Saturday, April 19, 2014

'Tis the season to pick Matteuccia struthiopteris


How to identify an Ostrich Fern: the tell-tale ostrich "wing".  


Shuttlecock Fern/Ostrich Fern
 Strutsevinge

NB Blanch the fiddleheads well before cooking!

Health Canada and the CDC both have investigated a number of outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of raw or lightly cooked fiddleheads. The described symptoms of this foodborne illness were diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and headaches. These symptoms generally occur within 30 minutes to 12 hours after eating raw or undercooked fiddleheads. This foodborne illness typically lasts less than 24 hours, but it was found that some cases could last up to three days.
Some recipes to preserve your stash: