Ferns are the oldest plants on earth, surviving glacial period, since the time of dinosaurs they have not undergone any significant changes, only their size has decreased.
Ferns grow almost everywhere except Antarctica and survive in different climatic zones, except for the tundra, steppes and deserts, are found in almost the entire forest zone.
The fern prefers light, sandy and sandy loam soils; it is often transplanted from the forest to flower beds, because it is a magnificent decoration that pleases the eye.
But the most interesting thing: fern turns out to be a great delicacy! Yes, it's edible!
What are edible ferns?
Ferns you can eat without harmful effects, can be called edible ferns. Most edible plants of this species are perennials that live for two to three years. The leaves are long and lanceolate in shape. These are green leafy plants. Scientific name: Athyrium filix-femina, Scolopendrium vulgare.
There are many types of edible ferns. These are Dheki saag or sak, Helecho Hembra Menor, Common Polypod, male fern, feedlehead, hart’s fern Polipodio Común, Polypodium filix-femine Dryopteris, Ostrich fern, and others.
Fern is indispensable in Japanese cuisine, and in the Far East, fern dishes are not at all exotic. It is prepared not only by local housewives, but also served in cafes and canteens. In the diet of Kamchatka residents, ferns make up for the spring shortage of vegetables. Used in American countries as a vegetable. Popular in South Asia. In Europe and India it is an herb for many types of diseases.
It is eaten not only freshly picked, but also stored for the winter: salted and pickled.
Omelet with bread and fern shoots.
Poison fern
Ferns should not be eaten raw.
Most poisonous ferns are mature ferns. They are larger than edible ferns. Edible ferns are entirely herbaceous, light to bright green, and poisonous ferns are dark green and have reddish branches. Poisonous ferns have red dots on their leaves.
How to salt fern
The most common method of harvesting in places of mass collection is salting.
Residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky salt it in three stages.
For the first stage of salt, take 4 kg per 10 kg of plant. Salt in jars lined with a plastic bag on the inside. Place salt on the bottom of the dish, then sprinkle it on each layer of greens. A thick layer of salt is poured onto the very top and oppression is placed. The duration of the first salting is about three weeks. Then the brine is drained.
During the second salting, the fern is transferred to another jar or barrel, again alternating layers with salt. This time they take less salt - 1 kg per 10 kg of fern. Oppression is again placed on top. The duration of the second salting is also 3 weeks.
For the third salting, prepare the brine in advance (1 kg of salt per 10 liters of water). Drain the old brine and add fresh brine instead. The duration of the last salting is again about three weeks.
A simple option for pickling fern is with pre-cooking. Housewives can pickle fern more easily, just like cucumbers, by first boiling the leaves for 10 minutes.
How to get rid of bitterness
It is important! This is exactly how fern should be prepared, so that he doesn't get bitter, and only then use the preparation for preparing dishes according to recipes.
To delete bitterness, contained in fresh shoots, you need to boil it for 5-10 minutes in salted water, then rinse under running cold water and drain in a colander Now the fern can be salted, marinated, stewed, or fried.
Recipes with fern
Chowder "Kamchatskaya"
Slice the pork, lightly fry, pour hot water and cook until tender, at the end of cooking add diced potatoes. Fry onions, carrots and parsley in vegetable oil. Soak the salted fern, chop and fry for about 10 minutes. Place vegetables and ferns into the soup 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking. At the end of cooking, add crushed garlic and finely chopped boiled egg.
When serving, sprinkle with parsley.
Meat with fern.
Fresh cabbage soup with fern
Chop the cabbage into strips and place in boiling meat broth. 5 minutes before the end of cooking, add fried fern, sautéed onions, spices, and chopped garlic.
Before serving, add sour cream and herbs.
Potato casserole with fern
Mash the boiled potatoes until smooth, season butter, add a raw egg and stir, then cool. Prepare minced meat from fried fern, sautéed onions and chopped boiled egg. Divide the potato mixture in half.
Place one half on a baking sheet greased and sprinkled with breadcrumbs, spread the minced meat on top, cover with the remaining potato mixture. Level the surface, grease with sour cream, apply a pattern with a spoon if desired and bake in the oven.
Cut the finished casserole into portions, pour over heated butter or sour cream.
Pasta with fern.
Sandwiches with fern
Slices of bread are dipped into the beaten egg-milk mixture. Fried fern mixed with mayonnaise is placed on them and sprinkled with grated cheese. The sandwiches are then placed on a greased baking sheet and placed in the oven. Bake until golden brown.
Beneficial properties of edible ferns
Ferns are unique. Curly young shoots provide 35 calories per 100 g, contain anti-aging substances, vitamins, omega-6, omega-3, essential acids. Some edible ferns are choleretic, sedative, anthelmintic, laxative, they contain a lot of vitamin A and vitamin C.
Fern has natural polyphenolic flavonoid components such as β-carotenes. Carotenes are converted into vitamin A inside our body.
Fresh leaves of edible ferns are an excellent antioxidant, as they contain vitamin A and carotene. 100 g of fern contains 3618 IU of vitamin A, which is more than 120% of the recommended daily requirement of vitamin A, which is a very powerful antioxidant and very beneficial for us.
Edible fern shoots are a great source of nutrients, minerals and electrolytes (potassium, manganese, iron and copper). 100 g of fresh shoots will provide 370 mg of potassium, which is the daily requirement for an adult.
Some mature leaves and branches contain laxatives and poisonous substances. Therefore, we must collect the right plants. Edible ferns are tender and juicy.
This herb has an unusual wild taste and smell. It is usually harvested from June to September. In spring they are very bitter.
Rhizomes
The rhizome can also be eaten, peeled and baked. Fern roots - source useful substances, used in medicine.
Fern root tea is used as a cleanser as well as an alcoholic extract.
Benefits of eating ferns
Ferns for lungs and breathing problems
Fern root tea is very beneficial for the lungs and breathing. He refreshes our respiratory system. Many people suffer from irregular breathing. It weakens their hearts and compromises the health of our blood cells. Fern tea will help.
Many types of edible ferns help relieve coughs. It also treats old cough. Cough fern syrup is a good tonic for clearing the respiratory system.
Rickets
Rickets is a kind of disease that destroys bones. This is due to malnutrition and lack of vitamin D, phosphorus and calcium. Bones become twisted and brittle. This is a childhood disease. Rickets is commonly seen in underdeveloped and developing countries. Children in these countries tend to suffer from malnutrition, which results in crooked and brittle bones. Edible ferns contain high levels of vitamins and minerals, including phosphorus. This plant can save you from rickets.
For liver diseases
Diseases such as jaundice, liver pain, liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, liver cancer and many other liver infections are dangerous liver diseases. Most liver diseases occur due to a viral attack. Cough due to liver infection can be cured by taking fern elixir (Scolopendrium vulgare). This fern contains elements that help cure liver infection and cough. It is boiled in wine, then boiled again with honey - this is the best herbal remedy for liver pain and cough from liver infection
Other sources say that royal fern will be the best herb for treating jaundice.
Anthelmintic edible ferns
For fever and pain
Almost all types of edible ferns have the ability to soothe pain. External use of fern leaves is also very beneficial in killing pain and fever. Tea made from boiled stems also treats labor pains. All types of fern are used to relieve pain from lumbago, pain from rheumatism, and gout.
Ferns for lack of appetite
In Brazilian alternative medicine, leaves and sprouts of any edible fern are used to treat lack of appetite. The vitamins in edible ferns have a very strong effect on the patient’s lack of appetite. Once consumed, it leads to good food cravings. It is especially useful for children who have lost their appetite for food due to unhealthy foods.
Ideal meal for diabetes
Young shoots of numerous fern species are harvested before they have fully expanded. They can be eaten like other vegetables. Fern is a very good food for diabetics.
For heart and blood pressure
There is research that suggests fern may be beneficial in treating heart disease and helping with high blood pressure. Potassium is a kind of electrolyte that is friendly to our heart. It also reduces blood pressure. Sodium is also an excellent accompaniment for a balanced heart rate.
Fern for cancer prevention
Vitamins are essential to prevent all types of cancer. Research shows that organic foods fortified with vitamin A help protect the body from oral and lung cancer. Fern is a source of vitamin A and C. Researchers also suggest that fern helps prevent uterine cancer. Helps cure skin cancer.
