Fiddlehead Ferns: The Topic

[Hest88]

I had my first fiddleheads of the season recently. I cooked them the way I usually do. I boiled for the recommended 10 minutes first, then I just threw them in the colander and ran water over them. That usually gets rid of enough of the brown fuzzy stuff for my needs. Then I stir-fried them in lots of butter, pressing them against the bottom of the wok to get them slightly crispy on the outsides, before salting and eating!

[Tri2Cook]

They're not in yet here. Still a bit early even for good years (pronounced: early spring) and this isn't a good year so far, still getting light frost most nights. I have the pan ready for a fiddlehead omelette when they get here though.

[BonVivant]

i've never seen them in my food hell until i went to mountainous rural China. deep in the mountains and far away from most things civilised one can't really make a fuss so yeah i did eat them a few times. iirc they're always blanched before hand.

i very much prefer the green garlic stalks though, which i could eat in copious amounts. some photos of fresh fiddleheads in China: shoulder pole 1, shoulder pole 2, shoulder pole 3

[Hiroyuki]

some photos of fresh fiddleheads in China: shoulder pole 1, shoulder pole 2, shoulder pole 3

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I looked at the linked photos, and I found they were bracken fern fronds, not ostrich fern fiddleheads.

A lot of edible wild plants are eaten in Japan. For more info, click here.

[rhinopias]

For everyday I do the same blanching and quick saute as most here. For a special evening Elizabeth Schneider"s recipe for Fiddlehead Custards w/ Baby Vegetable Garnish is time consuming but a real jaw dropping and beautiful first course for your guests. Having said that, having to puree 2/3rds of the cute ferns nearly breaks my heart. Interesting Elizabeth says chopping and pureeing them greatly improves their flavor.

[BonVivant]

thanks, Hiroyuki. the health effect bit is quite discouraging. it appears no more brackens for me.

[Bueno]

I like to blanch them first, sautee some pancetta, then fry them in the rendered pork fat. Poached egg on top, parmesan... perfect.

(I often treat them like asparagus).

Great stir-fried with spicy beef, too. Nice with scallops (recently: a ragout of spring peas, morels, and fiddleheads to accompany carmelized scallops with a lemon beurre blanc).

[Magictofu]

Funny people say it's not in season yet... my usual spots have fully developped ferns instead of fiddleheads. I'm guessing most fiddleheads come from further north.

[Peter the eater]

We've now got them here in Nova Scotia - I think they showed up on the 24th of May.

My batch looked like this:

I boiled them for ten minutes, add salt and then melted butter. They'd probably be even better with less time cooking but there has been stories of bacteria in the fronds. Better safe than sorry.

I recall a post from mid 2007 where someone in Ontario was thinking of pureeing fiddleheads for a catering job - along with pickerel I think - and I replied how I simply couldn't bring myself to liquefy such short lived beauties. Now I have a new answer . . . trim off the stem for the puree and keep the tight coils intact.

[Fugu]

I prefer fiddleheads that we used to get when I was growing up in Philippines. They are much smaller and more tender than the North American variety. We served them with fresh water snails from mountain streams. Also a seasonal treat for us.

Edited May 29, 2008 by Fugu (log)

[Chris Hennes]

I boiled them for ten minutes, add salt and then melted butter. They'd probably be even better with less time cooking but there has been stories of bacteria in the fronds. Better safe than sorry.

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Nice shot, Peter. I agree with the cooking time: I did the same thing the other night and wished I had left them a bit firmer. I wonder how long you really need to cook them to be "mostly safe." I'm sure the 10 minute recommendation is a "cover our butts" time.

[Peter the eater]

I boiled them for ten minutes, add salt and then melted butter. They'd probably be even better with less time cooking but there has been stories of bacteria in the fronds. Better safe than sorry.

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Nice shot, Peter. I agree with the cooking time: I did the same thing the other night and wished I had left them a bit firmer. I wonder how long you really need to cook them to be "mostly safe." I'm sure the 10 minute recommendation is a "cover our butts" time.

