Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Cat-Tail Recipes

  1. #1
    Quality Control Director Ken's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    16,724
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default Cat-Tail Recipes

    I've eaten cat-tails several times, but only two ways. The first was just the spike core eaten raw. The other way was to grind the blossom (top and bottom) into a flour, mix with boiling seawater, and "bake" it into a matzo-like cracker on a hot flat rock.

    Cat-tails grow everywhere here, and are plentiful in marshes near the ocean. Here are a few recipes I plan on trying this year.

    The following is from: http://www.breakthematrix.com/conten...il-information

    Cattails bloom in June typically. The "male blossom" is the skinny "stick" that comes up above the thick brown "female" blossom." (the female blossom is the part that looks like a cat's tail). The male blossom produces bright yellow pollen. The pollen is what you are after. It is corn-flavored and can be easily gathered. The gathering process actually helps to pollinate the plant
    ensuring a crop for next year!

    To gather, wade through cattail marshes with a deep bowl or bucket.( Now mind you this is not for the faint in heart the Ama ( water) Inadv (snake) usually hide among them but some swishing with sticks and branches usually take care of them. Gently bend the bloom over the bowl or bucket and "dust" the yellow pollen into the container. It's best to do this on a still dry afternoon. Gather as much fresh pollen as you can immediately use or store (store in a cool, dry, dark place).

    Cattail pollen flour is a "flour-extender" and should be added to biscuit,
    bread, or cake batters. Measure the amount you are adding and reduce the
    amount of regular flour by the same amount from whatever recipe you are using.

    More on Cat Tails and some recipes from my Great Elisi ( Grandmother)

    Cattails, those strap-leafed plants with hot-dog-shaped fruits, grow over
    most of the United States except Alaska. When the azaleas are blooming, the
    emerging leaf spikes of the cattail are tender and sweet. They can be eaten
    raw in a salad, or cooked. In late spring the green flower spikes appear on
    stems much more slender than the leaf stems. The spikes are as delicious as
    corn on the cob and taste like it. The pollen from the male flower appears
    several days later about one inch above the female flower. It is rich in
    protein and is savory in breads, pancakes, and soups.

    The roots of the cattail, called rhizomes, are ropelike structures that grow
    laterally. They are delicious. Get into your old sneakers and wade into a
    cattail march ( again be careful). Run your hand down the leaves to the rhizomes, move along one, and pull. Wash the root, slice, and bake in the oven or boil in a pot. You cannot starve with cattails around you. An acre of cattails produce ten times as much food as an acre of potatoes.

    CATTAIL LEAF SPIKES

    Scrub spikes and peel to uncover the crisp whitish-green core, usually 1
    foot to 18 inches long. Slice core raw into salads or boil in salt water
    about 15 minutes and serve as a vegetable with butter and salt.

    INDIAN CATTAIL SPOON BREAD
    (Traditionally served with a spoon.)

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

    1/2 C. butter
    2 C. fresh flower buds or cattails on the cob
    1/2 C. diced onions
    1/2 C. diced green pepper
    salt
    1 C. sharp cheese
    pinch of chili powder

    Melt butter in skillet and add cattail buds, onions, green pepper, and salt.
    Saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Pour into greased baking dish.
    Sprinkle with cheese and chili powder. Bake until cheese melts. Spoon onto
    plate while hot.

    CAT-O'-NINE-TAILS PANCAKES
    (Shake bright-yellow pollen into a plastic bag while out in the marsh. A
    dozen flower stalk will yield about a cup.)

    1 C. cattail pollen
    1 C. white flour
    2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
    3/4 tsp. salt
    1 egg, well beaten
    1 1/4 C. milk
    3 T. vegetable oil

    Mix cattail pollen, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in egg, milk, and
    oil. Set aside until batter thickens, about 10 minutes. Pour daubs onto
    buttered skillet and fry until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup or wild
    jam.
    “Learning is not compulsory. Neither is survival.”
    W. Edwards Deming

    "Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils."
    General John Stark


  2. #2
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Here's a good link about cattail that somebody had posted a while back. http://wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants..../Cattails.html Toward the bottom of the page is a link to some recipes that you may want to try.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  3. #3

    Default

    Yes indeed, cattail shoots are one of my favorite veggies. Problem is, there is still three feet of snow on the ground in these parts.
    Earth - love it or leave it.

    FireSteel.com

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Somewhere along the Ottawa River, Canada
    Posts
    88

    Default

    What about the stalk, is part of it eatable? I caught part of Survivor man the other night and I thought he pealed back the outer layer and ate the inside (tender) part of the stalk. Was I correct in what I thought I saw?

  5. #5
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by KhonHd View Post
    What about the stalk, is part of it eatable? I caught part of Survivor man the other night and I thought he pealed back the outer layer and ate the inside (tender) part of the stalk. Was I correct in what I thought I saw?
    Check out the link in post #2 - that should help you.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  6. #6
    Senior Member RBB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    North of Duluth, Minnesota
    Posts
    679

    Default

    Spring and early summer I often steam the sprouts (or blossoms). With salt and butter it tastes something like corn. You can recover starch from the shoot near the roots, and seeds from the - I don't know what you call it - the fluff. The sprouts are the only thing I really like the taste of though.
    Raised By Bears
    Bear Clan

  7. #7
    reclinite automaton canid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Central California/West Texas
    Posts
    6,622

    Default

    i'm partial to the young flower spikes in particular, but it is truly a supermarket of the swamp as the late mister gibbons put it.
    Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice - Grey's Law.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To see what's going on in my knife shop check out CanidArmory on Youtube or on Facebook.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •