Pond Boss
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Fiddleheads? - 03/28/11 09:31 PM
I see on myfishfinder.com the Maine category is singing the praises of "fiddleheads," obviously some kind of plant that is harvested as it first emerges from the forest floor. Here's a pic of them:



Anyone familiar with these and can shed anymore light on what exactly they are? I suppose I could do an Internet search but it's more fun to ask here.

Conversely I asked them if they had morels up there and it doesn't sound like they even really know what they are. Do the forests of New England have them? We're nuts about them here in the midwest.

Here's what they look like for those of you that don't know:


Posted By: the stick Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/28/11 09:45 PM
Here I thought you were going to try an new plant in your pond. Fiddleheads are to eat, aren't they? Salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil, I am with you on those mushrooms, Cecil!
Posted By: Chris Steelman Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/28/11 09:55 PM
Fiddleheads are ferns that haven't folded out yet.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/28/11 10:57 PM
Originally Posted By: the stick
Here I thought you were going to try an new plant in your pond. Fiddleheads are to eat, aren't they? Salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil, I am with you on those mushrooms, Cecil!


Yes they eat them.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/28/11 10:57 PM
Originally Posted By: Chris Steelman
Fiddleheads are ferns that haven't folded out yet.


Ah ha!
Posted By: Sunil Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/28/11 11:12 PM
Don't you have to boil them to get the poison slime off?

Thought I saw that on Survivor Man or Man vs. Wild.
Posted By: JKB Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/28/11 11:37 PM
Originally Posted By: Sunil
Don't you have to boil them to get the poison slime off?

Thought I saw that on Survivor Man or Man vs. Wild.


I think it is the bugs and microbes you have to boil it for. I dont think they are poisonous.

I'll just stick with my Broccoli and other greens. I had some really good Broccoli-Cheese Soup last week. Would have gone really well with a Grilled Head Cheese Sandwich. Oh well...
Posted By: Bing Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/28/11 11:53 PM
I had these several years ago at a restaurant in upstate New York. I don't remember the exact taste but during the meal we discussed that if you like asparagus and brocolli and similar veggies you would like these. I remember that they were mild and tender.

I don't think they hunt morels much up east but my daughter-in-law found a bunch in her forested back yard in suburban Boston a few years ago. She called me to verify if they were the good kind or the bad kind and since we were due fly up there a couple of days later I had her hold off until we got there. They were delicious. Clever of me huh!
Posted By: adirondack pond Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 12:12 AM
How many tons would you guys like? laugh
Posted By: JKB Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 12:31 AM
That was clever!

We are starting to get a few Morels up here also. They are only showing up where the thickness of the overgrowth has been cleaned up, and I notice them on the North West side of things.

I still have a long way to go to open this area up. Sun dont shine through in parts, and a bunch of it stays frozen much longer, like into late April, early May.
Posted By: Dwight Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 02:00 PM
The are better tasting if you deep fry them in bacon grease or lard.
Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1
Originally Posted By: the stick
Here I thought you were going to try an new plant in your pond. Fiddleheads are to eat, aren't they? Salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil, I am with you on those mushrooms, Cecil!


Yes they eat them.


The are better tasting if you deep fry them in bacon grease or lard. Be careful because they spit, sputter and pop a lot when you drop them in the hot grease.
Posted By: adirondack pond Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 02:27 PM
I'd bet even mountain oysters would taste good if fried in bacon grease. wink (no I haven't tried them)
Posted By: Todd3138 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 02:34 PM
For that matter, what wouldn't taste better after being fried in bacon grease or lard??!! grin
Posted By: Dwight Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 06:31 PM

Posted By: Todd3138 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 06:53 PM
And judging by the smiles on their faces, they may well also use lard in creative ways which follow on with them being in love!
Posted By: Sunil Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 08:24 PM
I puked into my mouth just a little bit.

Thanks Todd.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/29/11 09:22 PM
Sunil you are just so innocent and protected. grin
Posted By: Dwight Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 01:19 AM
Originally Posted By: Todd3138
And judging by the smiles on their faces, they may well also use lard in creative ways which follow on with them being in love!

Lard slathering? Thinking like that you could be president one day. laugh
Posted By: Todd3138 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 01:20 AM
Originally Posted By: Sunil
I puked into my mouth just a little bit.

Thanks Todd.


Just doing my part to help, one little bit at a time.
Posted By: Todd3138 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 01:21 AM
Originally Posted By: Dwight
Originally Posted By: Todd3138
And judging by the smiles on their faces, they may well also use lard in creative ways which follow on with them being in love!

