Oh, Fiddleheads!

I have often seen them in the grocery store this time of year – their odd spirals pique my interest, but not knowing what they were and how they should be prepared kept me from bagging up a bunch and bringing them home. Finally, I got the lowdown on fiddleheads and was pleasantly surprised to find out where they come from.

Fiddleheads are the early spring sprouts of the ostrich fern. One of the first ground plants to sprout in the season, ferns come in a wide variety, but the fiddleheads appropriate to eat are of this specific type of fern. 

According to the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension Publication website, fiddleheads can be identified by the brown papery covering on the uncoiled fern as it is emerging out of the ground. The fern’s stem is smooth and there is a “U”-shaped groove on the inner side of the fern’s stem. 

To find fiddleheads, just look for water. Ferns like moisture and ostrich ferns are no different.

“They tend to grow in swampy areas,” said forager extraordinaire “Wildman” Steve Brill.  “They should be coming up in about a week or so, but they are only available for a short 10 days.”

Heading out into nature and picking something to pop in your mouth if you are an inexperienced forager is not advised. Brill cautions against the many poisonous plants out there, so the “Wildman” offers foraging tours.  On Sunday April 10, Brill will lead a tour along the Bronx River, starting at the Crestwood railroad station in Westchester. Among other edible treats this time of year such as ramps and cow parsnips, Brill will be searching for fiddleheads. 

Once you find them though, what exactly do you do with them? 

“They need to be cooked to eat them,” explained Brill.  Clean the shoots under running water. They can be sautéed or steamed and combined with salt and pepper and olive oil and lemon juice. Brill, a vegan, even makes a cream sauce with the young fern shoots.

“They have a flavor somewhere between a green bean and asparagus. They taste like spring.”

Fiddleheads are high in Vitamin A and niacin, contain some Vitamin C, and possess a variety of minerals including potassium, magnesium and iron.  

White Flower Farm in Litchfield, Connecticut, sells ostrich fern bareroots for spring planting. Besides the edible early shoots that the plant provides, the fern is also deer resistant and the farm’s website states that with constant moisture the fern can even be planted in full sun.  Don’t pick them all to eat though – the fern does not grow back once plucked from the Earth. 

To sign up for “Wildman” Steve Brill’s fiddlehead foraging tour visit www.wildmanstevebrill.com.