Ryan O'Malley, chef at Elements Food and Spirit in St. Johnsbury, Vt., walks through a field of ostrich ferns in search of fiddleheads, the furled baby ferns he serves at the restaurant.

A dish made of fiddlehead ferns, duck confit and pasta is prepared by O'Malley. Just after the snow melts, but long before the last frost, hardy New Englanders take to moist meadows and muddy ...

Fiddleheads of other fern species could make you sick. Because of this, you should plant ostrich ferns on purpose, if you want to grow your own fiddleheads, or learn how to properly identify the ...