Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The beginning of fiddlehead season has inspired me to see what information is online about them (new recipes, cleaning tips, things like that). A lot of it has been good, but the directions for cleaning seem pretty time intensive and quite frankly a pain (picking off the chaff with your hands or flicking each fiddlehead). Here is my tip; let me know if you like it.
1) Take a five gallon bucket, put 2 or 3 inches of fiddleheads in the bottom(you could put more if you like, this just works for me).
2) Take a shop vac set on blow instead of suck(make sure to take all of the nasty stuff out of your vacuum, I just take the top off and set it on somewhere where it won't be blowing dirt.)
3) Blow out your fiddleheads for about 20 seconds. Twist the bucket a couple of times during the process. This will cause all the brown chaff to escape the bucket. You might lose a couple fiddleheads, but if you look at them you will notice that they are probably ones that are a little too "unfurled".
4) You can than take them to your sink and float them a few times or use a screen to spray them off. I actually spray them off in a 2'/2' box with screen I made and then float them in the sink.
Hopefully you find this useful. Let me know if it helps or if you have a better idea.
The beginning of fiddlehead season has inspired me to see what information is online about them (new recipes, cleaning tips, things like that). A lot of it has been good, but the directions for cleaning seem pretty time intensive and quite frankly a pain (picking off the chaff with your hands or flicking each fiddlehead). Here is my tip; let me know if you like it.
1) Take a five gallon bucket, put 2 or 3 inches of fiddleheads in the bottom(you could put more if you like, this just works for me).
2) Take a shop vac set on blow instead of suck(make sure to take all of the nasty stuff out of your vacuum, I just take the top off and set it on somewhere where it won't be blowing dirt.)
3) Blow out your fiddleheads for about 20 seconds. Twist the bucket a couple of times during the process. This will cause all the brown chaff to escape the bucket. You might lose a couple fiddleheads, but if you look at them you will notice that they are probably ones that are a little too "unfurled".
4) You can than take them to your sink and float them a few times or use a screen to spray them off. I actually spray them off in a 2'/2' box with screen I made and then float them in the sink.
Hopefully you find this useful. Let me know if it helps or if you have a better idea.
I use a basket made of "hardware cloth. which is about 1/4" mesh.
Same as we use for clam digging. Just keep shaking them under a running hose and they come out very clean with little effort. When I used to pick a lot of them I had a "drum " made of the same hardware cloth and rotated them while hosing them off. Washing them in a sink afterwards helps get any sand and silt out of them. All I can say is DON'T try washing them in your sink without a plug in and don't try to wash the brown chaff off in the sink either. NOTHING will clog up plumbing faster than fiddlehead chaff. The chaff will clog a garbage disposal too so heed the warnings here and clean them at least once outside.
Your basket sounds similar to mine. I find that the chaff blows out super easy when it is all still dry. You are definitely right though, don't deal with the chaff in the sink!!!
Your basket sounds similar to mine. I find that the chaff blows out super easy when it is all still dry. You are definitely right though, don't deal with the chaff in the sink!!!
Never tried the dry method but I will after reading your post. Anything that makes it easier to clean them is welcome news. Problem is I usually pick them in the rain so they're already wet. Less competition on rainy days.
I have used my clothes dryer set on no heat.....lint trap catches all the brown stuff.
Also, I have noticed that fiddlehead locales are a closely held secret around here....
I have used my clothes dryer set on no heat.....lint trap catches all the brown stuff.
Also, I have noticed that fiddlehead locales are a closely held secret around here....
I just paddled out to where ours are, still about 4 foot underwater.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
