To prepare dishes from fern, it is better to purchase it while it is still young. At this time, its stems (rachis) are tender and very easy to chew. Before frying or pickling fern, it must be boiled.

How to cook fern. This is not at all difficult to do, but a little simple rules should be remembered.

• Before cooking, salted fern is soaked in a large volume of water for 12-15 hours, changing the water periodically.
• To cook fresh fern, it is first washed under running water, like ordinary vegetables.
• At the very tips of the rachis are its future leaves, which are still in their infancy. They are removed because they are not suitable for food.
• Fern is a bitter plant, and it should be cooked in a large volume of water so that the bitterness comes out.

To do this you need to take large saucepan, pour water into it and bring to a boil. Place the stems in boiling water. If they are larger than the diameter of the pan, they can be placed in it. The fern will sag as it cooks.

After boiling, you can reduce the heat and cook over low heat. After 5-7 minutes you should try the fern itself. If you find it too bitter, it is better to change the water and boil it again. But it’s better to do this in one go, as it cooks quite quickly. This is why you need to cook it in a large amount of water. The entire cooking time is 10-15 minutes. Do not cook rakhis until soft. It should remain slightly crispy. As a rule, after cooking it is still cooked in a frying pan.

The water from the pan must be drained. This can be done through the crack, slightly moving the lid and tightly grasping the entire structure with tacks. This is usually how water is drained from potatoes. The fern can be laid out to cool, or it can be cooled directly in the same pan.

The fern is considered one of the oldest plants on earth, Bracken Fern thanks to your excellent taste qualities and beneficial nutritional properties have been widely used since ancient times in the cooking of different peoples of the world and in folk medicine. bracken fern increases immunity, improves metabolism, rejuvenates the human body, and among the peoples of China and Japan it is considered an elixir of longevity. It is boiled, fried, stewed, pickled, salted, and used to prepare salads and independent side dishes.

It is used to prepare various salads, cook soups and main courses, make delicious seasoning, and also salted and pickled, the taste of bracken resembles mushrooms, sometimes similar to asparagus. Young sprouts bracken, called rachis, are collected in the spring at a time when they rise above the ground to a height of 15 - 30 cm, and the leaves have not blossomed and are still in their infancy and resemble the curls of a snail in appearance. This occurs from mid-May to early June, depending on weather conditions.

Only young tender stems of fern are suitable for food; they are broken off by hand near the ground; the edible tender stems break with a crunch and quite easily. Stems that bend and are difficult to break are best not collected for food; this fern has already become coarse, fibrous and inedible.

When collecting stems bracken the main thing is not to confuse them with other types of ferns; it is important to know that the stems of this fern grow alone, located at a distance from each other, while in other types of ferns the sprouts emerge from the ground in a bunch from one place. Bracken fern shoots they look smooth, and ferns like ostrich and shield ferns are covered with dark scales and tiny leaves.

I usually pick a bouquet of stems that fits in the palm of my hand, then wrap it with thread and put it in my backpack. It is very important to cook the fern no later than 3-4 hours after harvesting, as the lower part of the fern stem begins to darken and become rough, and if this happens, you will need to trim the darkened lower part of the stems with a knife. Therefore, when I return home, I immediately put water on the fire, add salt and as soon as the water boils I put it in it fern sprouts. The boiling stops immediately. And when the water in the pan boils again, I time it and cook the fern shoots for 9-11 minutes. Then I drain fern stems in a colander, they do not break when bent and curl well into a ring, not too soft and not soggy. The tops of the stems are considered the most valuable. You can prepare many healthy and tasty dishes from this fern.

Fern dishes. Salting young shoots.

For 5 kg of bracken fern, take 2 kg of non-iodized salt. Bunches fern stems align along the tops and cut with a knife from the bottom of the stem. Salt in jars or barrels lined with plastic bag. Salt is poured onto the bottom, then fern, and so on until the container is filled to the top. A thick layer of salt is poured on top and closed with a lid, pressure is placed on the lid, then the entire container is filled with brine and saline solution. The first pickling lasts about three weeks. Then the brine is drained fern transfer to another jar or barrel, also sprinkling the fern bunches with salt - 0.5 kg per 5 kg of fern. Lightly press down on top with a weight so that the fern tufts do not peek out from the brine. The second salting lasts three weeks. For the third salting fern shoots prepare a brine - 0.5 kg of salt per 5 liters of water. Drain the old brine and fill in a new one instead. The third salting also lasts about three weeks. Before use salt fern need to be boiled in water to remove excess salt.

