These curly spring time vegetables can be foraged for a tasty snack!

I sure do like spring! From hearing the first few frogs croaking and birds chirping to seeing the first few buds on the trees, spring offers many sweet moments to look forward to. Foraging for fiddleheads is one of our favorites.

Where to find them?

Ostrich Fiddleheads are found in the forests of the US, Canada, Asia, and Europe during spring. We found ours near a bog under lots of shady trees.

What do they look like?

Before the ferns unravel, they just a few inches tall with a spiral top. However, there are many ferns that look similar.

Fiddleheads are a bright green color with brown scaly patches on them. I’ve noticed similar ferns with white fuzz on them but we are looking for flaky scales not fuzz. Unlike most of the other ferns, these ones have a deep groove in the stem.

How to eat them?

Do not eat them raw!

You could get sick if you eat these raw or undercooked.

Here’s how we love to eat Fiddleheads:

1. Thoroughly rinse them, wiping off the brown scales and dirt.

2. In a pan, boil them in water for about 5 minutes.

3. Dump the boiled water out and rinse the fiddleheads again.

4. In a frying pan, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat and add your fiddleheads.

5. Sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and garlic.

6. Flip them after about 5 minutes or when they start to brown.

7. When they appear cooked or with a slight brown color. Remove from heat and ENJOY!

I haven’t tried any other way because we enjoy them so much like this, why change?

I hope you get an opportunity to find and enjoy fiddleheads.

Let me know what you think!

~Amy