LOCALadk Magazine

30 LOCALadk Magazine Spring 2014 F iddlehead ferns are one of spring's wild delicacies. If you pluck them just after they emerge from their subterranean slumber, but before they unfurl, they make a delicious, nutritious addition to any meal at a time when grocery store vegetables look uninspiring. Fiddleheads are so named because they look like the decorative scroll on the top of a violin. They sure make sweet music on your taste buds! Eaten within 24 hours of picking, they taste like a cross between a crispy string bean and young asparagus, and they're packed with Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, iron, potassium, and fiber. Technically, any fern is a "fiddlehead" before it extends its fronds. Many are edible, though the ostrich fern (Matteucciastruthiopteris), which emerges in May in damp woodlands throughout the Adirondacks, produces the fiddlehead with the gourmet reputation. The best way to get fiddleheads is to find a patch in the woods and snap them off. Limit yourself to three per plant. Mature ostrich ferns usually produce seven scrolls. Over-picking will kill the plant. Many ferns resemble an ostrich fern. One in particular, the bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) is carcinogenic, so it's important to identify the right one. The fiddlehead of an ostrich fern is about an inch in diameter with a brown papery covering and a smooth stem. Though only an inch of the stem might poke above the ground, look for a deep U-shaped groove on the inside of the stem (the side under the scroll). If you happen upon a patch of ostrich ferns past their edible prime, remember the spot so you can come back next year, a little earlier, before they unfurl., FIDDLEHEAD FERNS A Forest Delicacy Story and Photos By Lisa Densmore

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