A Trunk Full of Recipes: Fiddleheads

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Fiddleheads

The title reads, "Fiddleheads - A Maine Delicacy." I have been keeping an eye out everywhere for fiddleheads as now is the time of year they are in season. It was only yesterday that I found them at the grocery store and snapped them up! Marjorie has a page and a half in her book dedicated to fiddleheads - most of which is a history about them.

While you can find fiddleheads in the store, according to Marjorie, "Best of all is to go fiddleheading yourself." They are hard to find and considered a Maine delicacy. Once found, it is wise to keep them to yourself. The directions on picking them are to break them off and place them in your "sack" or basket. Then for cooking, steam in a very little bit of water for 10 minutes. Marjorie warns that you must be careful not to overcook otherwise the fiddleheads will become slimy.

After 10 minutes add butter, salt and pepper and they are ready to serve.

I've never tried fiddleheads; actually I've always been a little afraid of them. For the sake of this project, though, I decided to try them. While they did give off a not so pleasant odor, they were quite delicious! They had a similar taste to spinach or beets. Definitely come in and give them a try- we have a limited amount, and the season is almost over!