Conclusion
Fern is very useful herb, helps treat the effects of radioactive exposure. Mountain ferns are more powerful than lowland ferns. Remember that fern has poisonous effects, you need to choose only light leaves without redness, boil them for bitterness (or salt them in three stages).
Edible soft ferns are not harmful. They help us by protecting us from many diseases such as cancer, various types of inflammation, liver infections, viral coughs and colds.
So we should practice eating edible ferns!
Which fern is edible? Does it have any beneficial properties, and how to prepare such a product at home? You will find answers to all these questions in the materials of this article.
Edible fern: types
There are approximately 10 thousand different species of ferns in the world. Such plants can be found anywhere, including in swampy areas and even deserts. But most often they grow in the forest zone.
The different habitats of ferns have directly contributed to their diversity. They can differ significantly not only in external form and size, but also in internal structure, as well as chemical and physiological characteristics.
What edible fern do you know? The most popular plant that is used to prepare various dishes is the common bracken. Asian osmunda and ostrich are also used for food.
Features and collection of the plant
To ensure that the edible fern turns out tasty and tender after cooking, its shoots are collected at a young age, before they become tough.
The season for collecting such plants is early spring, when the leaves on the trees begin to bloom and lush grass appears. Edible fern should be immediately used for preparing various dishes or processed into a semi-finished product that will be stored for a long time. Semi-finished products include three types of plants: frozen fern, salted and dried. The first option is the simplest and most common among housewives. However, it is not used on an industrial scale.
Spreading
Now you know which fern is edible. Where does this plant grow? Bracken, Asian osmunda and ostrich are widespread throughout to the globe, except for steppes, arctic regions and deserts.
In Russia, such plants can be found in the European part, the Far East, Siberia and the Urals. They are also native to Europe, Asia and North America.
Edible osmunda asiatica and ostrich are very often found in forest areas, on open hills and in bush thickets.
Useful properties and composition
What is remarkable about the edible fern? Beneficial features Few people know about this product. Moreover, most housewives do not even suspect that the plant in question can be eaten.
According to experts, the rhizomes of such a product contain starch, saponins, alkaloids, bracken and tannin, as well as essential oils, fat, flavonoids and tannins. As for young shoots, they are very rich in tocopherol, vitamins, riboflavin, nicotinic acid and carotene.
Of the microelements, the mentioned plants well accumulate iodine, calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium, sodium, copper, sulfur, nickel and phosphorus.
This plant has long been used as food by residents. Far East, as well as citizens of Japan and Korea. They believe that this product has a beneficial effect on their growth, helps the formation of a strong skeleton and metabolism. In addition, lovers of this plant claim that it has a good effect on the activity of the nervous system, improves general state endocrine system, increases performance and removes radionuclides from the body.
What else is useful for the edible fern, the photo of which is presented in this article? This product has been used for medical purposes for a long time. Not only young shoots of fern are consumed internally, but also its rhizomes. For example, a decoction of the roots of this plant is actively taken for diseases of the intestines and spleen. In addition, it effectively helps with aching joints, jaundice, diarrhea, chest pain and headaches, as well as noise in the ears and head, and dry pleurisy.
A decoction made from the edible fern is often used as a diuretic, laxative, anthelmintic and analgesic. This plant also relieves stress and stimulates metabolism.
Externally, a decoction of the rhizomes of the product in question is used for eczema, wounds, abscesses and scrofula. As for the infusion, it can be used for rheumatism (in the form of baths) and ulcers.
Contraindications for use
Despite the fact that all of the listed types of ferns are edible, you should include them in your diet with extreme caution. This is due to the fact that an adult plant can be very poisonous. It may contain bitter cyanide glycosides, tannins, hydrocyanic acid and carcinogenic compounds. The concentration of these substances increases gradually as the plant develops and grows.
It should also be noted that it is strictly forbidden to use fern during pregnancy and during breastfeeding.
An overdose of this product may cause vomiting, seizures, nausea, low blood pressure, headache, respiratory depression, dizziness, decreased cardiac function, and even death.
