Fiddle Me This!

Omnoms, dead ahead!

If you're ever lookin' for a tasty and nutritious treat amongst spring's forest floor, look no further! Fiddleheads are here!

Fiddleheads are the furled fronds of a young fern, and certain varieties are harvested for use as a vegetable. If left undisturbed, these fiddleheads would unfurl into a new frond and continue the usual lifecycle of the fern.

You may be wondering which ferns are actually edible. Within the Northeastern United States, Ostrich fern and Cinnamon fern are the most common edible ferns found in the wild. Bracken also mills about the woods, but is potentially carcinogenic, so I would not recommend indulging in its fine frongs.

Fiddleheads are in fact quite the powerhouse vegetable with antioxidant activity, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and a high iron and fiber content. Move over Kale - Fiddleheads may be the new health food trend on the horizon (with forest foraging not far behind...)!