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Time for fiddlehead picking

Time for fiddlehead picking

| Author: Stéphanie Bentz | Category: Taste

Spring is the season when everything comes back to life: trees and plants start to turn green, animals come out of their hibernation or come back from their migration grounds and all of them become more active. It’s also time for wild plants harvesters to collect fiddleheads. These furled fronds of young Ostrich fern are more and more popular in North America and Japan. Formerly a secret of outdoors lover, this plant is now available in grocery stores and restaurants. Due to its popularity, harvesting has increased and the Ostrich fern is now on the vulnerable plant species list. This humid forest fern must therefore be picked with caution in order to maintain populations for future generations. To protect the resource, it is recommended to pick only one or two fiddleheads per plant. Moreover, by choosing only the perfect fiddleheads, the rate per plant is normally appropriate. Finally, it is recommended to cut the fiddleheads with your fingers instead of a knife in order not to damage the rest of the plant. It is also important to be careful while walking in the wood not to smash the surrounding plants. The last thing to say is, good harvesting and enjoy the meal!

 

 

Author: Stéphanie Bentz, biologiste responsable de l’interprétation

Source: Conférence régionale des élues Gaspésie-Ile de la Madeleine (CRÉ-GIM)

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