Use in cooking
Edible fern species are actively used in cooking. Various salads are often prepared from young leaves. In addition, peculiar “snails” are fried, boiled, salted and pickled for the winter, and are also used as a special seasoning for meat.
The most popular edible fern among culinary experts is the common bracken. It received its unusual name due to its resemblance to the wing of a bird of prey.
This plant is quite common throughout Russia, and it is not difficult to find.
Young shoots, which are used to prepare various dishes, are formed in May. At first they resemble a kind of “snail”, and as they develop they unfold and become like a hook.
The petiole of the edible leaf is called rachis. It tastes very much like porcini mushrooms. Raw rachis is poisonous, so it is imperative to heat them.
Edible fern: how to cook?
As mentioned above, a fresh plant cannot be stored. This is due to the fact that it hardens very quickly, making it simply impossible to eat. Therefore, freshly collected fern shoots should be immediately salted or boiled in salted water and then dried.
If you decide to use the latter preparation option, then the fresh leaves must be thoroughly washed and placed in a pan of boiling salted water. In this form, the plant should be cooked for no more than 5 minutes. After this, you need to place it in a colander and shake vigorously.
As for pickling, this process is carried out as follows: fresh and thoroughly washed greens are placed in an enamel container, sprinkled with regular table salt(at the rate of 250 g of spices per 1 kg of plant), cover with a wooden lid, smaller in diameter, and then press down with pressure. In this case, the weight of the latter must necessarily be equal to the weight of the product used. In this form, the salted greens are left for 7-8 days.
After the brine begins to cover the wooden lid, it is slowly drained. Along with it, all the bitterness inherent in young shoots will go away.
The product prepared in this way can be stewed. It is first fried with onions, and then pour in fresh sour cream and cook in this form for several minutes. The finished stew is served with herbs and fried tomatoes.
You can also deep fry it by first dipping it in pancake batter.
If none of the presented methods suits you, then the salted product can simply be chopped and added to salads, pizza, soup, etc.
In the mythology of the Slavs, they were always endowed magical properties, although these plants do not bloom. On the night of Ivan Kupala, couples in love actively search for this mythical flower, believing that it will definitely bring them eternal happiness (according to legend, such a flower blooms only for a moment).
Greetings to everyone who cares about their health!
Today we will find out what are the benefits of fern. People often mistakenly overlook important things. So, for example, at first glance, an ordinary plant keeps secrets great history and great value for our body.
In the article you will find answers to many questions regarding ferns. You will learn: why it is useful, what properties experts attribute to it, and how to use it correctly.
Fern is unusual plant, with which ancient legends are associated, and the leaves are somewhat reminiscent of the open wings of a proud eagle. This plant has been growing on the planet for 400 million years.
By now, more than ten thousand varieties of fern have reached us. Of course, not all of them are beneficial to humans; there are also poisonous or simply useless varieties.
The composition of this plant is rich in microelements necessary for our body. Even in ancient times, people understood the value of ferns. All parts of this plant are used in cooking, medicine and cosmetology. In addition, it is a low-calorie product that is quite easily digested due to the proteins it contains.
This plant has long been an important part of the diet of peoples of Eastern cultures. In order to learn about the benefits of fern, first we will briefly familiarize ourselves with the chemical composition. Ferns contain many saponins, alkaloids and essential oils.
Young shoots, rich in vitamin complex groups A, B, E and PP. In addition, the composition includes fats and flavonoids. This is far from full list useful substances. Chemical composition differs depending on the variety, age and individual part of the plant (leaves, rhizome, “snails”).
It is strictly forbidden to use fern without pre-treatment. A fresh plant can cause food poisoning, vomiting, nausea and general intoxication of the body.
The most popular fern is called “bracken”. He's very helpful. This plant grows in almost all countries. Only young shoots whose leaves have not yet blossomed are used for food. With age, bracken becomes poisonous and, of course, can no longer be used in cooking.
