I've heard you can eat it is this true??...If so which part of the plant do you eat/ how do prepare it ??? any light shed onto this would be helpful... 
Cattail
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I only know some basics about the cattail, but it had several food, medicine and other uses. The central part of the root and lower stalk, which are starch, was dried and ground into meal. The lower parts of the leaves are eaten in salads. The flower (cattail) can be roasted or boiled when young. The stems are edible raw or boiled. The pollen is high in protein and can be gathered and made into cakes.
Cattails can be soaked in oil to be used as torches. The leaves are used for weaving and for padding seams in boats. Once the heads went to seed, the fluffy seeds were used by the Indian women as diaper material for their infants because of its absorbency and softness. The juice from the stems was rubbed on an aching tooth or gums.
The Indian people also made sure that a good portion of the seeds and pollen were left to nature so that the cattail would be there for future generations.
Cattails can be soaked in oil to be used as torches. The leaves are used for weaving and for padding seams in boats. Once the heads went to seed, the fluffy seeds were used by the Indian women as diaper material for their infants because of its absorbency and softness. The juice from the stems was rubbed on an aching tooth or gums.
The Indian people also made sure that a good portion of the seeds and pollen were left to nature so that the cattail would be there for future generations.
There is a pretty good article on the cattail here....
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Cattails.html
... as well as some other interesting stuff.
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Cattails.html
... as well as some other interesting stuff.
Be very very careful. This time of year seed heads are few and far between and it is a common mistake to confuse the leaves with that of Yellow Flag (iris pseudocorus)which is not something you ever want to eat. Unless you are 100% sure of what your grabbing its always best to go along with someone with experience.
In spring tassels steamed or boiled - taste a lot like corn. In summer, cut shoots and peel down - white slivers in shoot taste great. In fall or winter - seed head (brown fluffy part that looks like a hotdog on a stick) can be burned and toasted seeds retreived Better have someone show you this). In winter, root can be chopped and boiled and starch retrieved (better have someone show you how to do this).
PG
PG
Went out today and got some cattail . Cooked the roots on the fire like it says in ray's Bushcraft. It tastes loverly.
xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Thought I wake up an old thread rather than start a new one.
After a gap of decade I finally live somewhere where cattail grows copiously, So I have been experimenting :borgsmile . So I thought I would share what I have found out.
IMHO:
Solid walking sticks are really good harvesting tools. Basically you use the walking stick to loosen the mud around the root. While doing this you will feel the root heading off lenght ways along the mud, loosen the mud under the root by poking with the walking stick. Then when you have felt it loosened enough turn walking stick handle side down into the mud and hook under the root and pull straight upwards. This method works best if the cattial is standing with a covering of water not just mud.
I have experimented with two methods of removing the starch.
First if the root is firm enough it can be grated with fine grater. The large bits of string stay in your hand and most of the starch ends up the other side of the grater. The resulting flour is abit on hairy side but it is by far the fastist method I have found.
The second method I have found is the more traditional soaking in a warm liquid. leaving over night, then pounding the fibres. The fibres are then wringed out like wet sock the starch oozes out. Cattail starch goes a dodgy grey colour when soaked and looks about appitising as a wet sock. You then have thick grey goo.
At this point you normally dry the goo to make flour. If this seems like a lot of work remember how much graft goes into wheat flour and acorn flour. What I have done is rather than soak in water I have soaked milk. And when I have got to the goo stage added a small amount of sugar/maple syrup then baked the goo until it goes hard. The resultant cookie is very pleasant.
Any more pointers and suggestions. like whats the best way of cooking bisciuts/grey goo on a fire because all of these experments I have done in my kitchen at home. And any input may prevent me from stuffing up needlessly.
After a gap of decade I finally live somewhere where cattail grows copiously, So I have been experimenting :borgsmile . So I thought I would share what I have found out.
IMHO:
Solid walking sticks are really good harvesting tools. Basically you use the walking stick to loosen the mud around the root. While doing this you will feel the root heading off lenght ways along the mud, loosen the mud under the root by poking with the walking stick. Then when you have felt it loosened enough turn walking stick handle side down into the mud and hook under the root and pull straight upwards. This method works best if the cattial is standing with a covering of water not just mud.
I have experimented with two methods of removing the starch.
First if the root is firm enough it can be grated with fine grater. The large bits of string stay in your hand and most of the starch ends up the other side of the grater. The resulting flour is abit on hairy side but it is by far the fastist method I have found.
The second method I have found is the more traditional soaking in a warm liquid. leaving over night, then pounding the fibres. The fibres are then wringed out like wet sock the starch oozes out. Cattail starch goes a dodgy grey colour when soaked and looks about appitising as a wet sock. You then have thick grey goo.
At this point you normally dry the goo to make flour. If this seems like a lot of work remember how much graft goes into wheat flour and acorn flour. What I have done is rather than soak in water I have soaked milk. And when I have got to the goo stage added a small amount of sugar/maple syrup then baked the goo until it goes hard. The resultant cookie is very pleasant.
Any more pointers and suggestions. like whats the best way of cooking bisciuts/grey goo on a fire because all of these experments I have done in my kitchen at home. And any input may prevent me from stuffing up needlessly.
This is a most useful plant. In the early part of the year the roots will provide you with an ever so slightly sweet starch. Although the whole, fibrous roots can be baked in a fire, the best way of collecting the starch for future use is to beat/crush the roots in water and let the starch grains separate out and sink to the bottom of the vessel. Dry gently and store.
The small inner developing leaves within the larger leaf sheafs may also be eaten in spring. They are so delicate that they can be eaten raw.
In summer your best option are the stems of the flowering spikes, before the pollen blows. Simply strip away the outer leaves that sheath the flower stem and cut out the part which is soft. The amount of green stem matter available is variable... depending on plant maturity... and can provide anything from about 4 to 9 inches of edible greenery.
Pollen is also a good protein source.
I would suggest that all edible aquatic-based plants are cooked for safety.
JJ
The small inner developing leaves within the larger leaf sheafs may also be eaten in spring. They are so delicate that they can be eaten raw.
In summer your best option are the stems of the flowering spikes, before the pollen blows. Simply strip away the outer leaves that sheath the flower stem and cut out the part which is soft. The amount of green stem matter available is variable... depending on plant maturity... and can provide anything from about 4 to 9 inches of edible greenery.
Pollen is also a good protein source.
I would suggest that all edible aquatic-based plants are cooked for safety.
JJ
xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I tried beating it and leaving it to soak. The starch grains seem to have a bit of trouble separating and sinking to the bottom. That is why I came up with the wringing the wet sock techneque. It is messy but seems very efficeint.Jumbalaya said:
Thanks for the advice on safety of eating the shoots. Last time I went out and collected the roots I had some shoots for lunch that day. They tasted very nice raw but it did cross my mind 'why am I eating something that have just pulled out of water that is too dirty to drink?'
So does anyone know how to cook cookies on an open fire?
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