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Ferns?

 
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cab



Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 05 10:46 am    Post subject: Ferns? Reply with quote
    

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
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 05 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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

PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 05 2:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 05 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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

PostPosted: Fri Jan 28, 05 10:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

As I suspected, probably not a good idea to eat them!

Cheers Sean.

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