617970 Thu May 07 07:40:03 -0700 2009 36 23 Ontario (including Toronto) 0 4662176 Are they out yet? Does St. Lawrence Market have them? I am hoping to make a run to the north market this weekend. Thu May 07 07:40:03 -0700 2009 290675 mattdobbin 1 4662191 I haven't seen them yet I wanna forage for them! Haven't done that since I was a youngin with my grandma Thu May 07 07:43:28 -0700 2009 4662176 225662 CoffeeAddict416 1 4662238 yes. dont know. Chow! HL. Thu May 07 07:56:41 -0700 2009 4662176 49536 HarryLloyd 1 4662241 i was forwarded an email sent from the dufferin grove market: Forbes Wild Foods is very pleased to announce that we will be bringing fresh Wild Fiddleheads and Wild Leeks to the market! The Fiddleheads (which are wild, not cultivated) were sustainably harvested from Springwater Township, which is less than 100 miles from Toronto. The Wild Leeks were sustainably harvested by a First Nations group in the Georgian Bay area, also within 100 miles of Toronto. We’ll be selling the Fiddleheads for $7 / lb, and the Wild Leeks for $10 / lb. If anyone is interested in placing an order in advance, they can either email us (mlynch@wildfoods.ca) or give us a call (416-927-9106) and we can put their order together to be picked up at the market. We will also have both of these items at next week’s market (May 14th), if someone can’t make it down this time. hope that helps a bit. Thu May 07 07:57:16 -0700 2009 4662176 128007 toothpicvic 2 4662254 Kos on Roncesvalles has fiddleheads and ramps right now, in addition to their always awesome produce selection. One of the best spots in the city in my opinion. Thu May 07 07:59:51 -0700 2009 4662241 18477 jamesm 1 4662262 Mark Trealout of Kawartha Ecological Growers has fiddleheads. He's selling them at the AppleTree Market on Thursday afternoons and at the Green Barn Market on Saturday mornings. He also has ramps and trout lily leaves (which are foraged and delicious; sweet at first with a slightly peppery finish; lovely served raw in a salad). Thu May 07 08:02:34 -0700 2009 4662176 232011 Tatai 2 4664424 Seriously - you can eat trout lily leaves? I had NO idea. There are zillions of them! Thu May 07 18:05:21 -0700 2009 4662262 12383 Nyleve 3 4664568 I did eat them -- raw -- and loved them, although some online sites say they should be cooked as they can be toxic if eaten raw, while other sites say they're great eaten raw in salads. Is there anyone out there who can definitively say that they're safe to eat raw? (My family and I ate them about 10 days ago with no ill effects.) Thu May 07 19:09:23 -0700 2009 4664424 232011 Tatai 4 4665553 I think it might be one of those things where you have a range of tolerance for the stuff. As much as I love fiddleheads cooked, I can't imagine eating them raw - they're too, I don't know, furry I guess. Fri May 08 07:11:46 -0700 2009 4664568 12383 Nyleve 5 4665784 I know how you feel -- and the texture would probably be sort of like chewing grasshoppers, no? ;-) Fri May 08 08:09:19 -0700 2009 4665553 232011 Tatai 6 4665837 Mmm... grasshoppers. Fri May 08 08:21:29 -0700 2009 4665784 202405 tjr 6 4665975 I've never tried grasshoppers. If they're furry, I'm not interested. Fri May 08 08:59:59 -0700 2009 4665784 12383 Nyleve 1 4662395 I can't remember if SLM North had it, but I think South did during my visit last weekend. And so did Longo's and Yorkmills and Leslie and the Loblaws on Queen's Quay. (I'd call the loblaws though, I might be making that one up...) -- http://www.foodpr0n.com - food. is. love. Thu May 07 08:30:33 -0700 2009 4662176 14940 jlunar 2 4662436 You can definitely get them at SLM; there were at least two vendors selling them on Tuesday, I believe for $7.99/lb. Thu May 07 08:40:09 -0700 2009 4662395 202405 tjr 3 4662504 TJR is correct. The veggie vendor on the lower floor has had them for over a week at $7.99 a pound, and now the two on the main floor at the North doors also now have them on display at the same price. Ramps are also in at all at $1.99 a bunch. Thu May 07 08:56:29 -0700 2009 4662436 105604 jgloverwork 1 4662779 I just cleaned out the St. Jamestown Deli today of them. It's a great deli on Parliament at Winchester that also carries some fresh produce. I just lucked out and found them there. Going out this weekend to find more elsewhere. Anyone know about how long we have until the season is over? Thu May 07 10:00:38 -0700 2009 4662176 277862 fluffysouffle 2 4662788 Unfortunately, the season is only about 2 weeks long. Supplies will last depending on where they're being harvested. Thu May 07 10:02:43 -0700 2009 4662779 232011 Tatai 1 4663266 I was poisoned by these last year, mildly but queasy for two weeks. I cleaned them well. Not feeling it this year. They're wild and all but they're actually not that delicious, really. Thu May 07 12:00:08 -0700 2009 4662176 268426 zoe3654 2 4663394 Yeah I hear what you're saying. I do like them, but felt unwell after buying some in the past, at the SLM on 2 separate occasions. Same symptoms -- upset stomach for a couple of days. Thu May 07 12:37:39 -0700 2009 4663266 