Who here eats ferns?
I know Ostrich fern grows wild through parts of the US and a lot of people reputedly harvest and eat the fiddleheads from them. There are a few other ferns that people eat which I may be able to grow here.
What do they taste like? What is the taste like? Are any ferns worth growing as an edible? I am keen to learn more.
Ostrich fern is quite a tasty spring treat. It grows all over in these parts, mainly on moist disturbed sites. Flavor wise, it’s most comparable to green beans. Many ferns including the too-advanced fiddleheads themselves contain harmful compounds (glycosides?) and tend also towards accumulation of heavy metals, so its generally suggested that they be eaten in moderation and only when cooked. Some eat fiddleheads of other species reputedly, but that is considered dangerous. Several species are also thought to contain carcinogens I believe.
Used to go fiddlehead hunting with my dad. Haven’t had them in a while, but I remember them being very tasty. As a starting point, you could compare the texture to broccoli rabe, but when fresh and well-cooked the stalk has more bite/pop, and the head has a pleasant chew to it. I would compare the taste less to green beans and more to rabe (though less bitter) or maybe to okra (without the slime). A fresh green taste with a little nuttiness.
A good part of the pleasure has to do with the fact that you have to go looking for them, they’re only good for a short time, and their season comes at a time when there haven’t been really fresh green growing things to eat for a while. When they’re good, they really do bring the taste of spring.
Personally, I would blanch them in salted water and then cook them in a pan with butter. The trick is to make sure they’re fully cooked (undercooked ones can be bad for you) but not overcooked (you want to get the bite and chew and the fresh green taste). And like @hobilus said, you only want to eat the right kind, you only want to eat them when they’re not too far along (still tightly curled), and you don’t want to eat too much of them, though due to the seasonality that’s probably somewhat less of a concern.
I’ve seen some people can them. Echoing that other species probably are not as safe to harvest as ostrich ferns based on my research and the experience of other members here.
Korean eat a lot of fiddlehead. You can buy pickled fiddlehead at Hmart. I grow ostrich fern and harvest fiddlehead in early spring. The taste is accurate as others said in the thread. I am not too crazy about it. It’s just another seasonal veggies to appreciate the spring arrives and give family a fresh tastes on the table.
In some parts of the world, even carcinogenic ferns are eaten. Sometimes a bit of cultural knowledge is needed to make things safe. I ate bracken fern (carcinogenic) a number of times while living in Korea, but by it’s appearance it was very far removed from fresh by the time it was served. I think the reason Ostrich fern is so popular is that it requires such minimal processing to be edible compared to many of the other options. It’s really as simple as picking it when it’s very young and tender and then fully cooking it. No leaching or drying required.
Another reason Ostrich fern is probably a top choice is that it may be gathered in quantity due to the colony forming nature of this species allowing for lots of them to grow in close proximity to each other.
Culture started way ahead of term/knowledge of carcinogen, and tradition carries on. Many traditions processed foods are carcinogenic, but people still enjoy them. I don’t know how long, or qty to consume in order for body start to grow abnormal cells. I just eat a very limited qty just to satisfy childhood memories of tasty food
I like ostrich fern fiddleheads but nobody else in my family likes them much. It’s a bit of work to clean off all the papery brown leaves on the outside of the fiddlehead. They have a nice succulent texture, a bit stringy, most similar to asparagus. The taste is pretty mild and neutral with a hint of bitterness. For cooking I like to steam them and then toss with butter, salt, and lemon. I mean, any vegetable is going to taste good like that haha.
@resonanteye has made some serious efforts to grow ostrich ferns in their garden and struggled to get results. They like a very specific environment in the wild so I guess it’s not too surprising that they would be a challenge.
It is my understanding that the processing greatly reduces or removes most of the carcinogenic component. Even if they didn’t know about carcinogens, there might have been associated characteristics that clued them in to the need for extra processing.
I was told soak in water for hours before cook it. This may.as you said, removed high percentage of chemicals that are carcinogenic
In Northern Italy, in their geman speaking part of south tirol, they use traditionally the rhizomes from Polypodium vulgare as to make a liqueur that tastes like licorice, because the rhizomes contain the active ingredient in licorice, glycericine.
Ostrich fern sounds great, but may not be suited to my climate. They are in Australia, but difficult and expensive to buy a plant. I have eaten bracken when I was younger, the reports of colon cancer make me wary of it.
One edible fern that is available here is referred to as Vegetable Fern Diplazium esculentum - Wikipedia. This one may be easier to grow here, and certainly a lot easier to buy a plant. I don’t know how it would cope with winter here, but it could be ok if I keep in a pot and move under shelter.
The hen and chicken fern (Asplenium bulbiferum) was commonly eaten by Maori in New Zealand. Sadly most plants, if not all, are mislabelled hybrids. From what I can gather, the hybrids are edible and should be relatively safe to consume. There is a similar Asplenium species that is native to Australia that I should be able to buy, I think it is edible and relatively safe.
Has anyone here had any experience growing or eating either Diplazium esculentum or Asplenium bulbiferum?
it’s a pnw USA fern I’m trying to grow; you’ve got to scrub brush the dirt out. they’re not the aus variety so I’m not sure about them
We have dozens of differing fern species here. Many have spores on the underleaf and do nothing good for taste in fiddlehead stage.