Fiddleheads
Courtesy of Umaine Education...Bulletin #4198 - Facts on Fiddleheads
Fiddleheads, an early spring delicacy throughout their range, are the young coiled fronds of the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). Nearly all ferns have fiddleheads, but those of the ostrich fern are unlike any other. Ostrich fern fiddleheads, which are about an inch in diameter, can be identified by the brown papery scale-like covering on the uncoiled fern, as well as the smooth fern stem, and the deep ”U”-shaped groove on the inside of the fern stem. Look for ostrich ferns emerging in clusters of about three to twelve fiddleheads each on the banks of rivers, streams, and brooks in late April, May, and early June. Make sure that you have landowner permission before harvesting fiddleheads.
Look for a deep, “U”-shaped groove on the inside of the fiddlehead stem, as well as brown, papery scales covering newly emerging fiddleheads. Photo by David Fuller.
Under no conditions should fiddleheads be consumed raw.
Symptoms of illness from eating improperly cooked fiddleheads
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.
If you experience symptoms after eating fiddleheads, you should seek the advice of a health care professional and contact your local public health unit to report this illness.
Ostrich fern identification
It is important to properly identify ostrich ferns. Bracken ferns, for example, have been shown to cause cancer in rats under laboratory conditions, and can cause other problems in livestock. Not enough is known about other ferns to recommend eating them.
There are three ways to identify ostrich fern fiddleheads in the spring:
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There is a deep, ”U”-shaped groove on the inside of the smooth stem.
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There are thin, brown, paper-like scales covering the newly emerging fiddleheads. The scales fall off as the fiddlehead grows and elongates.
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The fertile, spore-bearing frond is distinctive in shape, and also has a groove on the inside of the stem. When present during harvest time, the previous year’s fertile frond will be dark brown in color. Not all ostrich fern crowns will have fertile fronds.
The University of Maine - Cooperative Extension
For more than 100 years, they have been putting university research to work in homes, businesses, farms, and communities—in every corner of Maine. Their educational efforts focus on the Maine Food System, Positive Youth Development, and Community and Economic Development.
They are part of a nationwide Cooperative Extension System, which works through the land-grant universities in each U.S. state. Maine’s land-grant university is in Orono at The University of Maine. In addition to our state offices in Orono, we have a network of county-based offices staffed by experts who provide practical, locally based solutions for farmers, small business owners, kids, parents, consumers, and others.