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fiddlehead season

Started by laffs, May 07, 2011, 10:00:55 PM

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laffs

i just got out today for some fiddleheads. the season only lasts a few weeks and its halfway gone. i managed to pick a 5 gallon pail full,but their going fast. anyone fortunate enough to have access to them should get out there soon.
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SPIKER

the morels are about close to an end here already too...    I am not sure enough on fiddle heads to know which type are good...   all the ferns are up pretty good here already.

Mark
I'm looking for help all the shrinks have given up on me :o

thecfarm

Another winter is behind us when I see the big piles of fiddles heads for sell in a packing lot.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

SwampDonkey

My patches of fiddle heads aren't up yet. Should soon be though the trout lillies are up. I see old spore frons where they should be growing, but no signs.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Mooseherder

We got to the cabin a few days too late last year.
I got some video of the Brook.  At the end of the video there are some Fiddleheads that were a few days too late as they were unfurled.  We'll be getting there a month later this year so no chance of getting them fresh.  My Mother in Law always has some frozen gallon bags of them though. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkSW1hR_9Uk

LOGDOG

What a great little creek Mooseherder. I could just set up a lawn chair right on the edge of that and sit there all day listening to the rapids.

I've never eaten fiddleheads. What do they taste like? Asparagus? Green Beans? They interest me....

SwampDonkey

My uncle said the natives were picking across the road in front of his place yesterday. But that's near the main river. Outward from the valley they are later and also later near the river bank, as it is in flood stage now. On the Tobique river they pick in June on the Islands and banks.

Logdog, there is a slight bitterness to them. We use vinegar and butter on them when served. With fish they are topped with white sauce made with flour and egg.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Mooseherder

You can make them in place of any green that you usually put on the plate.
They are usually boiled or steamed.
The flavor profile and texture is close to tender asparagus but has a flavor all it's own. 
A lot of folks make them with a dish called Mess Pork.
The Pork roasts are put in a Salt Brine solution for about a week then they'll make a boiled dinner out of it with the Fiddleheads and Taters.  It is so good.  ;)

thecfarm

I put fiiddleheads and really all greens right up there with grits.   go_away
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

LOGDOG

Thecfarm .... you need to try my mustard greens. I didn't learn how to make them right until about 3 years ago. Now, literally ...you could put a steak in front of me or fried chicken breast and I'd eat my greens instead of the steak and chicken. Anyone I've made them for raves about them and changes their mind about not liking greens. I got the recipe from Rachel Ray believe it or not. First thought that went through my head when SwampDonkey said these fiddleheads had a slight bitter taste was that I bet they'd be great cooked the way I make my greens.

SwampDonkey

When I lived in northern BC, the folks there wouldn't eat fiddleheads. Thought they were poisonous or something. Just me and the natives knew better. :D Picked them along the Skeena. You could buy them out there in the store for $5 bucks a pound. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

SwampDonkey

From 'Fruit and Vegetable Magazine' in the article entitled "Examining fiddlehead production"

Fiddleheads are a good source of fibre, Vitamin A and C, niacin, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium. They also contain a significant amount of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA in particular) and high concentrations of phenolic compounds (antioxidants). The antioxidant activity in fiddleheads is twice that in blueberries. They are one of the most nutritious vegetables we can consume say researchers.

Research is being done by Dr. John Delong, Dr. Robert Prange, Dr. Charles Forney, Dr. Mark Hodges and Dr. Lihua Fan of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Eat your fiddlehead greens. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Den Socling

log dog are you going to share your recipe? I like steamed greens but I never had mustard greens. Maybe you have. I should have searched first.

Is there a particular type of fern that has the good fiddleheads? Are there any you need to stay away from?

SwampDonkey

Den, just the Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) is edible where I live and that is what we all pick for sale up here. It has brown scales covering the heads just before it starts to grow. I have picked the same fern (natives to) on the Skeena river in northern BC. Last year in Toronto, regular ones sold for $8 a pound, organic for $12 bucks. For the organic ones you just pick every other one from the patch and call it organic. :D Who ever the heck told those guys up there in Toronto that there is some kind of distinction is getting a good laugh and an extra $4 a pound. They are all organic, they all come from the wild, 100 %. ::)

http://ontarioferns.com/main/species.php?id=4027
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Den Socling

Thanks SD. There is an island in Pine Creek about 3/4 kilometer upstream from our house. It is covered with ferns that look like these. We also have some growing around the house that I can try before taking the plunge. And they are all organic!  ;D

Brad_S.

 I have resurrected this old thread because I have a question about fiddleheads. When I used to work in Maine, I acquired a taste for them but since I no longer work there I am looking to source them locally. There is a large patch of ferns by a stream back in the woods and the fiddleheads are just coming up . Can anyone tell just by this picture if these are edible fiddleheads? They seem a bit less pliable than the ones I bought in Maine but then those fiddleheads were usually the better part of the day old.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." J. Lennon

Mooseherder

You've hit the jackpot.  Those are real fiddleheads. :)
I wash off the paper burlap and cook with some salted pork roast or a meaty ham bone.  The season comes and goes quickly.  Good stuff right there.

SwampDonkey

Yup x 2. If you go back the end of May, the ferns will look like ostrich plumes, up to 6 feet tall on rich ground, but often not as tall.  The Tobique River fiddle heads were always much bigger and grew slower, so the season was into June up there. :)

You can can them also, better than frozen.

We usually steam ours and eat with fish and white egg/flour sauce. :)

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

coxy

if they have a V shape in the stalk you can eat them

Mooseherder

 Some from our Stream 2012.


  

 


 

Last years harvest.  Hope we get as many this year.


 

Magicman

Well DanG.


 
I only found these little ones.   :D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

SwampDonkey

 :D Good eat'n all them hairs. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Magicman

You can floss when you finish.   :D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Brad_S.

Well I went out and harvested the few early birds.  It was hard to walk in the area without stepping on node's about to push up fiddleheads. Next week I imagine I will have more than I know what to do with. For now  I found enough to have with dinner.

Thank you all for confirming I had edible fiddleheads.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." J. Lennon

Ken

They look delicious Brad_S   It will be sometime around mothers day before we have fresh ones here.  There is still a considerable amount of snow in the woods here but it's fading fast.
Cheers
Ken
Lots of toys for working in the bush

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