Maine fiddleheads - credit: Elizabeth Poisson
Growing up in Maine, April and May meant only one thing to us. A bounty of wildly foraged fiddleheads, cooked up by my grandfather on his pot belly stove, out in his garden shed…
Fiddleheads are actually the smooth unfurled heads of the ostrich fern (edible plants, anyone?); they’re encased in brown, papery husks and found growing along streams and creeks in certain, temperate states.
My granddad would handle the laborious cleaning duties, which involve removing the ornery brown chaff and snipping off the ends (a la asparagus) before cooking.
Ostrich Fern Fiddleheads -- credit: David Fuller
Unlike your neurotic friends, the more tightly wound fiddleheads are, the better your experience will be (in terms of tenderness). In a class by themselves, fiddleheads have an al dente crunch similar to asparagus with alternate moments of sweetness and bitterness that evoke mustard greens. Fiddlehead flavor errs on the side of an earthy savoriness with a fresh bite that lends itself well to boiling, sautéing, tossing with pasta or even stir frying.
The strong flavor of the plant goes well with savory elements that serve to balance like bacon, Parmesan cheese or soy sauce. Nuanced add-in’s aside, I prefer my fiddleheads nearly naked.
Once fork-tender from steaming, I love to eat them with a simple balsamic drizzle or dipped in straight apple cider vinegar. However, when my Uncle John buys heaping bags of fiddleheads from local foragers / purveyors, it’s time to consider additional options of pickling, freezing or marinating for cold salads — anything I can do to extend my fiddlehead fever beyond its short season.
Do they taste better to me because they’re hard to find or serve as a clear bite back to my childhood? Hard to say, but I hate to miss a single season.
If you can find the elusive fiddlehead, check out some Laura Calder’s quick and easy Fiddlehead and Saffron Soup or get more recipes from the Portland Press Herald.
Do you have fiddlehead fever? What’s your preferred prep?
Great website…
please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web…
Title…
[...]Here are several of the sites we advise for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]The data talked about within the report are a few of the ideal offered [...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool internet site which you might enjoy. Take a search should you want[...]…
Title…
[...]the time to study or go to the content or web-sites we have linked to below the[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine several unrelated information, nevertheless genuinely really worth taking a appear, whoa did one understand about Mid East has got far more problerms as well [...]…
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]although internet sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not associated to ours, we feel they may be essentially worth a go via, so have a look[...]…
Title…
[...]we prefer to honor numerous other internet internet sites around the internet, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages really worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]the time to study or stop by the material or web sites we have linked to below the[...]…
Title…
[...]we like to honor many other world-wide-web web pages on the internet, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages really worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]we like to honor many other net internet sites around the internet, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]one of our guests not too long ago recommended the following website[...]…
Title…
[...]very few web sites that take place to become comprehensive beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly properly really worth checking out[...]…
Another Title…
I saw this really good post today….
Title…
[...]below you’ll obtain the link to some web sites that we assume you must visit[...]…
Title…
[...]one of our visitors not too long ago encouraged the following website[...]…
Title…
[...]the time to study or go to the content or websites we’ve linked to below the[...]…
Title…
[...]here are some links to web-sites that we link to simply because we feel they’re worth visiting[...]…
Title…
[...]very couple of web sites that transpire to be in depth beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]one of our visitors recently suggested the following website[...]…
Title…
[...]Every when in a when we opt for blogs that we read. Listed below are the most up-to-date websites that we choose [...]…
Title…
[...]always a massive fan of linking to bloggers that I enjoy but really don’t get lots of link appreciate from[...]…
Title…
[...]Here are a number of the websites we recommend for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]below you will find the link to some websites that we feel you must visit[...]…
Title…
[...]below you’ll discover the link to some internet sites that we assume you should visit[...]…
Title…
[...]that is the finish of this write-up. Right here you’ll obtain some sites that we think you will appreciate, just click the hyperlinks over[...]…
Title…
[...]here are some hyperlinks to web-sites that we link to for the reason that we believe they are worth visiting[...]…
Title…
[...]that is the finish of this post. Here you will discover some web-sites that we consider you will value, just click the hyperlinks over[...]…
Title…
[...]that is the finish of this post. Here you’ll find some internet sites that we consider you will value, just click the links over[...]…
Title…
[...]Here is a superb Blog You may Uncover Intriguing that we Encourage You[...]…
Title…
[...]one of our guests not too long ago proposed the following website[...]…
Title…
[...]here are some hyperlinks to websites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]…
Title…
[...]Here is a superb Blog You might Obtain Interesting that we Encourage You[...]…
Title…
[...]The info mentioned in the report are several of the top accessible [...]…
Title…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I like but don’t get lots of link enjoy from[...]…
Title…
[...]very few web sites that occur to be comprehensive beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly properly really worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a handful of unrelated information, nonetheless seriously worth taking a look, whoa did 1 study about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]…
Title…
[...]check below, are some completely unrelated web sites to ours, even so, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
Title…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
Title…
[...]the time to study or check out the content material or web sites we’ve linked to below the[...]…
Title…
[...]Every after inside a whilst we pick out blogs that we study. Listed beneath would be the latest web-sites that we pick [...]…
Title…
[...]we like to honor numerous other net web sites around the net, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages really worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated information, nonetheless truly worth taking a look, whoa did one particular master about Mid East has got far more problerms at the same time [...]…
Title…
[...]usually posts some very fascinating stuff like this. If you are new to this site[...]…
Title…
[...]we prefer to honor several other web web sites around the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]below you’ll obtain the link to some sites that we assume it is best to visit[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated information, nonetheless truly really worth taking a look, whoa did a single master about Mid East has got additional problerms also [...]…
can you get antibiotics from a pharmacist…
[...]mycoplasma zithromax[...]…