The cattail swamp is a place we look out upon but rarely venture into, like the highest mountains or the deepest sea. The reasons to dive deep or climb high are clear to some of us: adventure, solitude, challenge. But why bother mucking out into the swamp?
Cattails offer lots and lots of food. Really good food.
I often hear cattail referred to as a “survival food”—as if it were something you’d only appreciate on death’s door on a desert island. I strongly disagree. I know a dud when I taste one. There are many wild foods that I put unapologetically in the “survival” category and don’t waste my time trying to make them good to eat at home. I’ve never wasted any time trying to make cattail good—it just comes that way…
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