If the fern is consumed fresh, then it should be boiled for 7–8 minutes in salted water, then rinsed and allowed to drain in a colander or sieve. After this, it can be fried, stewed, or marinated. The taste of fern depends on the method of its preparation. The fern rhizome contains a lot of starch and, in addition, is soapy with water, has astringent properties and is a weak anthelmintic.

We make it with bracken. Fern stewed with tomatoes

Cut the prepared fern into slices and fry in vegetable oil. Finely chop the onion and lightly fry. Then combine the fern and onion, pour in sour cream and simmer until tender. Cut the prepared tomatoes into slices and fry.
Serve the fern on a plate, top with fried tomato slices and sprinkle with herbs.
Product consumption: fresh fern - 100 g, 1 pc. tomato, oil, 1/2 onions, sour cream, herbs and salt to taste.

Fern in dough

Prepare the fern as usual, and the dough as always for batter - from egg, flour and milk, dip the fern cut into large slices into it and fry in a preheated frying pan with boiling vegetable oil. Fry the fern on all sides.
Serve the dish hot.
Product consumption: fern - 500 g, eggs - 1 pc., flour - 3-4 tablespoons, milk - 3-4 tablespoons, 1 tbsp. spoon vegetable oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Fern with eggs

Finely chop the fern, add chopped onion and lightly fry in a spoon of vegetable oil. Add flour, pour in meat broth or water. Add salt, pepper, and when the fern is cooked, add sour cream.
Hard-boil a few eggs, peel, cut into slices and place on a hot platter. Place fern on top. Serve hot.
Product consumption: fern - 750 g, onions - 2 heads, butter - 1 tablespoon, flour - 1 teaspoon, meat broth - 1 glass, sour cream - 1 glass, eggs - 3 pcs., salt and pepper to taste .

Fern in sour cream with new potatoes

Cut the prepared fern into slices, fry in a frying pan with butter, add fried onions, sour cream and simmer. Boil new potatoes.
When serving, place the fern in the middle of the pan and place along the edges boiled potatoes the same size and sprinkle it with finely chopped dill.
Product consumption: fern - 100 g, butter - 10 g, sour cream - 50 g, onion - 10 g, young potatoes - 100 g, dill and salt to taste.

Fried fern with potatoes

Fern – 300 g
Potatoes – 6-8 pcs.
Vegetable oil – 3 tablespoons
Spices to taste and availability: black mustard seeds - 0.5 tsp, fenugreek seeds - 1/3 tsp, ginger - 1/3 tsp, and a little asafoetida and black pepper. Salt to taste.

Place mustard and fenugreek seeds into the oil heated in a frying pan and stir quickly. As soon as the fenugreek darkens a little, add ginger, asafoetida and black pepper. Immediately add the chopped fern and fry lightly. Add potatoes into strips. Cover with a lid and simmer until done while stirring. At the end, add salt to taste.

Fern cutlets

The boiled fern is finely chopped or passed through a meat grinder, and stale fern is added. wheat bread, lightly fried onion, pepper, salt, raw eggs, chopped parsley. Mix everything together well, form cutlets, roll them in flour and fry in hot oil.
When serving, sprinkle with sour cream.
Product consumption: fern - 500 g, butter - 3 tablespoons, onion - 1 head, flour - 1 tablespoon, eggs - 3 pcs., white bread - 150 g, pepper, salt and herbs to taste.

Fern fried in sour cream

Fry finely chopped onion in oil until transparent, add boiled fern and fry together for another 10-15 minutes, stirring from time to time with a spoon.
Dilute flour with sour cream. Add sour cream mixed with flour to the finished fern and keep it over moderate heat until it boils again, and before serving, add a little finely chopped dill; if desired, you can put it in the oven until golden brown.
Product consumption: for 400 g of fern, 1 pc. onions, butter - 2 tbsp. spoons, sour cream - 1/2 cup, flour - 1 tablespoon, salt, dill to taste.

Dumplings with fern

300 g fern, 4-5 pcs. potatoes, 1 pc. onion, 2 tbsp. oils, salt and pepper to taste.

For dough: 3 tbsp. flour, 1-2 pcs. eggs, 1/2 tbsp. water or kefir, 1 tsp. salt. Knead the dough and let it stand for half an hour. Boil the potatoes and mash them hot. Finely chop the onion and fern and lightly fry, mix with potatoes. Dumplings are made as usual. When serving, ready-made dumplings are topped with butter and fried onions or sour cream.

