How to Forage for and Cook Fiddlehead Ferns

"Fiddlehead" does not refer to a species of fern, but rather a stage in the plant's development, when the tender stalks have emerged but the fronds have yet to unfurl. If your timing is perfect, you'll find them only a few inches tall and their tips tightly coiled, looking something like the heads—or scrolls—of so many miniature, bright-green fiddles (all buried up to their necks).