Editing Bracken (section)

==Uses==
[[File:Dried Eastern brakenfern.jpg|thumb|Dried bracken bundles (''P.&nbsp;aquilinum'') at a food market in South Korea]]

=== Food ===
[[File:Senjuan_Yoshimune_warabimochi.jpg|thumb|''[[Warabimochi]]'' bracken jelly, a traditional [[Japan]]ese dessert.  The darker jelly on the left is made from pure bracken powder, while the lighter jelly on the right uses other starches as well.]]

Bracken [[fiddlehead]]s have been eaten by many cultures throughout history, either fresh, cooked, or pickled. ''Pteridium aquilinum'' is especially common in [[East Asia]]n cuisine.

In Korea, bracken (sometimes referred to as 'fernbrake' in Korean recipes) is known as ''gosari'' (고사리), and is a typical ingredient in ''[[bibimbap]]'', a popular mixed rice dish.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://isthmus.com/food-drink/reviews/five-star-korean-bbq/|title=I brake for fernbrake|last=Fontella|first=Amelia Cook|date=16 February 2017|work=[[Isthmus (newspaper)|Isthmus]]|access-date=19 April 2017}}</ref> Stir-fried bracken (''gosari [[namul]]'') is also a common side dish (''[[banchan]]'') in Korea.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/16/dining/cafe-lily-review-bensonhurst-korean-uzbek.html|title=At Cafe Lily, the Korean-Uzbek Menu Evokes a Past Exodus|last=Mishan|first=Ligaya|date=16 February 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=19 April 2017}}</ref>

In Japan, bracken is known as ''warabi'' (わらび), and is steamed, boiled, or cooked in soups. ''[[Warabimochi]]'' bracken jelly, named after its resemblance to ''[[mochi]]'' rice cakes, is a popular traditional dessert, although commercial variants are often made with cheaper [[potato starch]] instead.  The fiddleheads are also preserved in salt, [[sake]], or [[miso]].<ref name="pieroni">{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Pieroni |first1=Andrea |author-link=Andrea Pieroni |date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=35 |isbn=0415927463}}</ref>

In China, bracken is known as ''juecai'' (蕨菜), and is eaten like vegetables or preserved by drying. Also called "fernbrake", it is used as a vegetable in soups and stews.<ref>Longmeimei cooking channel: Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Oy3ixwCSgZk Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210319155122/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy3ixwCSgZk Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=Authentic Guizhou Special Sauerkraut with Wild Herbs and Green Vegetables| date=13 March 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy3ixwCSgZk|language=en|access-date=2021-06-26}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Bracken [[rhizome]]s can be ground into flour to make bread. In the [[Canary Islands]], the rhizome was historically used to make a porridge called ''gofio''.<ref name="pieroni"/> Both fronds and rhizomes have been used to produce beer in Siberia, and among indigenous peoples of North America.<ref name="pieroni"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=Encyclopaedia of ferns : an introduction to ferns, their structure, biology, economic importance, cultivation and propagation|date=1987|publisher=Timber Press|location=Portland, Ore.|isbn=978-0881920543|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaoff00jone/page/13 13]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaoff00jone/page/13}}</ref>

Bracken leaves are used in the Mediterranean region to filter sheep's milk, and to store freshly made [[ricotta]] cheese.<ref name="pieroni"/>

''P. esculentum'' rhizomes were traditionally used by the [[Māori people]] of New Zealand as a staple food, and are known as ''aruhe''. They were eaten by exploring or hunting groups away from permanent settlements. The plant was widely distributed across New Zealand as a result of prehistoric deforestation, and planting on rich soils, which produced the best rhizomes. The rhizomes were dried, and could be heated and softened with a pounder (''patu aruhe''),<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Lehnebach |first1=Carlos A. |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124332398 |title=Flora: Celebrating our Botanical World |last2=Regnault |first2=Claire |last3=Rice |first3=Rebecca |last4=Awa |first4=Isaac Te |last5=Yates |first5=Rachel A. |date=2023-11-01 |publisher=Te Papa Press |isbn=978-1-9911509-1-2 |pages=310 |language=English}}</ref> after which the starch could be sucked from the fibers. ''Patu aruhe'' were important ritual items, and several distinct styles were developed.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=McGlone, Matt S. |author2=Wilmshurst, Janet M. |author3=Leach, Helen M. |year=2005 |title=An ecological and historical review of bracken (''Pteridium esculentum'') in New Zealand, and its cultural significance |url=https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/2269 |journal=[[New Zealand Journal of Ecology]] |volume=28 |pages=165–184}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== Source of potash ===
Green bracken ferns average 25% [[potash]] and can contain as much as 55%.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kourik |first=Robert |year=1986 |title=Designing and maintaining your edible landscape naturally |others=Kane, Mark |location=Santa Rosa, CA |publisher=Metamorphic Press |isbn=0-9615848-0-7 |page=268 |oclc=14258849 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/14258849}}</ref> It has advantages over other sources of plant ash, such as hardwood, due to its high potash yield as a percentage of both dry and fresh mass, abundance, growth rate, and ease of harvesting.<ref name=rymer1976>{{cite journal |last=Rymer |first=Julia |date=July 1976 |title=The history and ethnobotany of bracken |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=73 |issue=1–3 |pages=151–176 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1976.tb02020.x}}</ref> Bracken has been recognized as a source of potash since at least the 10th&nbsp;century AD, with numerous references in European texts, typically in relation to its use for soap and glass making.<ref name=rymer1976/> The turn to mined sources of potash in the industrial age ended significant use of bracken as a source of potash, contributing to its status as a troublesome weed.<ref name=rymer1976/>

=== Others ===
Bracken has traditionally been used for animal bedding, which later breaks down into a rich [[mulch]] that could be used as fertilizer. It is still used this way in [[Wales]].<ref name="abdn.ac.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.abdn.ac.uk/organic/organic_24.php |title=Uses for Bracken |access-date=2009-07-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212233858/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/organic/organic_24.php |archive-date=2009-12-12 }}</ref> It is also used as a winter mulch, which has been shown to reduce the loss of [[potassium]] and [[nitrogen]] in the soil, and to lower [[soil pH]].<ref name="abdn.ac.uk"/>