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Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled from a fledgling fern,C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Fern. Encyclopedia of Earth. National council for Science and the Environment harvested for use as a vegetable.
Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond (circinate vernation). As fiddleheads are harvested early in the season, before the frond has opened and reached its full height, they are cut fairly close to the ground.
Fiddleheads from contain ptaquiloside, a compound associated with bracken toxicity, and thiaminase. Not all species contain ptaquiloside, such as Diplazium esculentum, a fern with fiddleheads regularly consumed in parts of East Asia, which differs from bracken ( Pteridium aquilinum
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The fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation (called a scroll) on the end of a stringed instrument, such as a fiddle. It is also called a crozier, after the crozier used by , which has its origins in the shepherd's crook.
In the Philippines, young fronds of Diplazium esculentum or pakô is a delicacy 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 (コゴミ) in Japan, gosari (고사리) in Korea, and juécài (蕨菜) in China and Taiwan.
In Korea, a typical banchan (small side dish) is gosari-namul (고사리나물), which consists of prepared fernbrake fiddleheads that have been . It is also a component of the popular dish bibimbap, yukgaejang, and bindae-tteok. In Jeju Island, 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 (薇), as well as those of the ostrich fern ( Matteuccia struthiopteris), known as kogomi (コゴミ), 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.
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 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 Dogras 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 or . In Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, it is called "DheeD" in Khah language.
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 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.
Many ferns also contain the enzyme thiaminase, which breaks down thiamine. This can lead to beriberi, if consumed in extreme excess.
Further, there is some evidence that certain varieties of fiddleheads, e.g. bracken ( Pteridium genus), are toxic. It is recommended to fully cook fiddleheads to destroy the shikimic acid. Ostrich fern ( Matteuccia struthiopteris) is not thought to cause cancer, although there is evidence it contains a toxin unidentified as yet.
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