My foray into cattail harvesting happened, admittedly, after
I had departed
Ukraine.
It wasn’t until I was harvesting young shoots in the spring, and cattail pollen
in the early summer, that I began to learn about the way in which the cattail
and
Ukraine
are deeply connected. Also known as “Cossack asparagus,” a wild edible’s guide
to the plants of Poland (
Dzikie Rosliny
Jadalne Polski: Przewodnik Survivalowy) notes that a 19
th
century traveler to Ukraine commented that, “cattails were eaten in spring with
religious passion, and they were visible everywhere, stacked in each yard.” A
simple search into cattail as an edible pulled up multiple references to
Cossack asparagus and traditional recipes.
For my first attempt, we gathered small shoots, cleaned and washed, and served
a simple sauté with stinging nettle. Though the fall doesn't present as many opportunities for harvesting shoots and pollen, the rhizomes are busy storing food to make it through the winter months. Next time I travel through Ukraine, I will certainly be looking for evidence
of this past tradition!
My foray into cattail harvesting happened, admittedly, after
I had departed 
As Montezuma, NY, Town Historian I invited Linda Norris as a consultant to help our historical society develop an Interpretative Plan. I remember during our discussion on the natural resources, the plant "flag" or cattails came up. I was aware of its uses during the early 20th century for paper making, furniture making and barrel stays, but until this post was unaware of its source as an edible plant. This led me to finding an interesting 1954 Charleston, SC newspaper article about studies done on the plant at nearby Syracuse University. So thank you, Pickle Project for enlightening me to cattail cuisine
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information..specially those on pickle
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