KENTVILLE, N.S. — A seasonal darling of Canada’s bustling slow-food movement, the often fickle fiddlehead, is getting some much deserved attention from a group of Nova Scotia researchers.
According to the CBC, research scientists say fiddleheads should be cultivated commercially because of their high nutritional value.
John DeLong, with the Agriculture Canada Research Station in Kentville, told the broadcaster that he and his colleagues are just discovering how nutritional fiddleheads are — even better than blueberries when it comes to antioxidants, plus, they are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
“When we tested the activity, we found that they were twice as strong as blueberries with regard to this antioxidant activity. We didn’st expect that, that was very surprising to us,” DeLong is quoted as saying.
What’s more, because of the myriad of potential health benefits, the group says the fiddleheads should be more widely cultivated. “You can grow them as a cash crop, so I think enterprising farmers out there should think about that. Maybe an acre of fiddleheads could be a viable crop for them,” DeLong told the CBC.
For the complete article, click here.
