I'll link it when I get a chance- they even ship frozen for a limited amount of time. I'd love to read about any great fiddlehead recipes you all have out there. Thanks.

[gini]

I am pretty much in love with anything that tastes earthy, grassy and green, so when fiddlehead season (week) happens in the Northeast - watch out - for I will elbow you to fill my bag at the grocery store.

Anyway, besides the de rigeur blanching and sauteeing in copious amounts of garlic, butter and red pepper flakes, I like to dress soups, make a salad, and pickle them. With tweaking, some of these recipes aren't half bad.

[Ben Hong]

Baked stuffed shad , or atlantic salmon, and fiddleheads are a traditional St. John River Valley (NB, Can.) spring dinner.

Fiddlehead collecting is a rite of spring for a lot of families in the Maritimes of Canada. Harvest sites are tightly kept family secrets to be passed on from generation to generation.

In recent years, the upscale restaurants in large North American cities have "discovered " them and this has engendered a whole new "industry" with commercial collectors reaching far and wide raiding "secret" spots. So, for those people who are faced with fiddleheads on the menu, don't eat them; they taste absolutely disgusting, much akin to pond scum. Moreover, they cause food poisoning, hives, impacted follicles, ingrown toenails, and worse of all, penis inversion.

I eliminate all the potential hazards by stir frying them with garlic and black bean sauce and beef. So many ways to do them ala chinois.

Or to go simplistic, hard blanch them with mushrooms, top off with lemon juice and butter.

remember, DON'T EAT THEM

[Magictofu]

The fiddlehead season is about to begin here and I do plan to pick a few of these beautiful wild vegetables this year again. My partner loves them but I am not as crazy as she is about these. Maybe it is because the only way I find them palatable is cooked, almost confited, in huge amount of melted butter.

Any ideas/advices to share on making the best use of this year's bounty?

[Marky Marc]

I would also love to know. I hear they're quite good for you.

[Bill Miller]

I treat them like asparagus--clean, steam or boil. serve with butter, salt & pepper ,hollandaise sauce , tarragon butter, use in a salad with dressing, experiment with a cream soup--any of these will work and what a striking presentation for guests!!!!

[hummingbirdkiss]

I am not sure I see a problem with them confit'd in a lot of butter ..that is my favorite way to eat them ...

I have made a cream of fiddlehead soup and it was very good..when I put extra butter in it!

butter and fiddleheads...that is the way I know them!

[Magictofu]

Past years I have cooked a few dishes:

- quiche

- sauteed fiddleheads (often dripping in butter)

- cream of fiddleheads (this was truly disgusting though )

- etc.

This year, I think I am going to pickle some I tend to get greedy when picking wild vegetables or mushrooms so I end up needing to preserve leftovers anyway.

(edited for readability)

Edited May 2, 2007 by Magictofu (log)

[Chris Hennes]

Well, folks, it's that time of year again: that time when half of us eat every fiddlehead we can get our hands on, and the other half lament how awfully pond-scum like they taste . I missed the season last year, so I've been watching the Wegman's carefully this year and yesterday we got our first batch in. I have only made them once before, I think just sauteed, so this year I'm going to actually follow the advice given in this topic and blanche them first. I wonder if they go well with bacon?

[monavano]

Well, folks, it's that time of year again: that time when half of us eat every fiddlehead we can get our hands on, and the other half lament how awfully pond-scum like they taste . I missed the season last year, so I've been watching the Wegman's carefully this year and yesterday we got our first batch in. I have only made them once before, I think just sauteed, so this year I'm going to actually follow the advice given in this topic and blanche them first. I wonder if they go well with bacon? 

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I'm looking forward to trying them at home this year-so I'm keeping my eyes open at the local farmers markets. I did have pickled fiddleheads on a charcuterie platter at a restaurant recently-perhaps they're not too far away.

BTW-they are very good pickled and I may try this myself.

[WK2]

They're certainly available in New York in full force. I sauteed and added them to my risotto last weekend. The risotto included ramps in addition to the usual garlic/onion. Delicious, though the ramps do get the tiniest bit strong. And I'm not sure I understand the objection to the taste (seems like asparagus to me), but different strokes and all that...