- strengthening the immune system
- normalization of the cardiovascular system
- improving thyroid function
- normalization of blood sugar levels
- improving blood composition
- positive effect on the endocrine system
- strengthening bone tissue
- normalization of the gastrointestinal tract
- increasing the body's performance
- improving metabolism
The usefulness of fern is difficult to overestimate. In addition to the above, its use helps remove toxins, waste and radionuclides from the body. Active components plants help cope with stress and also have a beneficial effect on the nervous system.
In addition, this component is also useful for self-care. It is often used in cosmetology. Bracken shoot contains substances that slow down the aging process, which means its regular use will help keep you young and fresh. appearance.
In ancient times, people often used the leaves of this plant to make various amulets to protect themselves and their homes from evil spirits and damage. Nowadays, the most common way to use fern is in cooking. It is useful, of course, only if it is prepared correctly.
Salting ancient plants for the winter is popular. For this, the petioles of one of the edible varieties of fern – bracken or ostrich fern – are used. The preparation method is reminiscent of pickling mushrooms and takes place in three stages with breaks of several weeks. The taste of bracken petioles after processing resembles mushrooms, and the second type of fern is more like sauerkraut.
Before preparing a fresh plant, of any variety, it must first be boiled in salt water for ten minutes. After which the water is drained and useful product stewed, marinated, fried, etc.
A salad made from this ancient plant is very healthy. To prepare it, fern leaves are soaked in water for a day, after which they are cut and boiled for thirty minutes. Next, fried onions and meat are added to it. Season it all with soy sauce and simmer. The chilled salad is served on the table.
Fern cabbage soup, special roasting, delicacies and other dishes are also popular. Rice with the addition of this plant is very beneficial for health, it is widely popular among eastern peoples. There are actually a lot of cooking variations. Therefore, everyone can find something to their taste.
Fern is not always useful for everyone. It is recommended to consult a doctor or experienced herbalist before consuming it. There are a number of contraindications:
- It is strictly forbidden to use this plant during pregnancy.
- Presence of serious illnesses internal organs are a strong argument for refusing to use ferns
An overdose of this product is very dangerous. In some cases, convulsions, vomiting and nausea are possible. It can also cause dizziness, low blood pressure, disruption of the cardiovascular system, etc. If alarming symptoms are ignored for a long time, even death is possible.
In any case, fern is useful, but only if you consume it in moderation and follow all the advice and recommendations of experienced specialists. You should also remember that decoctions alone are not enough to maintain health. It's important to give up everyone bad habits and lead a healthy lifestyle. Only in this case will you be able to maintain your health for many years.
If we talk about health, then see also. Now there are many different techniques and methods for creating perfect body and maintenance healthy image life. It is important to remember that not all of them are universal, and what works well for one person may, on the contrary, be harmful to another.
If you found here useful information, share the article with your friends on in social networks. Take care of yourself and your health. All the best!
Share this article with a friend:Fern is considered one of the oldest plants on the planet. Its appearance dates back to the Devonian period. The legend associated with the appearance of the plant is that it arose from ancient greek goddess Venus, who lost her hair.
There is a belief that a person to the one who finds a fern flower, all secrets and possibilities will be revealed. Is it really? This question remains unanswered.
This perennial plant has a wide geography and is found in almost every corner of the planet, not counting the northern latitudes.
Its height varies, from 30 to 150 centimeters. Lives in coniferous and deciduous forests.
Loves poor soil and can form entire thickets. Propagates vegetatively.
They say that the plant is truly mysterious. But let’s leave the legends and myths behind and consider how fern grows, what beneficial substances it contains, how it is used to treat many diseases, as well as in cooking.
Fern benefits and harm
Nowadays, there are more than ten thousand varieties of plants. Most of them are beneficial, some species are poisonous, the rest are useless varieties.
Fern contains many microelements that are necessary for the human body. Hence, it is very useful.
It is often used in medicine and cosmetology. Fern is also used in cooking.
The calorie content of this plant is very low, it is easily digestible, so it is well suited for weight loss. If you prepare and consume this ingredient correctly, you will soon notice a noticeable improvement in your body’s condition.
