Comments on: Curled, Not Unfurled…

By: el_jefe

el_jefe — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:26:18 +0000

try ginataang pako with ulang and ''suso'' snails!!! yum!

By: GenerSumilang

GenerSumilang — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:58:50 +0000

There are only 4 species of fern known to be edible found in the wild,and honestly we never think of any content of poison in it, reason perhaps is that we never seen anyone even the old folks complaining about fern eating. So we normally eat ferns as normal as those typical veges found in the garden.Will this small quantity of venom found on ferns will affect ones health? is there any sign symptoms? as far as i know ferns are healthy food and belongs to exotic type i believed, so not many are eating it and i reccommend all to try eating it either raw or cooked, it depends on your tastes anyway and the nutrients your body requires, or simply disregard the nutrients, just experience eating it..Thanks MARKETMAN for revealing the truth about ferns. i guess i needed some more lessons!!.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:27:16 +0000

Gener, some ferns have a mild poisonous compound, and elsewhere in the world, blanching is often recommended. For fiddlehead ferns (there are many varieties across the globe, our closest relations being the ones in Indonesia, probably), the substance to watch out for is shikimic acid, which is a mild poison. Some fairly reliable sources (Mansfield Encyclopedia) write that shikimic acid can be a cause of stomach cancer, and site varieties of ferns specifically from East Asia, including Pterdium aquilinum. Although they list the more common edible ferns in the Philippines as Athyrium esculentum. And if you go to this site, you will see they list that latter Filipino variety under poisonous plants. I wonder if the poison, albeit a different one, is similar to calcium oxalate found in uncooked gabi or taro leaves... which if eaten uncooked, can cause severe throat constriction in some people. So I would be concerned about suggesting that the ferns be eaten raw without further study... I do love them cooked, however.

By: GenerSumilang

GenerSumilang — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:00:12 +0000

Many people dont know that the best way to eat a fern”pako” is thru eating it “raw”. all the natural aromatic taste will just spread in your mouth. the way of doing it is just clean the stems by slightly hot water then wash, remove or cut the hard part of the stems, cut them into acceptable sizes, 1 piece of tomato and spoonfull of bagoong will enhance the taste, mixed it accordingly then eat! with rice of course and some other dishes..cooking it will reduce its nutrients and taste. better eat it raw. experience the natural taste,,,dont worry that its not pleasant taste as im a very expert with ferns in the north of the country and certainly i know all the kinds of it, edible ferns are the best food to enhance healthy nutrients in your body……

By: Feyoh

Feyoh — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:49:06 +0000

Wow, mouthwatering greens!
We have pako right at our doorstep, as my family lives in a tropical paradise.
Thank you for the tip of giving the pako an ice bath. I had always wondered how I could preserve the greenness after blanching them for salad. Will make one tomorrow for breakfast to go with my tinapa.

By: Hanninah

Hanninah — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:41:49 +0000

Ang saraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap ! I bought 30 bundles of pako 2 weeks ago Sunday and cooked in in fresh coconut cream with some leftover crab legs. Hay naku, my mom loved it.

Thanks for the tip on how to cook it for salad. Somehow when I try it, it comes out overcooked! I gonna give it a try this week ;)

Also read somewhere that there’s a lady in Pasay who grows Pako in her garden. Wonder how she does that. I’ve been trying to grow some, but they just don’t come out the same.

By: Topster

Topster — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:19:09 +0000

Hi MM, we enjoy pako served as an accompaniment to grilled or fried fish! It’s perfect paired with buro and some local round eggplant! Also, we sometimes use it as an alternative to ampalaya leaves for our guinisang sardinas dish. Made me a bit nostalgic about my childhood summers in Pampanga! =)

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:58:33 +0000

kurzhaar, the variety we eat here is much finer and literally lighter than the North American fiddleheads. We steam them here or plunge them into boiling water for literally seconds… maybe a minute at most… Others stew it in coconut milk for a few minutes. I like them best when they are still crisp and vibrant…

By: kurzhaar

kurzhaar — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:07:17 +0000

At least the species known as cinnamon fern and ostrich fern are eaten here in the US. After the poisoning incidents some years ago there were reminders in the newspapers to make sure fiddleheads are cooked thoroughly to destroy the toxins in them. So…I understand blanching or brief steaming is insufficient for safety reasons. In any case I have only had fiddleheads thoroughly steamed (I’m guessing 15 minutes??).

By: moni

moni — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:58:41 +0000

Homebuddy, where in Leyte can you get 3 bundles of pako for P5? In Baybay and Ormoc, a bunch costs P5-P6. Interesting.