A fiddlehead is the coiled head of a young fern. A fiddlehead gets its name from the coiled shape of its head, which looks like the coiled part of a violin. Some fiddleheads are edible and are considered delicacies. They can be found in the spring, during April through the end of May. Although some farms in East Canada have commercially grown fiddleheads, most fiddleheads can be found in the wild. Foraging fiddleheads can be a fun outdoor activity in the spring. You can buy fiddleheads, or you can forage for them yourself. In this how to find fiddleheads page, you can get some basic information about buying, finding, picking, and preparing fiddleheads.

Edible fiddleheads coming from an ostrich fern can mostly be found on the eastern coast of the United States and Canada. There are some safety precautions when you forage for fiddleheads. It is recommended that you should forage for fiddleheads with an expert before you start to forage on your own. This is to avoid picking fiddleheads from the wrong species of ferns, which can be poisonous. You need to pick the youngest fiddleheads that you can find, because they will be more tender. Before you eat the fiddleheads, you need to clean and cook them thoroughly.

Fiddleheads are seasonal delicacies and only found in the spring time.http://localfoods.about.com/od/spring/a/Fiddleheads.htm If you want to purchase fiddleheads from grocery stores or order them online, you can find them during the end of April until early to mid June.http://www.canadianliving.com/blogs/seasons/2009/04/29/from-fiddleheads-to-ferns/ Supermarkets in Canada have started to stock frozen fiddleheads. You can also find fiddleheads in farmers markets or road stands in New Brunswick, Quebec, and New England.http://www.fiddleheadheaven.com/html/buying_fresh_fiddleheads.html You can also order wild produce, such as fiddleheads from Marx Food.

If you want to forage and harvest fiddleheads for yourself, it is better to start early. Fiddleheads must be harvested when they are still very young and tightly coiled. You need to harvest the fiddlehead when they are about 8 to 16 inches tall and before they uncoil.http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/qa/fiddlehead-facts.aspx Some people suggest that the fiddleheads should be picked when they are one or two inches tall.

You can find edible fiddleheads in Canada, Alaska, the northern part of the United States, and along the eastern coast.http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?400400 Some regions that are popular for fiddlehead foraging are New England, Vermont, and East Canadahttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104674500 http://www.canadianliving.com/blogs/seasons/2009/04/29/from-fiddleheads-to-ferns/. Ostrich ferns usually grow in moist and shaded areas, such as in the river or stream banks.

When you forage for fiddleheads, it is very important to be familiar with the characteristic of the edible fiddleheads. Some fiddleheads are poisonous, and uncoiled fiddleheads are also poisonous for humans. Some that are edible including fiddleheads that come from the cinnamon fern, lady fern, and the bracken fern will look similar to the ostrich fern's fiddleheads. They are all mildly toxic and can produce some unpleasant side effects.http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/qa/fiddlehead-facts.aspx Bracken fern fiddleheads are believed to be carcinogenic.http://sonic.net/~alden/Stalk.html The most commonly eaten and the safest fiddleheads to consume are those from the ostrich fern (Mat teuccia struthiopteris).http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/qa/fiddlehead-facts.aspx Although they are relatively safe to eat, you should only eat them in small quantity, and prepare them well before eating.

Edible fiddleheads from the ostrich fern are bright green and less than 16 inches tall. If possible, pick the ones that are less than 8 inches tall or even young fiddleheads that have just sprouted from the ground. Younger fiddleheads taste more tender, but they are more difficult to clean.http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/604977/fiddleheads_valuable_nutrients_robust.html?cat=5

The coiled top of a fiddlehead is bright green and it is covered with a “skin” similar to onionskin that is reddish brown. Avoid fiddleheads that are covered with white fuzz, reddish, or purplish ones, because they might be poisonous.http://localfoods.about.com/od/spring/a/Fiddleheads.htm Some ferns look similar to ostrich ferns to the untrained eyes. If you are unsure of your ability to identify edible fiddleheads, ask an expert forager to come with you. To harvest fiddleheads you only need it to bend the stem two inches from the top until it snaps.

You need to prepare fiddleheads thoroughly before consuming them, for your safety as well as to preserve their taste and texture. You need to prepare your fiddleheads quickly because they lose their crispness and color fast after they have been picked.

First, you need to clean the fiddleheads. Remove the brownish “skin” from the top. You can do this by rubbing them under cold running water or shaking them inside a paper bag. You need to make sure that all the skin is peeled off. If you use the paper bag method, you still need to rinse the fiddleheads, preferably several times to clean them. If your fiddleheads are longer than 2 inches, cut the stem 2 inches below the head. You only eat the first one or two inches of the stem below the head.

To store them, wrap them tightly with vacuumed sealed plastic bags and refrigerate. Another storing method is to keep fiddleheads submerged in very cold water and change the water every couple of days. Fiddleheads can be stored up to several weeks with proper storing methods. Fiddleheads that are exposed to air will quickly turn brown and limp.http://www.fiddleheadheaven.com/html/buying_fresh_fiddleheads.html

Some people eat fiddleheads half cooked or even raw, but there is danger of a food-born illness.http://www.foodreference.com/html/artfiddlehead.html It is best to boil the fiddleheads for 10 minutes or steam them for 20 minutes before consuming. For more information about cooking fiddleheads, visit the how to cook fiddleheads page in Mahalo.