BS: It's Fiddlehead season!

Subject: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: EBarnacle
Date: 23 May 11 - 10:57 AM

Got some Fiddleheads at our local supermarket yesterday. Sauteed them as soon as we got home. Delicious.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: nickp
Date: 23 May 11 - 11:14 AM

Yum. Can't get them here though.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 23 May 11 - 11:28 AM

Fiddlehead season !!

I agree .... very delicious

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: Mark Ross
Date: 23 May 11 - 12:35 PM

As Haywire Brack said, marketing his fiddleheads as a natural laxative, "With fronds like these who needs enemas?"


Mark Ross

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: gnu
Date: 23 May 11 - 12:58 PM

How do youse clean em and cook em? In the last fiddlehead thread, Been said he used an air hose to clean them. He also gave a cooking method. I may tray them again using his cooking method as I didn't care for them the first time I had them. Never cleaned any and the videos at YT are much help.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: maeve
Date: 23 May 11 - 01:03 PM

Try this, gnu.

http://umaine.edu/publications/4198e/

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: gnu
Date: 23 May 11 - 02:07 PM

maeve... watch that vid again... he says you need to get the fiddlehean fern and not an ostrich fern...????

Also, the round stemmed ones may be carcinogenic? But that's what are picked here???

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: LilyFestre
Date: 23 May 11 - 02:17 PM

Mark...LOL!

I love fiddleheads!!!

Fresh ones....the slime in a jar...well...it's slime in a jar!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: maeve
Date: 23 May 11 - 02:38 PM

gnu- It was the preparation tips and recipes I was thinking you'd like, but I did go ahead and listened to the video. Perhaps you misheard because of the 10,000 pound robin singing outside your place.

Mr. Fuller carefully explains that the "fiddleheads" or "croziers" that are considered to be safe to eat are the Ostrich Ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris Matteucie fougère-à-l'autruche, Tête-de-violon)only, and that the deep "U" groove in the stem is an indicator for the right fern. The ten minute cooking time is for the purpose of removing toxins from Ostrich fern fiddleheads, similar to the several changes of water when cooking dandelion greens.

Other types of ferns have traditionally been eaten; Bracken Fern being one. They are thought to be carcinogenic based on modern information, but who knows how many you'd have to eat to have a problem? I've heard of changing the cooking water several times for other species, but I'd rather not have the worry, so restrict myself to Ostrich ferns.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 May 11 - 03:18 PM

Fiddleheads...I can only wish for some...cooked simply, with butter....

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: number 6
Date: 23 May 11 - 04:38 PM

fiddleheads .... steamed. Served up with boiled potatoes with olive oil, white pepper and a rack of lamb.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: bobad
Date: 23 May 11 - 04:42 PM

"several changes of water when cooking dandelion greens.'

Never heard that. I steam them for a few minutes then drain and sautee in olive oil with chopped garlic and chili pepper.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: EBarnacle
Date: 23 May 11 - 04:46 PM

The fiddleheads which started this thread have been sauteed in butter and sesame oil with a couple of cloves of garlic [finely chopped], a few brussels sprouts, Baby Bella mushrooms, a little [less than an ounce] soy sauce and just a tad of pepper and salt. After going on line and seeing a lot of contradictory cooking advice, we kept it simple and actively sauteed in a hot pan over medium heat for 8 minutes until everything was tender. Heavenly.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: gnu
Date: 23 May 11 - 06:20 PM

maeve... I listened TWICE more... at about 2:40 he says "and NOT an ostrich fern". I am NOT making this shit up. *I* did not "mishear". Apparently your link is different from my link.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: maeve
Date: 23 May 11 - 06:22 PM

Ok, gnu.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: gnu
Date: 23 May 11 - 06:24 PM

OK? Cool.

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: Ed T
Date: 23 May 11 - 08:52 PM

Bracken?

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: Ed T
Date: 23 May 11 - 08:56 PM

fiddlehead-fern

Subject: RE: BS: It's Fiddlehead season!
From: Jeri
Date: 24 May 11 - 03:48 PM

I bought some in the market. Will marinate some chicken and follow Beer's directions (boil, boil, saute with garlic) and eat them.

The ones in my back yard are bracken, but there are ostrich ferns all along the edge of my road.