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Springtime natural harvest

Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 1:46 pm
by ShadowsDad
This is todays natural harvest... It's that time of year in Maine.

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The raw product, cut from the surface of the ground.

They're a springtime treat; fiddleheads. They are the new shoots of the fiddlehead fern, specifically that fern and no other.

We've never had fiddleheads on the hill before, then my neighbor had some road gravel, dug by the town out of the ditches on the side of the road hauled in. Some of it went next to an intermittent stream that flows off of his land and onto mine. A few years ago the first fiddleheads were seen to be growing in that area. No one touched any of them, though last year they could have been harvested. This year we walked over and yup, there they were, poking through the leaf litter. I love fiddleheads. What are they like? Something like asparagus in taste, with a texture just suggestive of okra.

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Here they are just cleaned and draining in the colander. Just put them in a basin of water and what husk still clings to the fiddlehead soaks off in minutes. A few shakes in clean water gets rid of the "skin". These are ready for the pot.

Steam them until tender. It doesn't take long for them to cook. Then salt to taste and butter them. Just fantastic.

Tomorrow I'll check again for more. Pretty soon though they'll "go by" and not be harvest able.

Re: Springtime natural harvest

Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 11:38 am
by dosco
Cool. I've read about these but never have seen them. Nice.

Re: Springtime natural harvest

Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 12:22 pm
by jww
I have always been intrigued by fiddle-heads -- although wasn't there some bad press about them being carcinogenic a few years ago?

Re: Springtime natural harvest

Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 2:33 pm
by ShadowsDad
They do indeed contain a weak carcinogen. It might be a problem if they're consumed regularly, but a few meals over the course of a year? That's a risk I can live with.

Now the Japanese, they farm fiddleheads and eat them year round. That's something I wouldn't do. But it works for them.

Mentioning carcinogens... I grill, as do most folks. It's that time of the year for the wet blankets in the media to remind us that grilling produces carcinogens. That happens every year this time of year. Those folks (in the media) will also use the term BBQ and grilling interchangeably just to demonstrate that they haven't a clue.

Re: Springtime natural harvest

Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 8:34 am
by Rufus
Love those fiddleheads, but you just have to make sure that you get all the sand out.

Re: Springtime natural harvest

Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 11:59 am
by dosco
ShadowsDad wrote:They do indeed contain a weak carcinogen.
Life is carcinogenic ... if you live long enough, there's a pretty high likelihood you'll get cancer.