Cattails: Peace and prosperity
Cattails are wetland plants that play an important role in the process of coverting open water into vegetated marshland and eventually into dry land. The root system helps prevent erosion. The silky down can be used to stuff life jackets, mattresses, and furniture.
They are extremely versitile when it comes to cooking uses. The pollen can be used as flour; the roots contain starch and can be boiled and eaten like potatoes or dried and ground into flour or used as a cornstarch subsitute. Some Indians also use the rootstaks to make jelly. A couple types of oil, similar to linseed oil and cooking oil, can be extracted from the seeds. A wax can also be extracted from the seeds. The left-over product is a type of meal that can be used in chicken and cattle feed. The young green flowering stalks can be boiled and eaten like sweet corn.
To make cattail jelly, harvest roots after the first flower has been rubbed out.
- Boil roots for 10 minutes in enough water to cover them.
- For every cup of liquid, add an equal amount of sugar.
- Add a package of pectin for every 4 cups of juice.
The finished product supposedly tastes and looks similar to honey.
HERE is a site that has a recipe for cattail pancakes.