Fern filling for pancakes or pies:
2-3 tbsp. fern, 1 pc. onion, 2 tbsp. flour, 2 tbsp. butter, 1/2 tbsp. milk or sour cream. Finely chop the onion, fry in oil until light golden brown, add the fern, fry with the onion for another 3-5 minutes, sprinkle with flour, stir. Pour in milk or sour cream and let it boil until the mixture thickens. Use the prepared filling for pancakes or pies. The filling is much tastier hot.

Fern stew

Prepare the fern. Lightly fry the onion cut into rings in vegetable oil. Place the fern and keep it on the fire until it becomes soft. Add flour, a few tomatoes, salt and chopped herbs. Simmer covered until done. Can be served both hot and cold.
Product consumption: fern - 1 kg, onions - 2 heads, tomatoes - 4 pcs., vegetable oil - 2-4 tbsp. spoons, flour - 1 teaspoon, salt, pepper, herbs to taste.

Fern julienne with mushrooms

250 g mushrooms,
250 g prepared fern,
1 onion,
1 PC. carrots; to taste: butter, cream or sour cream, grated cheese, spices, salt.

Cut the onion into cubes and fry in butter. Add finely chopped mushrooms, grated carrots and chopped fern. Salt and add spices. Fry everything well. Place into cocotte bowls. Pour in cream and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake in the oven.

Korean salads

1. A special grater for cutting vegetables into strips. You should get a straw approximately 2.5 X 2.5 mm and 5 cm or more long, depending on the size of the carrot.
2. Korean salt (monosodium glutanate or Ajinomoto).
3. Soy korean sauce(Brown liquid, very salty with a specific taste and smell)

Not only bracken fern is used for salads. Using this recipe you can cook radishes, beets, carrots, cabbage. The method of preparing all vegetables is approximately the same.

Fern salad

Required:
100 g of young tender shoots of fern;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
2-3 cloves of garlic;
a bunch of parsley;
1 tbsp. a spoonful of chopped dill;
olive oil;
a pinch of ground black and red pepper;
salt to taste

Cooking method:
1. Wash the fern and boil in boiling water.
2. Cut the onion into half rings and fry in vegetable oil until golden brown, add fern.
3. Let cool, add salt and pepper, mix with chopped garlic, dill and parsley, season with salt and pepper.

We wash and peel 3-4 carrots, about 150-200 grams each.
Chop the carrots into a large cup or bowl. You should get a long, thin straw. We add a little salt to it regular salt, add a spoonful of monosodium glutanate, knead the carrots like dough so that they release the juice. We leave it for a while, let it lie and let out the juice. You can add a little vinegar to the carrots.
Pour odorless vegetable oil into the frying pan, 100-150 grams. While the oil is heating up, we peel and chop the onion. Add red pepper to the hot oil, and then add the onion. When the onion is fried, pour it along with the boiling oil onto the carrots and mix it all. Add crushed garlic and pour about 1 spoon of soy sauce. Koreans also add sesame seeds. If you soak the carrots separately tree mushrooms, especially with vinegar (they taste a little like pickled ones because of the vinegar) and mix with carrots before pouring, it will turn out even tastier. There are small deviations in the preparation of these dishes, but it is advisable to stick to the main ingredients.

Composition of spices for Korean salads and for carrots in Korean: ground coriander (cilantro seeds); peppers: black, allspice, red chili, paprika; fenugreek; Bay leaf; dried ground marjoram, basil, parsley, dill; oregano; turmeric; ginger; mustard seed.

Recipes from country weeds

The question is fresh fern. How long should you cook fresh fern? ? and does it need to be soaked??? given by the author Abandon the best answer is We collect shoots of bracken fern. It is bitter, so I soak fresh shoots for two hours in a large amount of salt water, rinse and boil in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes. Wash, cut and fry (with meat, onions, soy sauce etc.) You can just fry it - it’s still delicious!

Answer from Victor[guru]
It is not recommended to eat fresh fern; it can cause stomach upset, which may be why some people consider freshly picked fern to be poisonous.
Raw fern sprouts are boiled in boiling salted water for 5-10 minutes. Don’t get carried away with cooking - overcooked fern loses its specific crunch and, of course, is not as fragrant. The water in which the fern was cooked is drained and is not used in cooking.
It’s better not to store all the fern you have fresh, but to cook it right away. When cooked, it lasts much longer in the refrigerator.

