Ferns?

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Ferns?

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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 05 10:46 am Post subject: Ferns?
American foragers often talk about eating fern 'fiddle heads', i.e. the young fern shoots in spring. Older books occasionally refer to eating bracken fiddle heads, typically stripped of the harder base and the top part, the stems cooked for quite a while. I've also come across reference to bracken containing a carcinogenic component. Anyone eat it? Is it safe? Is it any good?

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 05 12:59 pm Post subject:
I haven't eaten it/them. My understanding is that it's the bracken spores which are carcinogenic if inhaled, but I couldn't tell you where I got that from. If I'm right then presumably the young shoots should be O.K..

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 05 2:09 pm Post subject:
Certainly the spores are an inhalation hazard, but I've also heard mention that there could be a problem by ingestion. Don't know for sure, though.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 05 2:31 pm Post subject:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11945131&dopt=Abstract Bad apparently.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Jan 28, 05 10:25 am Post subject:
As I suspected, probably not a good idea to eat them! Cheers Sean.

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