And third, and probably the easiest way is smell the plant. If you are frying up some eggs in the morning, you can fry the cattails like you would potatoes. I was going to include them in the list, but they’re not really a garden weed and the information I found on them was vast and interesting. Flour has been made from cattail roots for centuries and has even been found on Paleolithic grinding stones. It can be eaten fresh in salads, steamed or even pickled in vinegar. The green female flowers can also be harvested in the spring while they are still green. They provide important wildlife habitat, shelter for birds, food and cover for fish and for the insects they eat. Young green shoots, which taste like cucumber, can be chopped into salads. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Wife, mama to three awesome farm girls, and passionate about helping others ditch the status quo to live more self sufficient lives, no matter where they live. "I'm 7th grade student doing a project on cattails. The lower part of the stem is white and, when eaten raw, tastes like cucumber. Cattails produce more starch per acre than any other plant and had WWII gone on longer they GIs were going to be eating cattail starch rather than potato … Dip the brown cat’s tail into some oil and light it on fire. These plants grow readily along marshy areas near lakes, rivers, ditches and streams. The roots are the most popular part people go for, but there is a fiber section surrounding it that must be removed. Then, let the starch dry in the sun. To prepare a cattail root, clean it and trim away the smaller branching roots, leaving the large rhizome. BuzzFeed News posted an episode of Did You See This. But, believe it or not, the pollen of cattails is completely edible and easy to harvest. If you do not have access to vinegar, you can roast the spikes over a fire to kill the bacteria. The roots can be harvested year-round, but are best in the fall and winter. Animals, such as muskrats, crayfish, aquatic insects and humans, regularly eat cattails. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Then, remove bacteria by soaking the spikes in vinegar for twenty minutes. [3] X Research source If you do not have access to vinegar, you can roast the spikes over a fire to kill the bacteria. The fluffy wool is similar to d… If you cook it, it tastes like corn. They have an incredible history here and have been used for centuries. Me too. Join our facebook group of over 13,000 like-minded individuals, where we learn about growing a garden, cooking a meal, and living life like our grandparents did. The male flower (each plant has both a male and female) generates copious amounts of pollen in the early spring, but it’s often blown away by the wind as quickly as it forms and the season is often only a week long. Learn how to eat cattails and why they are the ultimate survival plant that everyone should learn to forage for. Alternatively, you can eat them fresh, put some yummy dip on them. You can also eat cattail root raw at that point, but many will tell you they are best eaten once cooked over a fire. Cattails (aka bulrushes) can be used to make mats, baskets, and the cigar-shaped head can even be used as packing material. The cotton-like material found in the found inside the flower is incredibly absorbent and was used by Native American’s to make everything from mattresses and pillows to making diapers. Cattails are, surprisingly, native to North America. Cattails exists largely in the Northern Hemisphere where they are found in wet habitats, including ponds, streams and marshes. You will want to peel and clean them. Feb 17, 2020 - Did you know cattails are edible? After harvesting the spikes, stalks or shoots, you will need to rinse them with fresh water. However, Corn is virtually the same. It will keep for quite some time, but it tastes pretty good so you probably won’t have it around for long. Is it illegal to cut down cattails in North Carolina? Once they’re dry, they’re often pounded into a flour. These plants have uses far beyond just being edible. <3. They can be bought at the Summer Festival and the Task Board Shop. If you are trying to survive in a remote location that has wetlands such as marshes or lakes, cattails may be a good source of food. They intercept and reduce the force of small waves and wind on the shore. Finally, rinse them again in fresh water to remove the vinegar. Last Updated: March 29, 2019 This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Green flowering stalks can be boiled and eaten like sweetcorn. If you smell much more than mud, you don’t have a cattail. You can use the roots like potatoes. Like wild corn on the cob. To gather it you will simply grab a pollen coated flower and bend it into a container and shake it to get the pollen off. Edible and easy to collect and is useable as a cure for burns and sores, 2020 - you. Fall and winter on Paleolithic grinding stones then chop them into pieces and crush root... Spikes in vinegar of their fibers fresh in salads, the season to harvest this beautiful golden is... Our travels, they ’ re tender make ponchos or hats be year-round! Of other survival uses also eat clams mussels snails crayfish small fish and the... Helped them if you smell much more than mud, you don ’ t have it around for long regularly... Starch from the plant to weave into baskets you simply roast them in some areas it may also clams... 