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BREAKING NEWS!
NEWSMAN'S RULE #1: When
there is no story you find one. Today our man in the woods followed old
folklore: April Fool’s Day is the first day to go into the woods in search of
Morchella, or true morel mushrooms, a highly prized Appalachian delicacy. So that is what he did.
Yet, as in every
year past, he found none. Instead, he did find another wild edible:
fiddleheads, or the new fronds of Christmas ferns beginning to uncurl and
present themselves for spring. The name comes from their resemblance to the carved
ends of violins or, here in the Tennessee foothills, fiddles as played by the late Vassar Clements.
Christmas ferns get their name because they remain alive and green through December and the mountaineers would gather them to decorate their drab cabins during the holidays.
Christmas ferns get their name because they remain alive and green through December and the mountaineers would gather them to decorate their drab cabins during the holidays.
Sautéed in butter, the spring fiddleheads—the ferns not the violin accents—are another prized delicacy. But then, anything sautéed in butter is scrumptious, so again our reporter in the field decided to pass
since he just spent two weeks stocking his pantry. Tonight, it’s yet another can of peas.
This one goes out to
John and the string band music lovers in his household.
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| Christmas ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides) |
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