Fiddleheads
One of the first blooms to appear in the spring after a long winter is the fiddlehead. Fiddleheads grow in clusters in April and May. The harvesting of fiddleheads is a very short season.
As a spring activity, families would go out fiddlehead picking. The children were told that they can find them near any riverbank, stream and brook. They were also taught how to recognize them by their brown papery scale-like covering on the uncoiled fern and by the smooth stem. The best time for picking them was when they were about an inch or two above the ground.
When picking fiddleheads, they needed to be very careful on where to break the stem. It had to be broken off close to the coil which is dark green in color. The lighter green part of the long stem is not edible.
When their picking day was done it was then time to clean them. They carefully brushed off and removed the papery brown scales. Then they were thoroughly washed in clean water several times until the wash water appeared clean. After the cleaning process it was time to cook them. They were put into lightly salted boiling water for ten minutes or steamed for twenty, then served hot with a little bit of melted butter. What wasn’t cooked was usually sealed for future use. They were harvested in plentiful amounts to share with family and friends and carefully stored for the winter months ahead.