Post by ogeezer on Jun 3, 2007 8:51:16 GMT -6
Here's a reality sport that anybody can do, without really put their life in jeopardy ... go camping, and live only off what nature provides ... stuff you don't have to shoot to eat.
Every since I read Euell Gibbons, Stalking the Wild Asparagus, in 1962, I've been on the quest to enrich my life with the wild bounties of natural. And there's nothing which exceeds that reward better than the oft-overlooked perennial, the Common Cattail (Typha latifolia) and its brethren Narrowleaf Cattail (Typha angustifolia), Southern Cattail (Typha domingensis), and Blue Cattail (Typha Glauca), have representatives found throughout North America and most of the world.
No other North American plant that is more useful than the cattail. This wonderful plant is a virtual gold mine of survival utility. It is a four-season food, medicinal, and utility plant. No other plant can boast eight food products, three medicinals, and at least 12 other functional uses?
As a food plant, cattails are outstanding and offer a variety of food products according to the season. In early spring, dig up the roots to locate the small pointed shoots called corms. These can be removed, peeled, and eaten, added to other spring greens for a salad, or cooked in stews or alone as a pot herb. As the plant grows, the shoots reach a height of two to three feet above the water, peel and eat like the corms, or sautee. This food product is also known as “Cossack Asparagus” due to the Russians’ fondness for it.
In late spring to early summer, the green female bloom spikes and the male pollen spikes begin to emerge. These spikes, found in the center of the plant, form cylindrical projections that can only be detected when you’re close to the plant. Peel back the leaves in the same way you would shuck corn, and both the male portion above and the female below can be seen. The female portion will later develop into the familiar brown “cattail” which gave plant its name. The male portion will atrophy into a small dried twig that may easily break off the top of the seed head. Both the male and female pollen spikes can be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob, and both are delicious. The male portion provides a bigger meal at this stage. They have a flavor that is corn-like, but distinct from corn. Both may also be eaten raw.
Later, the male pollen head will begin to develop an abundance of yellow pollen with a talcum powder consistency that can easily be shaken off into any container. Several pounds of this can be collected in less than an hour. The traditional use of this pollen is to substitute for some the flour in pancakes to make cattail pancakes. This also works well with cornbread. Other uses of the pollen include thickeners or flour extenders for breads, cakes, etc.
In late summer to early fall, the tender inner portions of the leaf stalk may still be collected, but the availability of this Cossack Asparagus begins to dwindle, due to the toughening up of the plant. During this period and all the way to spring, the most abundant food product, the root starch, may be harvested.
Yields are fantastic. Marsh harvests have proven to boast yields of 140 tons of rhizomes per acre in some studies. Thats more than 10 times the average yield per acre of potatoes. In terms of dry weight of cattail flour, the 140 tons of roots would yield approximately 32 tons of flour.
If your survival camping theres no need to harvest that much, the above only shows that its a readily available source of food stock.
To extract the flour or starch from the cattail root, simply collect the roots, wash, and peel them. Next, break up the roots under water. The flour will begin to separate from the fibers. Continue this process until the fibers are all separated and the sweet flour is removed. Remove the fiber and pour off the excess water.
Allow the remaining flour slurry to dry by placing near a fire or using the sun.
Cattail root flour also contains gluten (not to be confused with that chemically impure poisonous substitutes Red China is putting into some of its products). Gluten is the constituent in wheat flour that allows flour to rise in yeast breads.
The Iroquois Indians macerated and boiled the roots to produce a fine syrup, which they used in a corn meal pudding and to sweeten other dishes. Some Indians burned the mature brown seed heads to extract the small seeds from the fluff, which was used to make gruels and added to soups.
Other year-round uses of cattails, include medicinal poultices made from the split and bruised roots that can be applied to cuts, wounds, burns, stings, and bruises. The ash of the burned cattail leaves can be used as an antiseptic or styptic for wounds. A small drop of a honey-like excretion, often found near the base of the plant, can be used as an antiseptic for small wounds and toothaches.
The utility of this cattail is limited only by your imagination. The dried stalks can be used for hand drills and arrow shafts. The seed heads and dried leaves can be used as tinder. The seed head fluff can be used for pillow and bedding stuffing or as a down-like insulation in clothing. The leaves can be used for construction of shelters or for woven seats and backs of chairs, which has been a traditional use for hundreds of years.
They can be woven into baskets, hats, mats, and beds. The dried seed heads attached to their stalks can be dipped into melted animal fat or oil and used as torches.
It's no wonder, the cattail has been called the "super Wal-Mart of the marshlands." So the next time you see this plant, why not do some free shopping, and harvest a portion of Mother Nature's wild, wonderful bounty, even when youre not out playing the survivalist camper?
