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Bracken fern

Bracken fern is a foraged fern whose young shoots are cooked as a vegetable in some cuisines.

Bracken fern — illustrative ingredient image

About Bracken fern

Bracken fern is a fern harvested as a food chiefly in its young, tightly coiled shoots, often called fiddleheads. The prepared shoots are cooked as a vegetable and may be boiled, steamed, sautéed, pickled, or preserved.

Their flavour is commonly described as green, earthy, and somewhat bitter or astringent. Young shoots have a firm, fibrous texture that becomes more pronounced as they open; mature fronds are not the usual culinary form.

Fresh shoots are green to brownish, with a distinctive curled tip. They are also sold blanched, dried, or preserved, and these forms change the texture and flavour through cooking, drying, rehydration, or preservation.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where bracken fern appears

2 linked foods

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Sides

Soups

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for bracken fern

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

bracken fern

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Bracken fern nutrition & diet

Bracken fern nutritional value

Bracken fern, fiddleheads, boiled — MEXT 06325

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the explicitly named reference form.

Calories
13kcal
Protein
1.5g
Carbs
3.0g
Fat
0.1g

Per 100 g edible portion. Values use MEXT 2023 with March 2026 corrections; the English food name is matched by food code from the official English edition. Carbohydrate is total carbohydrate by difference. Values in parentheses in the source are estimates reported by MEXT. This reference does not cover other preparations or brands.

Portions & preparation

The identity and edible form of bracken fern must be established before reference use: young shoots, prepared vegetable, dried product, or another form are not interchangeable. Record the preparation method and discarded parts. Do not infer composition from the common name, especially for a foraged ingredient or mixed regional product.

Compare the right form: Reference must match confirmed bracken fern species, edible young-shoot form, preparation method, and whether it is fresh, cooked, dried, or preserved.

Diet considerations

Bracken fern is a plant-derived foraged ingredient only after its identity and edible part are confirmed. Compatibility changes with pickling, salting, batter, sauces, or animal-based cooking ingredients. Flour coatings, noodles, rice, potatoes, and other starches alter the carbohydrate pattern, while a mixed preserved product requires its recipe to be established.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: MEXT Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, 2023 supplement, corrected March 2026 ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .