Bracken Fern, Ostrich Fern, etc. as emergency food

The fern plant can be found just about everywhere in my neck of the woods. The ubiquitous nature of the fern and its "allies" would seem to make it an ideal source of emergency food, except that I've seen too many "red flags" in some of the books I've read about the subject. Thomas J. Elpel, the author of "Botany in a Day," warns of the presence of carcinogens and other chemicals which, if ingested, would deplete the body of B vitamins. I've also read a few other books which state that bracken fern has been used as a source of food for many centuries in various cultures. One author (Muriel Sweet) even says that the roots of the bracken fern are starchy and that they were eaten by the native American Indians. The general consensus seems to be that the roots of bracken fern can be eaten after they've been pounded and roasted, or after they've been boiled in water, while the leaves are dangerous and should not be eaten.

I am interested in learning more about bracken fern and other types of ferns. I'm wondering if anyone has ever actually eaten any part of the fern plant, and if so, what does it taste like ?

Does it taste "good" or does it taste "yuck" ?? etc. etc.

L.W.

Let me clairfy something I learned in my ethnobotany classes and many field trials. These books show a pretty line drawing or coloured illustration that is the envy of a fast food promotional campaign.People who are intimate with their local plants, are most often hunter gatherers or a culture recently moved on, but retaining that knowledge.These people had something in abundance, even in apparently hostile climes. They had time, lots of it. You're right, some of these plants are very labour and water intensive. I hope you caught a clue in that statement. Water intensive means you will have a whole lot of easier food sources besides something that looks like the latest asian vegetable fad.

I eat ferns annually in the form of Fiddleheads. I have no clue as to what variety they are. I used to go pick them with my Grandfather along the banks of the Connecticut River before he passed. Now I get them in supermarkets for the few weeks in late spring when they are available. Fiddleheads are baby ferns and get their name from their appearance.

I've eaten fiddleheads in restaurants -- delicious! What do you recommend as the best way to cook 'em?

My ex's name was Fern, so I want nothing to do with it...

In that case, fern makes great tinder under certain circumstances…

I boil them with potatoes and a slab of salt pork and eat them with butter. Don't know if there are other ways of preparing them, but that works for me.

Thanks dcnh, that sounds good!

Nurit

Too late. The divorce is final, she has her 44% of my retirement, and that is that. But don't think I didn't dream of it prior to the last court visit...

It depends upon species, but I have eaten quite a few of the garden variety fern curled tips or fiddleheads (unfurled fronds) raw. They taste somewhat pleasant with a bitter or dry texture but a mild taste. Ferns do contain toxins, possibly carcinogens, and they uptake heavy metals (including arsenic) from the soil. So eat sparingly, and it is probably best to boil first and throw out the water to remove some bitterness and toxins, although the half-dozen or so at a time that I have eaten raw did not make me sick. Take no more than three per plant, as harvesting more can kill the plant.
I suggest reading all you can about the species you intend to consider for food. Find out if there are any poisonous members in that particular family and learn to recognize them, and also any look-alikes from other families, and narrow it down from there. You should be able to at least identify any plant you are interested in down to family. Knowing this can tell you many things including whether or not it is a safe family (some plant families have no poisonous members), and from there, identify to species. I suggest The Jepson Manual (only for California) or other scholarly regional field manual (these books are hefty, and are thus not field guides per se, but learn to identify and be certain before you need to rely on any plants you intend to eat), a botanical dictionary (usually not necessary if your manual is worthwhile as it will have an extensive glossary with drawings), a high quality 10x folding handlens (attach a neck lanyard), and a small transparent ruler with metric, as must tools for anyone interested in proper plant identification.
Finally, plant identification is not always an easy task, and like Chris said, there are many books out there written by laymen. These "guides" will give you a false sense of security if you rely on their minimal and amateur descriptions and drawings/photos. I suggest taking an intro field botany class just to get an idea of what goes into being able to reliably identify a plant growing wild.

Quote from Nurit "I've eaten fiddleheads in restaurants -- delicious! What do you recommend as the best way to cook 'em?"

There are recipes online for cooking the Ostrich fern fiddleheads:

http://www.fiddle-heads.com/

http://gonewengland.about.com/od/fiddleh..._Collection.htm

BigCityHillBilly, I am really glad to learn that you shouldn't eat bracken fern fiddleheads in an emergency. Thank you for bringing this up.

Joy

Fern are a common diet in Borneo and I've eaten them in long houese often.

Not great but okay.

I've been told by non- natives that older ferns can cause stomach cancer due to the irritant nature of the 'hairs'. However, proper cooking of young fiddleheads should break them down , I think.

There does not seem to be e higher than normal rate of stomach cancer amomg the natives here