OLD TOWN, Maine (NEWS CENTER)-- It is spring time and a Maine delicacy is growing, fiddleheads.
If you know what to look for, they are an easy plant to spot.
"It has a smooth stem, it's that green, it's not furry," David Fuller who works with U Maine Cooperative Extension said. "On the inside of the stem it's kind of U shaped, it also has this parchment like paper covering. Then this is the fertile frond that comes along with that. This produces spores which is one of the ways that it grows."
Fuller also said that when people pick fiddleheads they should not use a knife so they do not damage the other fiddleheads.
Some fiddleheads are edible and it is important to cook them properly so you do not get sick.
"You're gonna boil or steam them. You wanna steam them for around 10 to 12 minutes. Boiling, you're going to boil for around 15 minutes. You wanna make sure it's a rolling boil when you get that timer started," Food Safety Specialist for the U Maine Cooperative Extension Jason Bolton said.
Bolton added if you do not prepare fiddleheads properly you will get flu like symptoms which can start as early as 30 minutes after consumption and can last up to three days.
