Fiddleheads have been part of traditional diets in much of Northern
France since the beginning of the Middle Ages, across
Asia, and also among
Native Americans for centuries. They are also part of the diet in the
Russian Far East where they are often picked in the wild in autumn, preserved in salt over winter, and then consumed in spring.
Asian cuisine In Indonesia, young fiddlehead ferns are cooked in a rich coconut sauce spiced with
chili pepper,
galangal,
lemongrass,
turmeric leaves and other spices. This dish is called
gulai pakis or
gulai paku, and originated from the
Minangkabau ethnic group of
Indonesia. In the
Philippines, young fronds of
Diplazium esculentum or
pakô are often made into a salad with tomato,
salted egg slices, and a simple vinaigrette dressing. In East Asia, fiddleheads of bracken (
Pteridium aquilinum) are eaten as a vegetable, called
kogomi () in Japan,
gosari () in Korea, and
juécài () in China and
Taiwan. In
Korea, a typical
banchan (small side dish) is
gosari-namul (), which consists of prepared fernbrake fiddleheads that have been
sauteed. It is also a component of the popular dish
bibimbap,
yukgaejang, and
bindae-tteok. On
Jeju Island, the southernmost island of South Korea, collecting it in April to May is a convention. In
Japan, bracken fiddleheads are a prized dish, and roasting the fiddleheads is reputed to neutralize any toxins in the vegetable. In Japan, fiddleheads of flowering fern (
Osmunda japonica), known as
zenmai (), as well as those of the ostrich fern (
Matteuccia struthiopteris), known as
kogomi (), are commonly eaten in springtime. Fiddleheads in Japan are considered
sansai, or wild vegetables. They are also traditionally used to make
warabimochi, a Japanese-style dessert.
Indian cuisine In the
Indian subcontinent, it is found in the
Himalayan states of
North and
Northeast India. In the state of
Tripura, it is known as muikhonchok in the
Kokborok language. As part of the
Tripuri cuisine; fiddlehead fern is prepared by stir frying as bhaja served as a side dish. In
Manipur it is known as 'Chekoh' in the local
Thadou language. It is usually eaten stir fried with chicken, eggs, prawns or other proteins. In Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) it is called Lingad and used for vegetable pickling. In the
Kullu Valley in
Himachal Pradesh, it is known locally as and is used to make a pickle . In the
Kangra Valley it is called in the
Kangri dialect and is eaten as a vegetable. In
Chamba it is known as "kasrod". In
Kumaon division of
Uttarakhand, it is called limbra. In
Garhwal division of
Uttarakhand, it is called (लिंगुड़ा) and eaten as a vegetable. In
Darjeeling and
Sikkim regions, it is called (नियुरो) and is common as a vegetable side dish, often mixed with local cheese and sometimes pickled. In Southern regions of
West Bengal it is known as dheki shaak or dheki shaag. In
Assam, it is known as (); there it is a popular side dish. In the area of
Jammu in
Jammu and Kashmir, it's known as
kasrod (कसरोड). The most famous
Dogra dish is
kasrod ka achaar (fiddlehead fern pickle). In
Poonch, it is known as 'Kandor'(कंडोर) in local language. In
Kishtwar, it is known as (टेड) in the local language
Kishtwari. It is also cooked as a dry vegetable side dish to be eaten with
rotis or
parathas. In Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, it is called "DheeD" in Khah language.
Nepali cuisine In
Nepal, it is a
seasonal food called (नियुरो) or
niuro (निउरो). There are three varieties of fiddlehead most commonly found in Nepali cuisine, namely सेती निउरो having whitish green stem, काली निउरो having dark purple stem, and ठूलो निउरो having large green stems. It is served as a vegetable side dish, often cooked in local clarified butter. It is also pickled.
North American cooking Ostrich ferns (
Matteuccia struthiopteris), known locally as "fiddleheads", grow wild in wet areas of northeastern North America in spring. The
Maliseet,
Mi'kmaq, and
Penobscot peoples of
Eastern Canada and
Maine have traditionally harvested fiddleheads, and the vegetable was introduced first to the
Acadian settlers in the early 18th century, and later to
United Empire Loyalists as they began settling in
New Brunswick in the 1780s. Fiddleheads remain a traditional dish in these regions, with most commercial harvesting occurring in New Brunswick,
Quebec and Maine, and the vegetable is considered particularly emblematic of New Brunswick. North America's largest grower, packer and distributor of wild fiddleheads established
Ontario's first commercial fiddlehead farm in
Port Colborne in 2006. Fiddleheads are sold fresh and frozen. Fresh fiddleheads are available in the market for only a few weeks in springtime, and are fairly expensive. Pickled and frozen fiddleheads, however, can be found in some shops year-round. The vegetable is typically steamed, boiled and/or sautéed before being eaten hot, with
hollandaise sauce, butter, lemon, vinegar and/or garlic, or chilled in salad or with
mayonnaise. To cook fiddleheads, it is advised to remove the brown papery husk before washing in several changes of cold water, then boil or steam them. Boiling reduces the bitterness and the content of
tannins and toxins. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention associated a number of food-borne illness cases with fiddleheads in the early 1990s. Although they did not identify a toxin in the fiddleheads, the findings of that case suggest that fiddleheads should be cooked thoroughly before eating. The cooking time recommended by health authorities is 15 minutes if boiled and 10 to 12 minutes if steamed. The cooking method recommended by gourmets is to spread a thin layer in a steam basket and steam lightly, just until tender crisp.
Māori cuisine Māori people have historically eaten young fern shoots called
pikopiko, which can refer to several species of New Zealand ferns. ==Constituents==