Beneficial features
The most common is the common fern (bracken). This is a perennial herbaceous plant. What are the benefits of bracken fern?:
- strengthens the immune system and increases the body's performance;
- improves thyroid function;
- normalizes the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
- improves blood composition and normalizes sugar;
- has a positive effect on the endocrine system;
- Improves metabolism and functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, promotes weight loss. To treat stomach diseases, use an internal herbal decoction, which quickly helps due to its beneficial properties;
- strengthens bone tissue;
- removes waste, toxins, radionuclides from the body;
- has a beneficial effect on nervous system, since active substances help cope with various kinds of stress;
- It is actively used in cosmetology, since the plant contains components that slow down the aging process. With regular use, you can maintain youth and freshness much longer.
- a decoction of the rhizome heals wounds, abscesses, treats ulcers, eczema and rheumatism;
In eastern countries, the plant has long been an integral part of the diet, because young shoots contain vitamins of groups A, B, E and PP, as well as flavonoids and fats. And this is not the entire list of substances contained in the leaves, rhizomes, and “snails”.
Also bracken rich essential oils, alkaloids, saponins. Is it possible to overestimate the benefits of the plant and answer the question of how bracken fern is useful? The answer is obvious.
Contraindications
However, bracken is not and is not always useful for everyone. He has and contraindications:
- Fern should absolutely not be consumed during pregnancy, so as not to harm the unborn child. You should also not use fern-based cosmetics during pregnancy;
- It is not recommended to use this plant for serious diseases of internal organs;
- It is strictly forbidden to consume the unprocessed plant. Raw fern can cause severe food poisoning and intoxication;
- in case of overdose, convulsions, nausea, and vomiting may occur;
- possible low blood pressure, dizziness, malfunction of the cardiovascular system;
- It is not advisable to introduce the plant into the diet of a preschool child.
However, in most cases fern is useful, but only if consumed in moderation. It is best to consult with experienced specialists before taking the plant and follow their recommendations.
Use in cooking
IN old times people used fern as a talisman to protect their homes from all evil spirits, damage and evil spirits.
IN modern world people treat this plant as medicinal product or a culinary ingredient that has many beneficial properties.
As a rule, leaves, shoots and petioles of bracken and ostrich varieties are used for food.
They go well in salads with other ingredients, and are also added to different dishes as a seasoning.
Before cooking, a fresh plant of any variety must be boiled for 10 minutes in salt water, and then subjected to other types of heat treatment: stewing, frying. It is recommended to prepare this healthy product traditionally in copper cookware. This way, the nutrients and natural taste will be preserved as much as possible.
To cook healthy salad, you need to pre-soak the leaves in water for a day. Then chop and cook for half an hour. Next, add poultry fillet fried with onions and season with soy sauce. This salad is served chilled.
Pickling plants for the winter is very popular. As a rule, bracken petioles are used for this. The method of preparation is similar to pickling mushrooms. In addition, salted and processed bracken petioles resemble mushrooms in appearance. The salting itself takes place in three stages.
Fern cabbage soup is also popular. Rice with the addition of fried or stewed fern shoots is a very popular food in eastern countries. In addition, this dish is low in calories and is good for weight loss.
It is worth saying that there are a large number of options for preparing dishes for weight loss and everyone can find something to their liking.
It is worth saying that the plant has a very aesthetic appearance. Therefore, it is often used for landscaping personal plot. Also, the plant is used to decorate flower arrangements.
In our forests, especially in pine forests, it is widespread common bracken. It is not difficult to recognize: the leaves of the plant are large, with a long “petiole” and an irregularly triangular leaf blade occupying an almost horizontal position. These leaves are somewhat similar in shape to an open umbrella. They are always located alone, and often quite far from each other. This distinguishes bracken from many other forest ferns, whose leaves are more or less elongated, feathery and collected in bunches resembling a wide funnel. A distinctive feature of bracken is its “clean” leaves. On their underside you will never see those tiny brownish sori spots that many other ferns have. Instead of these spots, the bracken has a continuous brownish stripe along the edge of the leaf - an innumerable number of individual sori, as if merging with each other. But when you get into the forest, you are unlikely to find this thin brownish border on the bracken leaves. It is found extremely rarely in plants and usually only in well-lit places - clearings, large glades etc. 
