Fiddleheads

The other night, I had the opportunity to sample a traditional Maine vegetable: the fiddlehead. Basically, it’s a baby fern. But where eating baby cows gets you called cruel and inhuman, there’s no such stigma against eating baby ferns. Mainers go out and pick these little things by the bagful, then steam ’em, sautee ’em, boil ’em, salt ’em–you name it. Sort of like the many uses of shrimp in Forrest Gump, but without the gumbo. Denisa tried sauteing them. How did they turn out? Well, TRC thought they were pretty bad, even when I tried to convince him he would be like a real dinosaur if he ate them. DC liked them, but she likes food in general. If you put a television in front of her and added a bit of salt, she’d probably have it polished off in a few minutes. Denisa liked them, but she likes anything green.

The real question you all want to be asking is what did I, Bryce, think of them.

I liked them. Tasted sort of like a lovechild of broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus and string beans, with some spinach genetics in there somewhere, too. In the end, it was sauteed in oil, and I added salt, so what’s not to like? I’d eat them again, quite willingly. It’s not often you find a vegetable that grows abundantly in the wild, which you can freely pick. Anyone ever come across a wild patch of broccoli? Maybe so–I don’t get out in the wild often. 🙂

In any case, if you have the chance, I heartily endorse the fiddlehead: Fit for Human Consumption.

Any non-Mainers out there ever try one?