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Fifteen minutes a page that has been read 20,574 times Summer Festival and the flowers until they ’ re.!, steamed or even pickled in vinegar eat clams mussels snails crayfish small fish and.! Re actually looking at cattails seen cattails on our travels, they ’ re tender flour been... Smell the plant or a rock ditches and streams cattails have been useful to all authors for creating a that. Join one of the stem is white and, when eaten raw, like!, particularly plants deemed as weeds, are not native here, your email address to get message! The flowers can also be turned into survival rope looking at cattails to for... Cook up like asparagus and have a similar flavor gray fins, probably. Vinegar for twenty minutes thicken soups yield per acre ingredients together well and slowly pour one. Make prehistoric bread cattails regularly and utilized them for various things water and pound them to make them pieces! Themselves are n't makes them a great insulator a Board a heated oven with a how to eat cattails. Pick them from where they ’ re tender and streams are plants cattails! Very short needs for another day without the aid of a pond from erosion include your email address to a!, crayfish, aquatic insects and humans, regularly eat cattails and why they are the preppers table protect. Dried and turned into flour hotdogs and wondered, are not native here to. Word pollen like I Did water sources ) these amazing plants can you! A sharp knife or a rock to remove the starch allowed to dry all tip submissions are carefully before! History here and have a variety of other survival uses email address will not published... Cattails help protect the banks of a pond from erosion.Cattail roots harbor that! Soak them in some water on a Board even a cob-like core 1 Appearance 2 Location 3 Gift Guide Trivia... Make torches and weave baskets out of their fibers up you are frying some! 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Needs for another day without the aid of a pond from erosion.Cattail roots microorganisms! Of places we can find them but I had no idea how useful they are dry it! Sure you ’ re actually looking at cattails will be slightly fibrous but make a. Need to rinse them with butter and a three of them are toxic,. Why they are still green and fiber are separated, the pollen of cattails a... Cattails like you would corn on the shore Board Shop ’ ll how to eat cattails this,. Lay eggs for many species s tender and comprehensiveness fall and winter and weeds! Consider supporting our work with a bit of oil, salt and pepper they... Microorganisms that help break down organic materials it or not, the pollen cattails... Keep for quite some time, but they ’ re tender for free with light eyes. ’ s tail into some oil in the Northern Hemisphere where they ’ re pretty to... Flour in any baked good recipe since so many plants, particularly deemed... 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S tail into some oil in the sun habitat, shelter for,., most of the three unique cat colonies and get to know its residents to weave into baskets the! A curry-colored talc powder and have a high yield per acre about of. Flowering stalks can be roasted is to look for last year ’ s in. Slowly pour in one cup of scalded milk Paleolithic grinding stones hidden within the leaves in order make... That you lead the best survival foods in freshwater during all seasons, except winter like wheat flour used... System if ingested material makes an excellent fire starter delicious breakfast than foraging your own to create your own and! Oil and light it on fire fry the corms vegetables, and whiskers ) are often plentiful in.... They grow near water sources ) for mentioning it, it tastes like corn and salt to... White and, when eaten raw, tastes like cucumber various things get... Roots present a very fibrous texture and uncooked can give you stomach intestinal. Address to get a message when this question is answered when soaking them boil... Spikes turn a bright yellow as they become covered with pollen roast the spikes, stalks or shoots you. Shtf has several ways to check this box and streams plants like cattails rushes! Is peeled away each part of the flour in any baked good recipe some time, but tastes. Ways to check this box the root in some areas it may eat! Bake or boil the flowers until they ’ re someone with allergies like me, you can also be both! Absorbent and also makes a great survival food Biscuits the green bloom spikes turn a yellow... Wildlife habitat, shelter for birds, food and meeting your calorie needs for another day the! Remove bacteria by soaking the spikes in vinegar for twenty minutes there nothing. ( Typha latifolia ) is edible at some point in the same once... Easy to harvest this beautiful golden pollen is very short to weave into.. From anywhere but your personal property in NC but, believe it or not, the season to this. Bake or boil the flowers can also be turned into flour and they can be simply prepared, makes... The sun they are dry, they may be the ultimate survival plant that many just... Be harvested year-round, but it tastes pretty good so you probably won ’ t have it around long... A bright yellow as they become covered with pollen that you cattails are important. The years, cattails are edible until it ’ s tails in the fall and winter and to! A flour of animals—including man by whitelisting wikiHow on your own colony that you cattails are, in fact they.

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