Fiddlehead ferns might qualify for my favorite food in the whole world. They taste like a combination of asparagus, broccoli, green bean, and artichoke, and they're very hard to find in grocery stores. Plus, they're only available for a few weeks in late spring (I found some in the Dual Hwy. Martins on Monday and bought almost all of them). A little online research shows that they're the tender young shoots of the ostrich fern. Other ferns are toxic, so don't try eating any other kind! Also, you have to cook them (preferably by boiling) or you may suffer some gastrointestinal distress. That being said, they really are wonderful and very nutritious. I'm thinking of buying some ostrich ferns and planting them in a shady spot in my yard, against the fence under some big pines.

Does anyone have any experience growing ostrich ferns? Are they easy to find? Easy to grow and harvest next spring? I'm thinking Snavely's or Sunny Meadows Garden Center on Rt. 65. Also, any leads on where else I might purchase fiddleheads for immediate consumption? This is the first time in 3 years that I found them in a grocery store at all. It was like Christmas when I saw them on the shelf.

I go out in the mountians and dig the ferns up in the spring. When they are just starting to come out of the ground.
I have some that are almost 3ft. tall that I dug up in Pa. near Cowans Gap. they will spread on there own after each year.
I`m not tell the exact location. I might want to get more of them LOL.

Neat, I am going to look ore closely as I walk thru the produce section. Thanks Clever, good idea for summer salads. I will have to look at this vegetable market I pass in Wv.

Comm, if you're lucky enough to stumble across some at the market, and want to use them in a salad, don't forget to boil them for 5 minutes or so first. They'll still be crisp-tender but you'll eliminate the chances of getting sick from eating raw ones. Maybe the slight danger is part of what makes them so tasty? Like eating the fugu (sp?) sushi? I wonder if Homer Simpson might like fiddleheads, hmm...

McGee, you're killing me with your secret stash of fiddleheads. RRRRGH!!!! If you see someone skulking around in your back yard it'll be me. Are you sure that the ferns you dug up near Cowan's Gap are ostrich ferns though? Because eating another kind of fern really COULD be dangerous, from what I read online. I hope you know your ferns!

I don`t eat ferns. The only green leaf I eat is lettuce.
The ferns I have are not fiddleheads. Sorry if I mislead you.
The ones I have are the kind you see growing in the mountians along streams.

I should've realized that lettuce would be the only green you eat -- since you don't have to put any junk spices on it!

So, nobody else knows where I can get some more ready-to-eat fiddleheads locally? I wish we had a Wegman's or Whole Foods. Tonight we ate the rest of them:

SAUTEED FIDDLEHEADS WITH PINE NUTS

Rinse off a bag of fiddleheads in a colander; drain. Snap off the brown stem ends. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan or wok; drop fiddleheads into boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Put pot back on the burner and turn the heat down to medium. Throw in about 2 tbsp. butter and a small handful of pine nuts. Saute the pine nuts for about 5 minutes, then add the fiddleheads back to the pan, with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5 more minutes until crisp-tender.

Yummy!