Answer from chevron[guru]
In our Far East, fresh fern is going great! There is no need to soak, after boiling, cook for no more than 5 minutes, then cut into 3-4 parts and fry a little with onion, soy sauce and garlic. If you want to use pork, pre-fry the meat and combine with boiled fern. Mashed potatoes go great as a side dish.

Answer from wolverine[guru]
But I always soak it, after all. it contains toxic substances!
FERN SALAD "MAY".
Why May? Yes, because it is in May that we get fresh fern, and it produces very delicious salads! For those who have no experience with fern, it is better to buy it dried or salted and soak it.
I soak freshly harvested wild plants for a day, often changing the water, then boil them for 8 minutes over medium heat and cool. Now it is ready to eat.
So, we will need:
500 g boiled fern;
one large carrot;
one large onion;
four large cloves of garlic;
five to six tablespoons of soy sauce (depending on its salinity);
half a teaspoon of black hot pepper;
several branches of green onions;
sesame or corn oil - about half a cup.
Chop carrots into Korean grater or any other thin stripes. Add a little salt, mix well and squeeze out the juice. Put it in a bowl. Heat a little oil in a wok pan and add onion, thinly sliced ​​along the head, into it. Simmer slightly until transparent. Add fern, cut into three to four cm pieces, to the onion. Fry with constant stirring for five minutes over medium heat. Then add carrots and mix. In a separate frying pan, heat the remaining oil until smoking, pour it over the fern and carrots, quickly cover with a lid and shake. Add soy sauce, pepper and crushed garlic. Let's taste for salt. If necessary, add some salt or more soy sauce. Don't get too carried away. because it will be saltier when cold.
Place vegetables in a salad bowl, sprinkle with chopped green onions, cover with a lid and put in a cool place for two hours. After that you can use it! Bon appetit!

How to cook fern

Fern is not the most common product, but increasingly it can be found on the shelves of shops and markets. And in some regions of our country it can be collected, for example, like mushrooms.
Only two types of ferns are consumed - bracken and ostrich. Only young shoots of this plant can be collected and eaten. They are called "rakhis". They should be no more than 20 cm. If you collect ferns yourself, you can determine if they are edible by breaking the stem - it should break easily and with a crunch. Fresh fern should be prepared immediately. At the tips of the stems there are the beginnings of fresh leaves; they must be removed before cooking. Most often, such a plant is prepared in two ways - salting and canning. Since fern is a bitter plant, it must be soaked in plenty of water for 12-15 hours before cooking. The water should be changed periodically. Salted fern should be soaked for 2 hours.

How long to cook?
Fresh fern should be rinsed under running water before cooking.
Boil a large number of water. Place the fern stems in boiling water. After boiling, reduce heat and cook for 5-7 minutes. Try the fern: if it tastes bitter, change the water and boil again. It is completely ready in 10-15 minutes. The fern should remain slightly crispy. But the shoots should bend, not break. Drain the water and cool the fern. By the way, bracken cooks 10 minutes longer.
The calorie content of fern is 34 kcal per 100 grams of product.

salt fern

Wash the plant. For salting, you can use enamel or glass jar. Sprinkle the bottom of the jar with salt. Lay the fern stems in layers, sprinkling each with salt. Note that the higher the layer, the thinner it should be. Place under pressure in a cool place for 2 weeks. After this, drain the brine and transfer the fern to a new container. You also need to fold it in layers, but now the thin layer will be at the bottom. Prepare a saline solution with at least 22% salt. This salted fern can be stored for up to 3 years.

How to cook fern with meat

The recipe is indicated without the number of ingredients, since you can choose the quantity according to your taste. We will need:
1. Beef (pulp)
2. Salty bracken fern
3. Onion
4. Soy sauce
5. Black pepper
6. Olive oil

Preparation
Soak the fern in water according to the recommendations above. Try it, it should be fresh, without bitterness. Cut it into 4-5 cm pieces.
Cut the beef into small slices and marinate a little. The marinade is prepared as follows: soy sauce, olive oil are mixed in a bowl, black pepper is added. No need to add salt.
Chop the onion. Fry until golden brown in olive oil.
In another well-heated frying pan, quickly fry the meat for 5-10 minutes. Add the fern to the meat and fry for another 5-7 minutes. When the fern inside is still crispy, add the fried onions and season with soy sauce. Mix well. If necessary, add salt. Turn off the heat, close the lid and let it sit for 5 minutes. You can serve it hot or cold. Bon appetit!

The fern is edible in two forms: bracken and ostrich. The latter often grows in apartments and houses as an ornamental plant, but it can do more than just decorate the interior. It differs from bracken in the almost complete absence of bitterness, and the shape of the leaves is more similar to sea kale.

