Fiddlehead Farmers???

[fishmaster]

Does anyone on this site harvest fiddleheads in the spring? I seem to have grown an interest in trying to eat some wild edible plants this year for some reason (It's been along winter and I've been reading about the outdoors to much) I have been up in the Sudbury area the last couple months and I went for a good walk the other day to try and find some but they haven't sprouted up there yet. Has anyone been out yet this spring or is it still to early? Also is anyone aware of any club or group that puts on a wild plant course to teach how to identify plants and mushrooms that are safe to eat. I read a few books but alot of mushrooms look similar but they sure don't do the same things

[RiverBank]

You can always try Morels,they are delicous and easy to identify with its huge pore openings. Fiddleheads are out in this area. I was just thinking myself about trying some,never ate them before! Puffballs are also another good one to try,thinly sliced and fried in butter. Might find clubs on facebook!

[Out4trout]

Yep - I harvest Fiddleheads and Leeks - both are up...

Where I get my fiddleheads there are no other people harvesting AFAIK. I only take a meal or two each spring - there are literally thousands there.

There is one type of Fiddlehead that you don't want to eat - won't kill you but is mildly toxic. I can't describe the difference but Google it and you'll see - it's obvious.

Bon Appetit!!

[joco]

wen younger we use to go right here in the hills. to get them.

they were good in garlic butter.

bring back some memoris here thanks.

and we use to get some ''sorry in french dont no the name in english..

''cresson'' that was good and strong taste..

joco

[fishmaster]

Thanks for the replys folks. I'm going to take a walk around this weekend and see if they have started here yet. How do you guys cook them? I was told to cook them just like asparagus??? I was thinking of steaming them, and then melting some garlic butter over them. Riverbank thanks for the tip on maybe finding a club on facebook, I never thought of that

[DropShotr]

Never tried to pick fiddleheads, I buy them at the store
Who knows, maybe all those ferns coming up on my property are fiddleheads

You can always try Morels,they are delicous and easy to identify with its huge pore openings.

WOW....that takes me back to my childhood in Pennsylvania. I remember picking morels with mom & dad. I've never tried to look for them up here. I do know there is a false morel.

I've had puffball............yuck!!

[DropShotr]

How do you guys cook them? I was told to cook them just like asparagus??? I was thinking of steaming them, and then melting some garlic butter over them.

I treat them as asparagus when preparing them.

Steaming is a great way to do them. Melted buter & lemon juice, Garlic butter, roasted garlic butter.

Cut some bacon into 1/4 to 1/2in strips and fry up crispy, remove the bacon and most of the fat and saute the fiddleheads in the bacon fat. Garnish with the bacon pieces.

Enjoy........
DS

[Colin_M]

Fishmaster,

My Dad and I picked fiddleheads every spring in New Brunswick, either along the banks of the Saint John River or on the islands where we duck hunted in the fall.

We would wait until the spring flood waters dropped enough to expose "dry" land. Flood plain fiddleheads are growing in extremely wet soil that is very fertile and are the best eating. In New Brunswick, fiddleheads and shad (a bony salt-water herring that spawns in fresh water streams) are a traditional meal this time of the year.

The following links will give you some tips on picking and cooking them; however, remember to wash them really really well as they grow up through very fine silt that gets into every nook and cranny. When you are cooking them, they will start to open up and the cooking water may turn brownish. If this happens, just give them a good rinse under hot or boiling water before eating them.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2302388_pick-fiddleheads.html

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/cook ... season.php

An awsome, healthy meal; however, I would not pick them downriver from the Ottawa sewage plant - avoid Petrie Island like the plague.

Happy eating,
Colin

[DropShotr]

Fishmaster,

I would not pick them downriver from the Ottawa sewage plant - avoid Petrie Island like the plague.

Happy eating,
Colin

They would be $hittleheads, not fiddleheads down there


DS

[Out4trout]

How do you guys cook them?

Sauteed in butter - dash o' salt and pepper!!

[Pints]

The Ostrich Fern is the one fiddleheads are harvested from, The Bracken fern is the other common fern here in Canada and is not considered edible. Here are a couple of links that might help:

http://www.ontariowildflower.com/fern.htm

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/ki ... re-eng.php

[Bass Addict]

Fishmaster,

I would not pick them downriver from the Ottawa sewage plant - avoid Petrie Island like the plague.

Happy eating,
Colin

They would be $hittleheads, not fiddleheads down there


DS

[Joisey Joe]

What a great thread! Just last week my wife and I descovered a motherload of Ramps(wild leeks), picked a bunch of them, boy did the car smell of onions even though they were in the trunk! My wife cooked em up and they were delish! Joe.

[fishmaster]

The Ostrich Fern is the one fiddleheads are harvested from, The Bracken fern is the other common fern here in Canada and is not considered edible. Here are a couple of links that might help:

http://www.ontariowildflower.com/fern.htm

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/ki ... re-eng.php

Thanks for the links, now I'm kind of stumped though. I thought the normal ferns you find growing just about anywhere were the ones you could eat. According to one of the links there are many types of ferns but only a few are edible. I guess I better print out a few pictures to take with me before I pick and eat some.

[Out4trout]

The good ones have several heads growing out of a common base - we always leave 1/2 on each base. The bad ones are "loner" stems from the ground.