In addition, common bracken can be distinguished from other types of fern by the following characteristics: solitary leaves; curved edges of leaves; longitudinal covered rows of sporangia. In addition, bracken does not form bushes
Most ferns are now not used by humans in any way. They were rarely used before. However, bracken is an exception. In former times, its young shoots were eaten, the rhizome served as soap, the leaves, which have anti-putrefactive properties, were used to wrap fruits and vegetables, and the ash, containing a lot of potassium, was used in glass and soap factories. For consumption, the leaves are harvested in the spring, pickled or soaked in a complex manner. At this time, its leaves are still curled into a snail (more precisely, into three snails). Like most ferns, bracken is poisonous. It is important not to miss the moment when the rachis (as the young shoots of bracken are called) have not yet turned into real stems with leaves and have not become woody. What will be leaves should already stand out on the twisted sprout, but not yet bloom, have a dark green color and bear little resemblance to leaves. Young bracken shoots contain a lot of protein with a high content of leucine, aspartic and glutamic acid, tyrosine and phenylalanine, as well as vitamins - carotene, riboflavin, tocopherol, nicotinic acid, and trace elements - iodine, potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, sulfur, phosphorus. Fern dishes stimulate metabolism, relieve stress, and help fight iodine deficiency. However, the product is not recommended for use in the nutrition of preschool children due to the immaturity of the children's digestive system. In addition to useful substances, raw rachis, however, also contains poisonous ones, which disintegrate and become safe after boiling for ten minutes in salt water or when salted. Rakhis must be processed within 10 hours after collection - they must be salted or boiled and washed.
Collection and preparation of bracken. For medicinal purposes, as well as for food consumption, young shoots and rhizomes of the plant are used. The rhizomes are harvested in the fall or early spring (from May to June), when the above-ground part of the plant begins to grow (the beginning of bracken harvesting is signaled by the flowering of bird cherry, parsley, and lilac and lilies of the valley). First, it is advisable to collect bracken on sunlit slopes (it is in open areas that the first brackens appear), then along birch forests and hollows, and then in shaded ravines and aspen forests. In this case, it is important to exclude the collection of shoots in one thicket, which, of course, will produce new leaves, but will be greatly weakened. It is enough to collect a third of the rachis from one plant, which will practically not weaken the plant. The rhizomes are cleared of the ground, and all small adventitious roots are removed, which are not thrown away, but dried separately. But the bases of the leaf petioles must be left along with the rhizome. Drying underground part plants in the shade. Bracken leaves are harvested exclusively when they are young, together with shoots that have just emerged from the ground, which are fronds that have not yet developed (the height of the cut shoot should not exceed 20 - 30 cm). It is important that the diameter of the harvested leaves exceeds 5 mm. Only juicy, fragile and easily broken shoots of the plant can be collected. As soon as the shoots stop breaking when bent, but only bend, the collection of raw materials stops, since it becomes bitter and unsuitable for food. In addition, the content of useful substances in such hardened shoots will be minimal. 
The collected shoots must be processed immediately, since within 3-4 hours after collection they will become coarse and lose their nutritional and medicinal value. As a last resort, bracken shoots can be stored for 24 hours in the refrigerator (with prolonged storage, fresh fern loses all its taste). What do you eat bracken with? East Asian ferns are eaten a lot and readily. In the diet of Kamchatka residents, bracken fern replaces scarce spring vegetables. But a record amount of this plant is eaten in Japan, where it is even imported from our Far East. And recently, salted fern has begun to appear in the European part of Russia, mainly in shops selling Korean salads. Salting bracken Products: Bracken rachis – 1 kg;
table salt, preferably coarsely ground - 400 g for the first salting, 100 g each for the second and third. What to do: Pour a layer of salt onto the bottom of a glass, ceramic or wooden dish. Place a layer of rachis on the salt. Repeat until the rachis are gone, pour out the remaining salt in a thick layer on top, leave under pressure in a cool place. After 3 weeks, drain the brine, repeat the procedure with less salt (100 g per 1 kg of rachis), again keep under pressure for 3 weeks. For the third salting, prepare the brine in advance - 100 g of salt for 1 liter of water. Drain the old brine and pour in a new one instead, for another 3 weeks. Before use, boil the salted fern in water 1-2 times to remove excess salt.
