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January 2, 2015 at 2:12 am #816425
CMParticipantOK, I know it’s too early in the year, but does anyone know where I can find fiddleheads? Do they show up at the farmer’s market in the spring?
I’ve got another one of my cravings going on.
TIA.
January 2, 2015 at 3:12 am #820381
SueParticipantI’ve seen them at the farmers market, but I don’t recall what season they come in as I don’t buy them. I just read online that it’s “early spring,” but not sure how that’s defined.
January 2, 2015 at 5:55 am #820382
HunterGParticipantWe get them occasionally at Thriftway. Only when in season, call ahead and they can special order them for you.
January 3, 2015 at 4:58 am #820383
CMParticipantThanks, both of you. I’ll wait ’till April and check the sources. I’m not educated enough to harvest my own. Looking forward to it!
January 3, 2015 at 8:23 pm #820384
tom kelleyParticipantHow do you serve them?
January 3, 2015 at 10:16 pm #820385
CMParticipantWash the papery skins off and re-trim the cut ends if they’ve gone brown. Blanch in boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes, drain, and pop in a hot saute pan with olive oil and minced garlic until just lightly browned on the edges. That’s my favorite. Add salt if desired and eat hot.
Usually preparation is about the same no matter how they are served. There’s a Thai dish that mixes them with sauteed shrimp and peppers over rice noodles that’s pretty tasty also.
January 4, 2015 at 12:56 am #820386
jwwsParticipantUwajimaya usually has them in early spring. Had a wonderful dish with them prepped as CM described but with morel mushrooms in the mix and some shaved Parmesan on top, delicious!
January 5, 2015 at 2:16 am #820387
CMParticipantWell, jwws, the very first time I ever had them was on the Appalachian trail in New Hampshire when I was about 18. Some old dude walked into our camp and asked if he could share our fire. After a couple of rounds of the whiskey bottle and sharing our rainbow trout, he grabbed our cast iron pan and pulled out a mesh bag full of fiddleheads and morels. Just used the grease left over from frying the trout and cut in some chunks of salt pork from his bag. Good memories, good times.
Added: Simply pan frying is not actually considered the safest or tastiest way anymore, but it’s still a fond memory. Blanching removes most of the bitterness.
January 5, 2015 at 3:47 am #820388
tom kelleyParticipantThanks CM. Is one kind of fern preferable?
January 5, 2015 at 4:19 am #820389
CMParticipantWell, Tom, that’s where my knowledge goes awry. Typically Ostrich ferns are considered fine. Our local sword ferns, I really don’t know enough about and there’s some sketchy info. There are some species that have been identified as carcinogenic.
To me, it’s like picking mushrooms. I don’t know enough to know what’s OK and what’s not, so I guess I’m relying on a vendor to keep me safe. Maybe not a great plan, but there’s always hope, right?
January 6, 2015 at 12:09 am #820390
jissyParticipantCM: Look no further !! 4310 SW Oregon St. and you’re there. (I kid of course).
January 6, 2015 at 12:47 am #820391
wakefloodParticipantYes, there was something of a “to do” a few years back when fiddleheads started hitting menus of fine dining establishments. I personally avoided them (save one tasting) given that there wasn’t any consensus and decided to err on the side of caution.
I’m not 100% sure why they struck me as particularly sketchy as I’ve foraged and eaten thousands of wild mushrooms over the years and have never had so much as a bad tummy ache or other notable reaction.
And yes, I realize time will tell if I have some sort of kidney/liver malfunction but everything appears in fine order so far. But then again, I’m very picky, no pun intended, having only eaten a handful of easily discernible varieties and never from urban/suburban locales.
I DO have several interesting ferns in my fairly pristine (non fertilized/pesticided) meadow. If anyone wanted to pick them, they’re quite welcome to!
January 6, 2015 at 9:10 pm #820392
herongrrrlParticipantWhile you’re waiting for fiddleheads, the nettles are already starting to emerge in places. I would be surprised if Foraged and Found Edibles didn’t have some at the Farmers’ Market sometime in the next few weeks.
January 7, 2015 at 2:40 am #820393
CMParticipantYeah, no. I can’t rationalize it, but stinging nettles to me are like Fugu or someone telling me that poison ivy salad is the latest rave.
It’s funny how people are picky about things, isn’t it? For me it’s mostly texture that turns me off. I don’t know if I’d be a fiddlehead fan if all the data were available before I first tried them. Back then it was just, “Here, try these, they’re tasty!”
Of course, it was the 80’s and there was a lot of that going around, if you know what I mean. :)
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