All We Need to Know About Fiddlehead Fern
Fiddlehead fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) are young tender, tightly furled new growth shoots of the fern family plant. The fiddlehead ferns are very popular among the inhabitants of Maine, Vermont in the US, and New Brunswick provinces in Canada. In Nepali, it is also called “kuturki”. These are grown in a well-drained, moist environment, shady area, and riverbanks. Its tender shoots are covered with brown scales which are scraped off before use in cooking. In Nepal, they are collected in the spring season from the shady swamp and moist environment.
Health benefit of fiddlehead fern:
- 100g of fiddlehead consists of 34 calories and the fiber content in fiddleheads inhibits the release of the hunger hormone ghrelin that tells the brain that one is ready to eat something. Thus, it helps in weight loss.
- Fiddlehead contains iron and copper which is essential for new red blood cell formation.
- In the case of fatty acid composition, fiddlehead contains a high amount of essential omega-3 (n3) and omega-6 (n6) polyunsaturated fatty acids with a beneficial n6/n3 ratio.
- It also helps fight against infections and blood pressure. It also contains a high amount of vitamin-A.
Nutrients contain in fiddlehead fern:
| S.N | Nutrient | Available in 100g |
| 1 | Calories | 34 calorie |
| 2 | Potassium | 370 mg |
| 3 | Carbohydrate | 6 g |
| 4 | Calcium | 32 mg |
| 5 | Iron | 1.31 mg |
| 6 | Magnesium | 34 mg |
| 7 | Vitamin c | 26.6 mg |
| 8 | Vitamin a | 3617 iu |
Health risk of fiddlehead fern:
- Eating uncooked fiddlehead causes symptoms of foodborne illness after 30m-12hours of ingestion like nausea (stomach disorder), vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and headache.
- Thousands of Canadian people get food poisoning due to consumption of uncooked, not proper storing and cleaning of a fiddlehead fern.
- The enzyme thiaminase break thiamine which can lead to beriberi, if consumed in extreme excess.
- preparation method before cooking:
- Fiddlehead fern contains a trace amount of a toxin so we should never eat them raw.
- Remove outer scale brown husk using brush or clot.
- Fiddlehead must be boiled at least 10m before cooking which helps to remove bitterness contain.
- Then wash them into cold water and then we can use them for our consumption.