How long does it take to cook fern?

The duration of cooking fern depends on its size: thick stems take longer to cook. Typically, the process of preparing a fresh product begins with long soaking - at least 2 hours. The salted fern is soaked even longer - up to 12-15 hours, and only then it is boiled.

Important! Bracken fern takes about 10-15 minutes longer to cook; this must be taken into account before adding the plant to boiling water.

After boiling, cook fresh or salted fern for 7 minutes, but before the end of cooking you should try one stalk; if it tastes bitter, then add another 4-5 minutes to the process. General preparation after boiling it should not be more than 20-25 minutes.

But in the cooking technology there is one fundamental point, if violated, the taste of the plant can turn out to be tasteless and bitter - this is changing the water.

How to cook fresh fern

After the procedures for soaking the product have been completed, you should begin cooking.

Important! Please note that when cooking bracken you will need 3-4 pans of boiling water, and when cooking ostrich you will need to change the water once (this is due to the fact that it has less bitterness).

Taking required amount a saucepan of sufficient volume, start heating water in them:

• as soon as the liquid boils in one of the pans, add some salt and add fern;
• at high power, bring the stove to a boil and cook according to the technology for 7 minutes (or 5 minutes for bracken);
• the plant is washed under cold water and put into the next pan with boiling liquid (then after 5 minutes, the water is drained again for the bracken, and the ostrich is boiled for 12 minutes);
• After the specified time, try the plant, if it is not bitter, and the stems remain crisp with normal elasticity, then the product is ready!

After boiling, fern can be used as a pleasant addition to meat or a main dish, in warm salads, cold appetizers and many other dishes.

A small set of tips will help you prepare fresh or salted fern easier and better the first time:

• When soaking, the water should be changed regularly;
• fresh fern needs to be cleared of leaves at the very tips, they are not suitable for food;
• fresh fern can be boiled without soaking, but be sure to try it. If bitterness remains, cook;
• Fern needs a lot of water for the bitterness to completely leave it.

There is no need to add any spices during the cooking process, as they can spoil the delicate aroma of the plant.

Several delicious recipes with fern

With boiled fern it is easy to prepare very tasty, hearty first and second course. It doesn’t have a lot of calories - about 34 kcal per 100 g of finished fern, but nutritional properties amazingly high.

Fish salad “Warm abundance”

The appetizer is eaten warm; for preparation you need to take 100-150 g of boiled fern, the same amount of fish and a raw egg. Additional required to taste canned corn and a piece butter. Very quick dish prepares like this:

• melt butter in a frying pan;
• put a fern;
• add boiled or baked fish to it;
• pour in the egg;
• As soon as the white begins to turn white, add corn.

After adding corn, the salad takes no more than 2-3 minutes to prepare. So fast and delicious dish you can surprise any guests!

Appetizing cabbage soup with fern “Overseas”

To prepare unusual cabbage soup with fern in a 4 liter pan you will need:

• 300 g fresh fern, the same amount of plain cabbage;
• meat on the bone or can beef stew(0.5 kg);
• 2 onions, 4 cloves of garlic and a bunch of dill;
• 2 spoons of dried basil, 1 spoon of pepper;
• 3 tbsp. l. sunflower oil, as well as salt to taste.

Finely chopped cabbage is placed in boiling water; while the cabbage is cooking, chop the onion and fern for 15 minutes. Then they are fried in a frying pan for about 20 minutes. Lay out everything and cook for 10 minutes along with the cabbage.

If meat is taken on the bone, then it is placed in cold water before boiling, if it is a stew, then add it after the fern and cook for another 7-10 minutes. After this, add finely chopped garlic and all the spices and cook for another 7 minutes. At the end, add chopped dill.

When submitting such fragrant soup goes best with low-fat sour cream.

Tomatoes with fern “Chinese holiday”

For cooking delicious snack you need to take 150 g of fresh medium-sized tomatoes, 60 g of fern and 40 g of onions. You will also need a little vegetable oil, dill, parsley and salt.

The juice and seeds are removed, leaving tomato circles convenient for stuffing. The boiled fern is cut and fried, onions are added and sautéed. The filling is combined with chopped herbs and placed in tomatoes. Top with mayonnaise and sprinkle with herbs again.

Fern fried with onions can also be added to various vegetable stew, giving them a charming aroma. A simply boiled product without oil will perfectly complement dietary vegetables baked in the oven. It will make the dish very nutritious minimum quantity calories.