Every since I read Euell Gibbons, Stalking the Wild Asparagus, in 1962, I've been on the quest to enrich my life with the wild bounties of natural. And there's nothing which exceeds that reward better than the oft-overlooked perennial, the Common Cattail (Typha latifolia) and its brethren Narrowleaf Cattail (Typha angustifolia), Southern Cattail (Typha domingensis), and Blue Cattail (Typha Glauca), have representatives found throughout North America and most of the world.
No other North American plant that is more useful than the cattail. This wonderful plant is a virtual gold mine of survival utility. It is a four-season food, medicinal, and utility plant. No other plant can boast eight food products, three medicinals, and at least 12 other functional uses?
As a food plant, cattails are outstanding and offer a variety of food products according to the season. In early spring, dig up the roots to locate the small pointed shoots called corms. These can be removed, peeled, and eaten, added to other spring greens for a salad, or cooked in stews or alone as a pot herb. As the plant grows, the shoots reach a height of two to three feet above the water, peel and eat like the corms, or sautee. This food product is also known as “Cossack Asparagus” due to the Russians’ fondness for it.
In late spring to early summer, the green female bloom spikes and the male pollen spikes begin to emerge. These spikes, found in the center of the plant, form cylindrical projections that can only be detected when you’re close to the plant. Peel back the leaves in the same way you would shuck corn, and both the male portion above and the female below can be seen. The female portion will later develop into the familiar brown “cattail” which gave plant its name. The male portion will atrophy into a small dried twig that may easily break off the top of the seed head. Both the male and female pollen spikes can be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob, and both are delicious. The male portion provides a bigger meal at this stage. They have a flavor that is corn-like, but distinct from corn. Both may also be eaten raw.
Later, the male pollen head will begin to develop an abundance of yellow pollen with a talcum powder consistency that can easily be shaken off into any container. Several pounds of this can be collected in less than an hour. The traditional use of this pollen is to substitute for some the flour in pancakes to make cattail pancakes. This also works well with cornbread. Other uses of the pollen include thickeners or flour extenders for breads, cakes, etc.
In late summer to early fall, the tender inner portions of the leaf stalk may still be collected, but the availability of this Cossack Asparagus begins to dwindle, due to the toughening up of the plant. During this period and all the way to spring, the most abundant food product, the root starch, may be harvested.
Yields are fantastic. Marsh harvests have proven to boast yields of 140 tons of rhizomes per acre in some studies. Thats more than 10 times the average yield per acre of potatoes. In terms of dry weight of cattail flour, the 140 tons of roots would yield approximately 32 tons of flour.
If your survival camping theres no need to harvest that much, the above only shows that its a readily available source of food stock.
To extract the flour or starch from the cattail root, simply collect the roots, wash, and peel them. Next, break up the roots under water. The flour will begin to separate from the fibers. Continue this process until the fibers are all separated and the sweet flour is removed. Remove the fiber and pour off the excess water.
Allow the remaining flour slurry to dry by placing near a fire or using the sun.
Cattail root flour also contains gluten (not to be confused with that chemically impure poisonous substitutes Red China is putting into some of its products). Gluten is the constituent in wheat flour that allows flour to rise in yeast breads.
The Iroquois Indians macerated and boiled the roots to produce a fine syrup, which they used in a corn meal pudding and to sweeten other dishes. Some Indians burned the mature brown seed heads to extract the small seeds from the fluff, which was used to make gruels and added to soups.
Other year-round uses of cattails, include medicinal poultices made from the split and bruised roots that can be applied to cuts, wounds, burns, stings, and bruises. The ash of the burned cattail leaves can be used as an antiseptic or styptic for wounds. A small drop of a honey-like excretion, often found near the base of the plant, can be used as an antiseptic for small wounds and toothaches.
The utility of this cattail is limited only by your imagination. The dried stalks can be used for hand drills and arrow shafts. The seed heads and dried leaves can be used as tinder. The seed head fluff can be used for pillow and bedding stuffing or as a down-like insulation in clothing. The leaves can be used for construction of shelters or for woven seats and backs of chairs, which has been a traditional use for hundreds of years.
They can be woven into baskets, hats, mats, and beds. The dried seed heads attached to their stalks can be dipped into melted animal fat or oil and used as torches.
It's no wonder, the cattail has been called the "super Wal-Mart of the marshlands." So the next time you see this plant, why not do some free shopping, and harvest a portion of Mother Nature's wild, wonderful bounty, even when youre not out playing the survivalist camper?