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Whenever a municipality puts a boil order out to ensure safe drinking water from the city's supply they always say ten minutes. I assume this is ample time to kill the bugs.

[hummingbirdkiss]

My batch looked like this:

I have no words

[Peter the eater]

Bump.

Where are they? It's mid effing May.

[SobaAddict70]

Bump.

Where are they? It's mid effing May.

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I have about half a pound in my fridge if that helps any.

[SobaAddict70]

I think they taste like pond scum.

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They taste like asparagus to me. They have a delicacy that's accentuated when tossed with a little melted butter and a touch of salt.

Speaking of which, that's for brunch this weekend.

[Magictofu]

I think they taste like pond scum.

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They taste like asparagus to me. They have a delicacy that's accentuated when tossed with a little melted butter and a touch of salt.

Speaking of which, that's for brunch this weekend.

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Those I picked this year were by far the best I ever had. They were picked at a different location so I am guessing that the place where they grow has a major influence on their taste. Until this year I thought very little of them even though my partner is a big fan of these ferns. What I experienced this year was closer to the taste of asparagus as SobaAddict70 suggested.

[Peter the eater]

Fiddleheads are 4 to 6 dollars a pound and they've been available for a week and a half now. We had a bunch for dinner -- hours later I'm still considering why I like them so much. They look unusual, they taste fine, and they represent the start of summer. Same goes for rhubarb.

[Peter the eater]

Fiddleheads sauteed in butter with garlic and onion . . .

combined with steamer clams . . .

served on egg noodles:

The steamer juice is perfect for finishing the fiddlehead pan sauce, along with flour and vinegar. The clams were filter-feeding on corn meal in the fridge overnight but still a tiny amount of grit remained. It's amazing how a few grains of sand in your food can have such a negative impact.

[menuinprogress]

Fiddleheads sauteed in butter with garlic and onion . . .

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Very nice looking fiddleheads!

And I hear you on grit - I'm really sensitive to it. Kind of like getting a bit of shell in soft-boiled eggs...

[Peter the eater]

Very nice looking fiddleheads!

And I hear you on grit - I'm really sensitive to it. Kind of like getting a bit of shell in soft-boiled eggs...

There's probably a hard-coded genetic message inside us from the caveman days saying "don't eat sand or rocks".

Those clams are so tasty and affordable -- next time I'll give them a 48 cornmeal buffet, separate the siphons more carefully, and rinse the meat thoroughly. Most of the delicious clam juice winds up in the steaming broth, so from there it can be recovered by decanting.

[Tri2Cook]

And now, two or three weeks (or more) after most people are just having fond memories of this years fresh fiddleheads, they're finally coming in here. Picked about a lb. today and steamed and ate with butter most of them tonight. In about another 2 or 3 days the area I go to should be overflowing with them. This is a bit late even for here but we're not having a nice spring this year. Global Colding is having it's way with us.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Does anyone have any updated information on the putative fiddlehead toxin?  I want to cook my score of fiddleheads safely but not to mush.  Food poisoning is one thing but my iPad battery only lasts so long.

 

[Okanagancook]

From Canada Services website on fiddleheads:  “

Cooking

• Cook fiddleheads in a generous amount of boiling water for 15 minutes, or steam them for 10 to 12 minutes until tender. Discard the water used for boiling or steaming the fiddleheads.
• Cook fiddleheads before sautéing, frying, baking, or using them other foods like mousses and soups.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

38 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

From Canada Services website on fiddleheads:  “

Cooking

• Cook fiddleheads in a generous amount of boiling water for 15 minutes, or steam them for 10 to 12 minutes until tender. Discard the water used for boiling or steaming the fiddleheads.
• Cook fiddleheads before sautéing, frying, baking, or using them other foods like mousses and soups.

 

Indeed I saw that, thanks.  I was hoping it just applied to Canada.  But I have two iPads.