Fiddleheads

We also collected fiddleheads from the lady fern. They are found in drainage areas and are tightly coiled with brown scales. The two weeks Christina and I were at Goldmyer they were just starting to show above the soil:



But the next weekend when Dave and I went up to visit Jeff, they were abundant! We picked over a pound in about fifteen minutes. I brought them home, cleaned them up, and pickled them.



Haven't actually opened a jar yet. This was my first foray into canning, so I'm not sure if I did it right. I used a pickling recipe I found online on a local blog:

1 lb fiddleheads, cleaned
2 lemons
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp kosher salt
8-inch piece wild ginger (optional)
1 tsp whole black pepper
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp whole allspice
1/2 lb shallots, sliced 1/8 inch thick
4 pint jars with lids and screwcaps, sterilized

1. Remove strips of lemon zest with a peeler, then juice lemons.
2. Pack fiddleheads tightly into canning jars, layered with shallots and lemon zest.
3. Bring to boil water, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, spices, and optional ginger.
4. Pour over fiddleheads so that liquid reaches to within a 1/4 inch of rim, then secure lids and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Next time I will pack them tighter, but I wanted to make a couple of jars so I could give some away, and I just didn't have enough fiddleheads- two pounds would have been better.