Iton Bracken Fern

Iton Bracken Fern

　　Iton bracken fern is a specialty of Yitong County, Siping City, Jilin Province. In the dense forests of the Yitong mountainous area, there grow precious natural forests such as Korean pine and yellow pineapple, as well as artificial forests like larch. On forested hillsides and wild lands, over a hundred types of wild vegetables grow, among which wild bracken fern stands out as a premium variety.

　　Bracken fern is a herbaceous plant, locally referred to by Yitong residents as "cat’s paw" vegetable. The tender shoots of the fern are the edible part. They are small, pointed, and curled inward, resembling the shape of a cat’s paw, with a bluish-green color that unfurls as they mature. The stems are yellowish-brown and can reach one to two feet in length; the rhizomes grow horizontally underground, covered with a layer of dark brown fuzz on the outside and rich in high-quality starch, which can be processed into bracken powder.

　　Bracken fern is highly nutritious, containing not only starch, fat, and protein but also vitamins A and C, as well as phosphorus and calcium. Each 100 grams contains 1.68 mg of carotene and 35 mg of vitamin C. Its tender stems and leaves are a uniquely flavorful wild vegetable, excellent when stir-fried, boiled in soup, blanched and mixed, or pickled. It has a light and delicious taste. It can be eaten fresh after a brief hot-water blanching, or dried for storage or pickled in salt for long-term preservation.

　　In Japan, bracken fern is regarded as the “king of vegetables” and a “treasure of snowy mountain regions,” enjoying a high reputation and often served as a palate-cleansing dish in upscale banquets.

　　Between 1970 and 1984, bracken fern was an important export product of Yitong to Japan, with an annual export volume of around 200 tons.