If you do not prepare the fern for future use, you need to boil it for 5-10 minutes in salted water, then rinse it, let the water drain, and only then fry, stew or marinate. The taste of fern depends on the method of its preparation. For salted fern, it differs from freshly brewed fern, and even more so from dried fern (there is also such a preparation method).
Bracken fried with onions Products Bracken – 400 g of bracken;
sour cream – 100 g; onion – 1 onion (50-70 g); flour – 1 tbsp. spoon of flour; butter or vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. spoon. What to do? Peel and chop the onion, turn on the oven to heat up to 200 degrees. Prepared rachis (salted and boiled or simply boiled) cut into pieces of arbitrary size. Fry the onion in oil, add bracken and fry together for 10-15 minutes on low heat. Mix flour with sour cream, pour into a frying pan, put the frying pan in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown. Korean fried fern
Ingredients
Fern 300g, pork meat -200g, onion - 1, garlic - 3 cloves, salt to taste, soy sauce 1-2 spoons per table. depending on the sauce (its salinity), black pepper, sesame seeds (if available) Take dry fern, soak it overnight, then boil for 30 minutes.
Fry the meat with onions, throw in the fern, then soy sauce (1-2 tablespoons), squeeze in the garlic, pepper, fry it all for another 15 minutes and you’re done
Another edible fern species is the ostrich feather or ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). Outwardly similar to our ordinary nomadic ferns and shield ferns, but more powerful, in good conditions even in the Moscow region it sometimes reaches more than one and a half meters in height, and in the Caucasus in damp places it reaches almost two meters. Ostrich differs from other ferns in the shape of the bush. Its fronds are located strictly in a circle at the top of the rhizome, similar to an onion. All the leaves of this fern grow at the same time, so in summer the bush looks like a huge funnel or vase with an empty center. Its leaves are just as feather-like as those of other ferns, why is it called ostrich fern? The feathers of this fern appear in late summer. A ring begins to grow from the center of the funnel, not necessarily complete, often with only 2-3 new leaves. Unlike large ordinary leaves with flat lanceolate lobes, these leaves rarely reach even 60 cm, and their lobes are twisted lengthwise and look like thin sausages. These spore-bearing leaves are the main difference between the ostrich fern and other ferns. 
As an edible plant ostrich known even less than the bracken. He also produces rachis, which are edible until they reach a height of 20 cm, when the leaves begin to unwind. "Snail", of course, is much more elegant, and half-unfolded rachis are 3 times more productive. So choose. The taste of ostrich and bracken is noticeably different. Bracken has a rather strong mushroom flavor; its consistency is similar to the legs of honey mushrooms - it springs slightly on the teeth. The color of stewed bracken is greenish-brown. And the ostrich looks more like cauliflower, slightly sweet and very filling. Ostrich stewed with meat
1. Wash the Ostrich fern under running water in a colander. I must say that I already had long shoots. That's why I boiled it first. In general, if you take a shoot as tall as a snail, you can immediately fry it. But I would still advise...boil the water and
2. Boil it in boiling water with added salt (salt the water). After boiling, wait 5-8 minutes. The younger the shoot, the less time it takes to cook, generally 3-4 minutes for a snail.
3. Drain the water from the fern (the bitterness will go away) and again pour cold water over the Ostrich fern. The so-called shower.
4. Transfer the fern to a frying pan with hot vegetable oil and fry.
5. Add grated carrots (1-2 pcs) as many as you like, you can add diced onions, salt, soy sauce to taste.
6. Next, simmer under the lid until fully cooked. I determined the readiness of the Ostrich fern by the fern shrinking approximately 2 times, by the gray-green color and softness of the sprout in the mouth.
7. Add 30 grams of plums. butter, then 1 tbsp. l. tomato paste.
8. And finally, 1 can of “meat” stew, i.e. with meat. I put down Orcskaya. I'm trying to lose fat.
That's all! Give children a little. Very satisfying! Yes, by the way, meat (pork, beef) can also be used in preparing this fern. The meat must first be washed, cut into small cubes and fried in a frying pan. Add at the stage of complete readiness of the fern (between points 5 and 6). 