Lard slathering? Thinking like that you could be president one day. laugh


If I could just figure out how to work a cigar into that equation. . . grin
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 01:28 AM
That's lard those political critters are slinging around? I thought it was mud! Must be some really filthy lard! grin
Posted By: Dwight Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 01:35 AM
Originally Posted By: Todd3138
Originally Posted By: Dwight
Originally Posted By: Todd3138
And judging by the smiles on their faces, they may well also use lard in creative ways which follow on with them being in love!

Lard slathering? Thinking like that you could be president one day. laugh


If I could just figure out how to work a cigar into that equation. . . grin


A lard powered cigar candle...
Posted By: Todd3138 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 02:05 AM
We might just be able to market something like that!
Posted By: CJBS2003 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 03:34 PM
You have to cook the fiddleheads first to remove the skikimic acid, a type of tannin which makes them very bitter if not cooked properly. Boiling for about 5 minutes, changing the water and then boiling another 5 minutes will remove the acidic properties. Fiddleheads taste a bit like a combination of brussel sprouts and broccoli. I've heard they are very healthy for you, as are most "green" things. Acorns for oak trees are similar in the need to cook them first, especially those acorns from the red oak family. White oak species have less tannins are a sweeter, some trees produce acorns so sweet you can eat them raw. Red oak acorns if boiled in 3-4 changes of water are palatable and if then roasted and ground make a very tasty and nutritious flour. Many Native American tribes in the east relied heavily on acorn crops, especially before agriculture became more prevalent.

Morels do grow in the east. I am not sure they are quite as common as they are in the wooded areas of the Midwest. I have found some, but I can't ever seem to find enough consistently to make meals out of them. Perhaps my hunting grounds are not as good as I know a few who have better luck. Morels have specific habitat types they prefer.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 09:28 PM
I ate a couple of post oak acorns this year to see how they tasted and why deer liked them so much. They were OK and I didn't get a belly ache or grow a third ear.
Posted By: Dwight Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/30/11 10:05 PM
I thought we were talking about lard.
Posted By: Todd3138 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 01:23 AM
Originally Posted By: Dwight
I thought we were talking about lard.


And the behind-closed-doors things you can do with it. laugh
Posted By: CJBS2003 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 01:50 AM
Acorn muffins baked with LARD taste quite good!
Posted By: findfoolfight Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 02:05 AM
Originally Posted By: Sunil
I puked into my mouth just a little bit.

Thanks Todd.

ME TOO!!!!!AAARGHH
Posted By: Todd3138 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 02:08 AM
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
Acorn muffins baked with LARD taste quite good!


laugh
Posted By: Todd3138 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 02:09 AM
Originally Posted By: findfoolfight
Originally Posted By: Sunil
I puked into my mouth just a little bit.

Thanks Todd.

ME TOO!!!!!AAARGHH


grin grin grin
Posted By: findfoolfight Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 02:12 AM
Originally Posted By: Dwight
This picture killed me!!! If there is really such a thing as the British Lard Marketing Board....my hats off to them!! That must surely be Quinine in their glasses!! cry
Posted By: bz Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 02:31 AM
I have a book on wild edible plants and it says that fiddleheads are good but they must be eaten before they stand upright or they are poisonous. That seemed weird to me but that's what it says. Also, like someone else mentioned you need to rinse them to get the acidic stuff off. Also, you should not eat fiddleheads from any type of bracken fern. They have stuff in them that is known to cause stomach cancer. Some trivia for the day.
Posted By: esshup Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 05:03 AM
The latest issue of Fur-Fish-Game has an article on collecting and eating fiddlehead ferns.
Posted By: CJBS2003 Re: Fiddleheads? - 03/31/11 10:57 PM
There are many wild edibles out there. Another one is pokeberry. If you collect the shoots before they start getting the reddish tint to them, they are quite tasty after being boiled or steamed. Once they get the reddish tint to them, they become poisonous.
Posted By: findfoolfight Re: Fiddleheads? - 04/01/11 01:22 AM
POKE SALAD!!! wink crazy
Posted By: JKB Re: Fiddleheads? - 04/01/11 02:29 AM
Originally Posted By: findfoolfight
POKE SALAD!!! wink crazy


I still like my Broccoli smile

You guys can have all of that "On the Edge" stuff!

As long as my dodo comes out as described by all of the TV doctors, I am good to go! laugh laugh laugh
Posted By: findfoolfight Re: Fiddleheads? - 04/02/11 04:54 AM
Originally Posted By: JKB
Originally Posted By: findfoolfight
POKE SALAD!!! wink crazy


I still like my Broccoli smile

You guys can have all of that "On the Edge" stuff!

As long as my dodo dooky comes out as described by all of the TV doctors, I am good to go! laugh laugh laugh

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