Gerritt Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 I am starting to see the ferns in my backyard start to come up... So I figure it is time to hit the bush behind my house.. But I am unsure which ones are the right ones to pick!... I understand some can make you sick and wish for death... I don't want that... But I do want to try them! So what do I look for? I am thinking of heading into the bush tomorrow and start picking any tips would be helpful... and if I dont post tomorrow after supper, please call a doctor. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnsled Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 I've never picked them but this might help. Or this http://www.ehow.com/how_7366937_identify-fiddlehead-fern.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
young_one Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Nice video Will!I've been told, there are two types of edible Fiddlehead in Ontario. One type grow near the river and another in the hills. Can anyone clarify this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAW Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Ahh.. The official start to the search and rescue season! I love fiddle heads! I didn't realize there where ones that could make you sick..? I'll have to do a little more research before I go out this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 You want to pick the curled ends of ostrich ferns before they un-curl. They are large ferns when up and the green curled ends start coming out of a blackish clump that they grow out of. I don't know the proper terms. The stem of the ostrich fern has a groove in it. i find them in the drier part of swampy areas and along river banks. There is lots of info on the net to identify them and how to prepare them to eat. Don't eat raw fiddleheads. Last Thursday I checked my spots but they hadnt started yet but will be soon. Sunday I found the wild leeks were up and just big enough to pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr blizzard Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Do as turtle mentioned, he is right on the money, my parents lived in the same house in Woodbridge for 68 years along the Humber, The fiddle heads grew in the back yard under the spruce trees treat every spring, as a kid used to get them from my dads old homestead across the road , his parents had the home which dates late 1800s, used to get them there but subdivisions tokk care of that in later years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistaredone Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 They MUST be cooked, I eat them raw two years ago and it made me REAL bad! Gov Ont web sites have warnings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 I looked for them to be starting next week up this way. All I seen was brown. Nothing happening yet. Let ya know when it does. Gots to get me a few feeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitty55 Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 I've been picking fiddleheads for over 30 years now. Always along rivers and creeks. I cringe sometimes when I read inadequate instructions in mags and online. Here is what I always do no matter how I'm using them. Clean and rinse well. Boil in salted water for two minutes. The water will be brown. Drain and rinse in cold water. Boil again for 1 to 2 minutes. The water will be light brown this time. Rinse well again. After that I saute them in garlic butter for about 5 min. and serve them with sour cream. I also make a fantastic cream soup with fiddleheads, wild garlic, mushrooms and green onions that is to die for. I freeze fiddleheads and leeks every year just for that soup. Good luck guys. It won't be long now. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 checked a fiddle head spot here in Oakville on Saturday, some where visable but still curled up tight, too early, likely later this week will better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerritt Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Are they not supposed to be curled up tight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopheraaron Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Are they not supposed to be curled up tight? I think they are supposed to be between 4-7" long, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) Are they not supposed to be curled up tight? Hey G. Hope alls well bud. Ya,I pick them from the size of a nickle to a loonie. YUMMY Edited April 23, 2013 by Misfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerritt Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) Thanks B! Well I went out for a walk to the bush behind my house there is a tiny creek that runs through the property. They are definatly sprouting however they are very close to the ground... I think I will wait a few more days and check their progress. I cant wait to try em! G Edited April 23, 2013 by Gerritt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Thanks B! Well I went out for a walk to the bush behind my house there is a tiny creek that runs through the property. They are definatly sprouting however they are very close to the ground... I think I will wait a few more days and check their progress. I cant wait to try em! G yeah, the same as what I saw, visable, tight to the stump, and hard to pick without wrecking them in the process Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Thanks B! Well I went out for a walk to the bush behind my house there is a tiny creek that runs through the property. They are definatly sprouting however they are very close to the ground... I think I will wait a few more days and check their progress. I cant wait to try em! G While I,ll be creek and stream fishing this weekend. I,ll be watching out for them. My go to spot is along the main river here. I,ll be checking it out next weekend,once the opener has passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitty55 Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 You absolutely want to pick them as short as possible in my opinion. Not like the stores with the long stems to add weight for sale. Specially for freezing you want them as tight as possible. Blanch for 2 minutes, rinse with cold water to cool quickly. I've had good luck adding a bit of water to the bag before sucking the air out and freezing. It may take more time to pick but my favorite is less than one inch of stem and if there is green showing I have no prob taking them off the clump. If they get fuzzy on the sides I leave them be. Most important to me is to keep my harvest to half a clump at most. I've been picking one early area for over 25 years and it is fine still. They can grow inches in a day with warm sunny weather so timing can be critical. Keep a close eye on things. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icefisherman Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 (edited) I picked bunch last year this time for the first time....not sure what I did wrong but they got very mushy and soft after boiling them....we still eat them but from the pictures I've seen it seems I might have overcooked them or something? Will go and check them in the next few days...hope I can find a good recipe in the meantime. Cheers, Ice Fisherman Edited April 25, 2013 by icefisherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Checked my fiddlehead spots today after turkey hunting (not killing). I heard 2 turkeys and saw 1 but unfortunately it was airborne after I managed to spook a deer and a turkey at the same time. My first double species spook. Not up yet but the odd odd one is starting to show. Maybe up in another 2-3 days depending on the weather, I usually steam the fiddleheads for 10 minutes if fresh and 8 minutes if previously frozen..I don't boil them. To freeze them I clean the brown husk and dirt off, blanche in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, chill off for 1-2 minutes in an ICE bath, dry off in a salad spinner, then freeze in zip loc bags after sucking the air out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBW Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Going to check one of my spots tonight! ps, there are fish near the area too that I hope will be there in a few days as well as some ready to pick fiddleheads... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 I checked a spot here in Oakville today (Thursday), they haven't changed since last Thurs., they're still not pickable For the opener on the creeks, the fiddleheads are usually hard to find because most have fanned out into ferns, it shows what a late spring it's been this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBW Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 went for a walk yesterday and the tips are starting to FINALLY show. It will be another week I bet in my spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icefisherman Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 Went to check them out today...found some but not many...need one more week I'd say... But here is what else I found.... Is that wild leeks? Are they edible? How do you prepare them? And there were lots of those pretty flowers...what are they called? Cheers, Ice Fisherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 (edited) no, they're not leeks, I've still got a bunch in my freezer leeks are after fiddlehead season, often during the height of blackfly season the flowers, early trilliums? Edited April 28, 2013 by chris.brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAW Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 (edited) I'm going fishing tomorrow. I'll grab some if I see me. But they are not up on my house yet. Edited April 28, 2013 by N.A.W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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