This is posted for my friend at BoondockBabble. Thought if she wanted to know, maybe a few other passing readers would be curious as well.
First, from my research, if you are gathering wild ferns for your table, you must make sure they are edible! Not all ferns are and will give a a wonderful case of something...not sure what. Here is a link to an explanation on cleaning and identifying the edible Ostrich fern.
The cleaning method I use entails placing the fresh ferns in a colander and soaking in cold water. Rinse, shaking the colander briskly in the process. Perform this 3 or 4 times and the majority of the scales will fall off. Then, place the ferns in a brown paper bag and shake a bit more. Remove from bag, and rinse again, rubbing between thumb and forefinger to remove any remaining bits of scale.
This should take care of the cleaning. Now, prepare and enjoy!
Comments
Next time, I think I'll purchase some. That way I'll have a better idea of how they're supposed to taste. I'm wondering if what we were getting may have been the Bracken, as they tasted rather bitter to me.