ORONO — University of Maine Cooperative Extension offers information and workshops to help consumers find, grow, use, preserve and store in-season fruits and vegetables in Maine.

Seasonal activities for May are featured in several online bulletins and fact sheets, including:

Facts on Fiddleheads;

Facts on Edible Wild Greens in Maine;

Fruits for Health: Rhubarb; and

Spring Refrigerator Pickles.

Extension educator Kathy Savoie demonstrates new techniques for cooking, freezing and pickling fiddleheads in a Youtube video.

Fiddleheads in particular require exact cooking methods — boiling for at least 15 minutes or steaming for 10-12 minutes — to reduce risk for food-borne illness associated with raw and undercooked fiddleheads. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has investigated a number of outbreaks of food-borne illness associated with fiddleheads. The implicated ferns were eaten either raw or lightly cooked (sautéed, parboiled or microwaved).

People can get ready for the arrival of Maine’s seasonal foods by attending an upcoming food preservation workshop. They can read the Spoonful Blog to get bite-sized food and nutrition information that is science-based and applicable to everyday life.

Updated information, and bulletins to download or order, are available at extension.umaine.edu or by contacting 207-581-3188, 800-287-0274 in Maine, or [email protected].

Check out other upcoming area events!