I have always wanted to cook fiddleheads, but I have never been confident about trying it, so I have no answers for your questions but I will be anxiously awaiting other answers/comments! Yay!

They came out well! but I didn't need to do the steaming first. If you make them, occhi, you can just sautee.

My SO has gone out a couple of times this spring to pick them. I'm not much of a cook; I just saute them in butter with a little garlic and pepper. Mushrooms sounds like a nice addition. I'll have to try that next time.

I saw these at the store but had no idea what to do with them. What do they taste like? They look very ... earthy.

I've never had them, but I read a lemon risotto fiddlehead fern recipe a while ago that I'd love to try.

You can buy them? At the store? I've never seen that before! Fiddleheads grow wild around here, but we don't eat them much. They're mostly treated like a weed; I can spot people who haven't lived here long because they plant them in their flowerbeds.

But I have eaten them while out camping: gather a bucket full with some of the kids, rinse them in the river, and saute them in butter. The mister's family was quite surprised how good they tasted. They're a bit like brussel sprouts, but... better.

They taste kinda like asparagus- green and crisp, not sharp or dirt-y.

(Yes you can buy them at the organic co-op I belong to, still not at normal stores though as far as I know.)

I have always to try fiddleheads but I have never had the opportunity.