Fiddlehead greens

Fiddlehead greens (fiddlehead ferns, fiddleheads)(Matteuccia struthiopteris, var. Penn.), the curled tops of the ostrich fern picked before they unfurl, grow wild in wet areas in spring in the Province of New Brunswick in the Maritimes in Canada and are used as food by locals. The tops of the ferns resemble the head of a violin, to a degree, hence the name. They are also exported fresh or frozen. [http://www.wild-harvest.com/pages/fiddlehead.htm] They are often eaten with hollandaise sauce or with butter or lemon and butter and are probably closest to crisp asparagus if they have to be compared to something. [http://www.fiddleheadgreens.com/faqs.php] They are usually steamed or boiled briefly and may then be eaten hot or chilled (not raw because of a harmful enzyme) and are sometimes used in salad or eaten cold with mayonnaise. [http://www.fiddle-heads.com/recipe.htm] Nutritionally they compare favorably with beet greens and are relatively low in sodium while being high in potassium. [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119557246/abstract] To avoid a bitter taste and perhaps some undesirable chemicals it is advisable to boil the fiddleheads and discard the water, then boil again, or to shake them in a series of paper bags or loose plastic bags before eating to remove the small brown scales that adhere to the coiled part of the fern. (One eats the top and perhaps an inch more.) For the Maliseet, a native tribe or the area where the ostrich fern grows, they were considered to be medicinal as well as a foodstuff and were gathered in quantity during the relatively brief season before they unfurl. Ferns of other varieties, not the ostrich fern, are carcinogenic or even poison and are not to be eaten. [http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/vegetables/fiddle.htm]

References

See also

*Ferns
*Fiddleheads
*Ostrich fern

Categories

*Food and drink in Canada
*Maritimes
*Vegetables