23934 DrewStar 1 4663335 We split some discussion of how to prepare fiddleheads into a new discussion on the Home Cooking board. You can find that topic here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/618059 Please keep this topic focused on where to find them in the Ontario area. Thanks. Thu May 07 12:22:01 -0700 2009 4662176 2 The Chowhound Team 1 4664566 Fortinos at Lawrence & Dufferin had fiddleheads today for $4.99/lb, no idea if they were from Ontario, however. Thu May 07 19:08:05 -0700 2009 4662176 59740 gimel 1 4664572 Loblaws on Queens Quay had some. Thu May 07 19:10:12 -0700 2009 4662176 70173 JonasBrand 2 4664686 also saw fiddleheads at highland farms on ellesmere/kennedy Thu May 07 19:51:59 -0700 2009 4664572 19661 berbere 1 4665248 saw them at loblaws broadview location and in the kensington grocer shops. specifically the one across from the corner coffee shop... yes.. that was quite descriptive. Fri May 08 05:32:02 -0700 2009 4662176 10634 pinstripeprincess 2 4665860 on a related note, i had the fiddleheads appetizer at pizzeria lebretto last night - yummy! the fiddleheads was nice and crunchy, cooked with delicious pancetta and olive oil. my only quibble was that the serving was a bit small for two to share, as we did. can i ask those who cook fiddleheads at home (i've only eaten them at restaurants), do they change flavour later in the season ie. become bitter as they get bigger? the ones last night were pretty small, i remember seeing much larger ones in the markets last summer. i wonder if there is a taste difference as they grow. Fri May 08 08:27:01 -0700 2009 4665248 17778 Kasia 3 4665905 The season really only lasts about 2 weeks, so I don't imagine that they'll get a lot larger between now and the middle of the month, but an extra week in the ground will increase their size somewhat. I bought some today that were a mix of small and medium sizes. The larger ones can be a bit more tough and bitter. Fri May 08 08:41:58 -0700 2009 4665860 239809 1sweetpea 3 4665908 Kasia, there's a very short window during which fiddleheads are edible. Once they start to unfurl from their tight coil, they are no longer fit for consumption. I would imagine that the size of an actual fiddlehead might depend on the age of the ostrich fern from which it was cut and possibly by climactic conditions. (Don't quote me on this, though.) The fiddleheads on the ostrich ferns in my garden were very small and it's amazing how fast the plants grow and the fiddleheads unfurl. Quite beautiful, too! The "season" is over in my garden. Fri May 08 08:42:49 -0700 2009 4665860 232011 Tatai 4 4665992 Some plants produce big, juicy fiddleheads, others send up smaller, thinner ones. It's a little like asparagus. The shoot itself doesn't fatten up as it grows - it just gets taller, then, as Tatai said, they unfurl and you can't eat them. I suspect the size of the fiddlehead sprout depends entirely on the plant and the environment in which it's growing. Fri May 08 09:02:57 -0700 2009 4665908 12383 Nyleve 1 4665848 Just bought some at local ValueMart on Underhill at $4.99/lb. Fri May 08 08:24:06 -0700 2009 4662176 14196 DUH CAR 1 4666301 Just saw them at Whole Foods (Yorkville location). Fri May 08 10:36:54 -0700 2009 4662176 174519 Ediblethoughts 1 4666981 I just saw some at Pusateri's on Church street and they looked beautiful... SB Fri May 08 13:36:49 -0700 2009 4662176 17544 snackboy 1 4667233 Bruno's on Avenue Road has them. Fri May 08 15:39:53 -0700 2009 4662176 20953 zoohort2 2 4667296 Further to toothpicvics post above, Forbes will also be at Green Barn Farmers' Market (79 Wychwood Avenue) tomorrow with ramps and fiddleheads. 9-1, I think Fri May 08 16:04:21 -0700 2009 4667233 118181 EarlyDrive 1 4667342 Metro on Whites Road has them, cheaper than most places, at $5/lb. Fri May 08 16:20:21 -0700 2009 4662176 56131 jayt90 1 4667385 The Healthy Butcher on Eglinton has fiddleheads, ramps and asparagus, all local (and the asparagus are organic). Fri May 08 16:40:23 -0700 2009 4662176 232011 Tatai 2 4667421 I just found some today at Zehrs/Loblaws in Windsor. They had arrived this morning and the small display had been ravaged by 10:00 am! I cleaned them out completely. I hope they get more before the season is completely done. I wouldn't mind a second crack at them. We ate them for dinner tonight. They were fantastic! They are a bit of a chore to prepare, though (soaking, rinsing, trimming, parboiling/blanching, then finishing in a pan). Fri May 08 16:58:11 -0700 2009 4667385 239809 1sweetpea 1 4670568 I bought some at Whole Foods yesterday. They were about 7-7.50/lb and came loose or pre-bagged (although if you wanted less I'm sure Whole Foods would let you open the bags and take your quantity - the bags aren't priced). I made them for dinner last night and followed the direction of boiling for 10 mins which seemed like a lot of time. Then I sauteed i oil and garlic. yum. photos here: http://whatsonmyplate.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/fiddleheads/ WON Sun May 10 08:05:55 -0700 2009 4662176 92591 wontonfm