Botanica WestHolistic Healing & Therapy from a Master Herbalist

Fiddle Head Ferns- Prepare now for spring harvest. It seems spring comes on so fast and the fiddle heads are up grown before I remember to go out and gather them. I missed two years in a row due to the fires. But watch out this coming spring, I will be there when the last of the snow barely melts and they poke their fuzzy little heads. After the fires there wasn’t a lot of fern picking.

But the fires have made fertile ground for this coming season. You may have noticed many Asians coming to the mountains in large family groups picking fiddle heads. What is so great about fiddle heads! Try this, they cost 12.50- 25.00 a pound in The U.S. and foreign countries. They are a delicacy.
The taste of fiddle heads are a cross between okra, artichoke and asparagus. They are sold fresh, dried, salted, pickled in vinegar or brine. And we have them here on the mountain for the picking. To find out where the fern fields are for harvesting, visit you local forestry service for designated picking areas and of course a permit. If you are picking large amounts there could be an extra charge by the pound.
I like to gather them late morning when the dew is almost dried and they are still are crisp. You just want to pick the tightly coiled head with an inch of stem. They should break off easily in your hand. Place them in a large plastic bag. Carry some wet paper towels to keep them moist so they don’t wilt. Wash and refrigerate as soon as you get them home.
Fiddle heads should be cooked for at least ten minutes , and are not really good for stir frying. They have a slight toxicity that can only be neutralized by cooking for at least ten minutes.  The fiddle heads cave a chaff that can be removed buy rubbing them by hand or shaking them under a faucet in a colander .
I like to cook fiddle heads, with forest mushrooms, and thyme. My favorite way to eat them, is cooked with garlic, shitake mushrooms minced black forest ham, dried tomatoes and thyme, cooked well for 10 to 15 mins in white wine, and poured over cooked potato  dumplings.

Remember to when picking fiddle heads not to strip the forest of these tinder morsels ,be sure to leave some behind for the wildlife, and to leave the some new growth behind to seed the next season. Be a responsible wildcrafter.

One should try this delicacy once in there lifetime.

Helene Gentili at  Botanica West