Com Home Professional Chefs Please Visit us at EarthyDelights. There is a brown papery chaff that surrounds the fiddlehead on the plant. Much of this will have been removed prior to purchase, but some may remain. The outside of the coil should have an intricate pattern of tiny leaves arranged along the sides of the spiral. Size of the coil should be 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.
Larger size is acceptable as long as they are tightly coiled.
Good fiddleheads should have a distinctly crisp texture, both raw and after brief cooking. When selecting Fiddleheads always be sure you are getting the true Eastern Fiddlehead . Common bracken and other ferns also produce tightly coiled new growth in the Spring but none of these are suitable for eating. If more than 2 inches of stem remains attached beyond the coiled part of the fiddlehead snap or cut it off. If any of the paper chaff remains on the fiddleheads you may rub it off by hand.