DCHP-1 Online

fiddlehead † The fiddlehead is chiefly associated in Canada with the Maritimes, especially New Brunswick, where the fronds of the ostrich fern are harvested and packaged for export as a delicacy.

• n. the edible, tightly furled young frond of certain ferns, so called because of its shape.

  • c1820  (1949)  "We ate fiddle-heads, grapes, and even the leaves of trees."
  • 1932  The fronds, unfurling, resemble bishop's crooks, though the country folk [in B.C.] call them "fiddleheads."
  • 1964  The Canadian booth with its . . . "mountie" dolls, maple syrup and maple sugar [and] cans of New Brunswick fiddleheads . . . is invariably a big attraction of the [International Food] fair.
  • 1965  Here she had been happy . . . getting together with the neighbors . . . for dulse sandwiches and moose milk (one part emulsified fiddleheads, one part clam juice, three parts catawba) . . . .