Fiddlehead Ferns Offer Music For Your Tastebuds With

It’s spring in the moist woodlands of North America when fiddlehead ferns begin to unleash their soft green tongues like a frog set to strike at an insect.  These greens are one of the most tender and juicy wild harvest foods, available worldwide. 

Fiddleheads in North America commonly are associated with the wet east coast or west coast rainforests, yet varieties can be found in abundance across the continent.  Simply put, the fiddlehead fern is not really a type of fern of its own, but a general description of the new growth shoots for all of the fern family. 

Like morels and other short-season spring delicacies, fiddleheads are available for brief days each year. They appear through the soft leaf beds of wet woodlands and shady waterway edges as soon as the ground begins to warm, quickly unfurl their fronds and rush toward full growth in a week or so.  Unlike morels, they do not hide from sight, but form the lush carpets and undergrowths of many forests and thickets.

Two varieties of ferns – Bracken and American Royal – grow across North America, with the Ostrich fern found mostly on the east coast. Harvest them by clipping the uncurled sprouts.  These wild plants are havens for small insects, dust and pollutants, and should be washed thoroughly before eating.  While many instances of mild illness have been reported (mostly due to improper washing or cooking), there are very few reports of allergic or toxic reactions.

Because fiddleheads are neither a soft leafy vegetable or crisp root-like consistency, they are suitable for a variety of cooking styles and recipes.  Simply sautee the greens in butter and a dusting of garlic, pepper, basil for a delightful side dish.  Alternatively, boil the greens and serve with a little thyme. Top angel hair pasta with steamed fiddleheads spiced with paprika, thyme, cayenne and onion powder.  Dash olive oil over dish and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Fiddleheads can be a feature ingredient for a number of salads, used as a soup ingredient, served with a lightly-cooked root crop mix, breaded in oat bran, flax flour and corn meal prior to deep frying, or even pickled in brine after blanching.

One of the most exhilarating wild harvest meals that I have enjoyed in early spring began with a salad of fiddlehead, dandelion and strawberry leaf, doused with raspberry vinaigrette.  The main course included boiled and buttered cattail root (potato-like consistency), fried dandelion roots, boiled fiddlehead greens, morels served with hamburgers blended with ground common plantain seed (harvested the prior year and dried) and freshly harvested horseradish root, grated and mixed with vinegar.

Spring is a season of opportunity for the lover of wild foods, and the opening act of that season is fiddlehead greens!

Burdock Benefits

Doubtless, burdock is one of the easiest plants to find in the late fall and winter.  In truth, you don’t find burdock: it finds you, with its Velcro-inspired burs and tall, bush-like habit.  Like the ugly duckling of fables, burdock possesses a real beauty beneath its unattractive skin, however. 

Whether you live in Europe, Russia or North America, burdock can be found almost in your back yard.  Long a vital component of the arsenal of healing herbs for Europeans and North American natives, this abundant plant also is an excellent culinary weed, possessing great nutritional value.

One of the real benefits of burdock is its accessibility in the middle of winter.  Like cattails, burdock roots are a great survival food, but require significant effort to harvest from the icy grasp of frozen soil.  Yet, because it may grow to four feet or more in height, it towers above even the deepest snow.

Recently (early March), I harvested a few roots in Manitoba, where frost extends to three feet in depth throughout winter.  By chopping around the base of the plant with my hatchet, I was able to recover about six to ten inches of the tap roots. 

The roots of younger plants offer the best, most tender harvest, but, in winter, even young roots are shrivelled and tough.  In summer, these roots can be used in stir fries, boiled, peeled and baked or made into any variety of boiled or sautéed dishes.  In spring, the leaves and stems (peeled) are tender, like asparagus or a mix of sorrel and spinach.  I have often simply peeled the younger stems and eaten them raw, as a crunchy snack.  For an unusual snack, peel and lightly blanche the stems, then refrigerate them in vinegar bath for a couple of weeks, to produce a unique pickle.

Burdock has been used to treat colds and measles, relieve constipation, purify the blood, act as a liver and general cleanser and even treat skin eruptions. It is antiseptic and antifungal, and has been used effectively as a skin tonic, and to treat diabetes. With the wide range of claims of medicinal benefit, though, it is wise to use burdock as a supplement, rather than relying on it to treat every ailment.

In culinary dishes, the Japanese use burdock often, referring to it as gobo.  One Asian recipe calls for a mix of brown rice, shitake mushroom, burdock root, garlic and ginger.  A great sauce requires mixing one cup burdock root, ½ cup parsley, ½ cup cider vinegar, ½ cup sherry and one cup of thick yogurt (Greek, preferably).  Boil the cider, burdock and sherry over medium heat for six to eight minutes, then blend all ingredients until smooth.  This sauce is fantastic with vegetables (particularly green veggies) pork or chicken. 

The myriad ways of using burdock is virtually limitless, as are its medicinal and nutritional qualities.  So, rather than banning these burs, why not invite them into your garden?  They are easily cultivated, and easy to grow!