What Do Cattails Taste Like? Tips for Eating and Cooking
taste

What Do Cattails Taste Like? Tips for Eating and Cooking

What Do Cattails Taste Like? A Complete Guide

Cattails are a common wetland plant found all over the world. Their characteristic brown cylindrical flower spikes make them easy to identify. While cattails are considered a nuisance weed by some, these versatile plants have edible parts that have been used by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. If you’ve wondered “what do cattails taste like?” while passing them in a field or wetland, you’ve come to the right place!

An Overview of Edible Cattail Parts

Several parts of the cattail are edible at different times of the year:

  1. The young shoots can be harvested in early spring when they first emerge. These immature shoots taste sweet and tender.
  2. The bottom part of the stalk and inner core have a tender white inner pith that can be eaten raw or cooked.
  3. As the plant matures, the green female flowers develop into the familiar “corn dog” brown flower spikes. These can be boiled, roasted, or turned into flour once mature and dry.
  4. The pollen from the male flowers higher up the stalk is also edible and nutritious.

Now let’s go through each part in more detail and find out—what do cattails really taste like?

Cattail Shoots

In early spring when cattail shoots first emerge from the wet mud, they make for a sweet treat. About 12-15 inches tall at this young stage, the shoots resemble mini white asparagus spears.

The taste of cattail shoots is often compared to cucumbers with their mild, sweet, vegetal flavor. I’ve found they have their own unique mild taste that falls somewhere between an apple, a cucumber, and a carrot.

Some people say they detect a hint of corn flavor due to the shoots’ association with mature corn dog-looking cattail heads. The tender shoots have a juicy crunch and cattail shoot recipes often use them raw in salads or quick-cooked by sautĂ©ing or boiling for just a few minutes.

From my experience foraging cattail shoots, they are best harvested when:

  • About 12-15 inches tall
  • The base of the plant is still white; once it starts to turn green, the shoot becomes too fibrous
  • Peel off the outer layers of the shoot to reveal the edible inner core

When harvesting, carefully cut shoots at their base rather than pulling them out to avoid destroying the rhizomes so more shoots regenerate.

Cattail Stalks

As spring turns to summer, the cattail stalks rapidly grow taller, eventually reaching heights of 5-9 feet! During this immature green phase before the flower heads develop, the inner core and bottom portion of the stalks remain tender and edible.

The cattail stalk tastes mildly sweet with a very subtle vegetal flavor. The texture is crunchy and moist, similar to a stalk of celery. In fact, some people use the analogy of “cattail celery” to describe this part that tastes good eaten raw or cooked.

To access the best part, peel away the outer layers of leaves to reveal the juicy inner core. About 8-12 inches of the bottom of the stalk provides good eating. The upper portions become too fibrous as the stalks mature.

Popular cooking methods for cattail stalks include:

  • Chopped into salads
  • Boiled, steamed, or added to stir fries
  • Pickled into “cattail pickles” as a crunchy snack or condiment

Cattail Flowers (Cattail Pollen)

As spring shifts to summer, the cattail flowers develop into the familiar brown “corn dog” flower spikes. But before this happens, they first emerge as two separate male and female green flower clusters.

The female flowers are lower down and develop into the brown cattail heads. But the male flowers form directly above, eventually releasing yellow pollen.

The pollen has a sweet, nutty corn-like flavor and can be eaten raw or cooked into baked goods. It was an important nourishing food source traditionally harvested using bent sticks to shake it loose onto containers below.

Some describe cattail pollen as tasting like a sweet yellow cornmeal that provides protein, healthy fats, and micronutrients. It can cause allergic reactions in some, so try just a tiny amount first.

The female green cattail flowers can also be boiled or steamed as a vegetable side before they fully develop into the fluffy brown spikes. At this stage they reportedly taste similar to boiled field corn.

Mature Cattail Heads

Finally, the mature dry cattail flower spikes can also be used. The taste when eaten raw has been described as mildly sweet and starchy, similar to rice pudding without any added flavors.

Once dried out completely, the brown flower spikes turn a greyish-white color. At this stage they can be burned directly as an emergency wild food source. Roasting brings out more sweetness.

Further processing by grinding into flour lets you bake with mature cattail fluff. This was done traditionally by indigenous groups and early settlers.

The flour has a mildly nutty and sweet corn-like taste. It can be substituted for about 25% of wheat flour in recipes for cookies, breads, muffins, and other baked goods. Combining a few cups with wheat flour avoids dense results.

If you come across a stand of cattails, grab your shovel…I mean, harvesting stick, and dig up some wetland treasures! Just be absolutely certain of your identification first since there are some poisonous look-alikes to avoid.

The Bottom Line

So in the end, how to summarize what do cattails taste like? Different edible parts of the plants range in flavor profiles from sweet, starchy, and nutty to mild, tender-crisp, and cucumber-like. The young shoots and matures flower spikes seem to elicit the strongest direct corn comparisons.

Beyond the actual flavor, I hope this guide gets you excited to view cattails not as a nuisance weed, but as a versatile wild food source and gardening permaculture plant. Their many edible parts can be eaten year-round, providing free nourishment and convenience.

So get out your waders and try brewing up some “corn dogs” from nature’s wetland garden! Just make sure to harvest sustainably and avoid areas potentially contaminated by pollution.

Taste and Edibility of Cattail Parts
Cattail Part Taste Edibility
Young shoots Sweet, mild taste Edible when harvested in spring
Mature stems Tough, fibrous Inedible
Flower spike Starchy, sweet Edible when immature
Pollen Nutty, rich Edible when dried
Roots Starchy Edible when cooked

FAQ

What do cattails taste like?

Cattails have a sweet, nutty flavor. The bottom part of the stalk tastes similar to cucumber or zucchini. The fluffy head can taste like corn silk when raw, but when cooked, it takes on more of a nutty taste.

Can you eat cattail stalks?

Yes, the bottom white part of the cattail stalk is edible. You want to peel off the outer layers to get to the core, which has a sweet, mild flavor. It’s often compared to cucumbers or zucchini. You can eat the stalks raw or cooked.

What part of the cattail do you eat?

There are three edible parts of the cattail plant: the stalk, which peels to a white core that can be eaten raw or cooked, the pollen from the male flowers, which can be used like flour, and the immature, 5-6 inch yellow flower head, which is edible after cooking.

Do you have to cook cattails before eating?

You don’t have to cook every part of the cattail. The peeled stalk can be eaten raw or cooked. However, the immature yellow flower heads should be cooked before eating to remove toxins. You can boil, sautĂ©, or roast them.

What does cattail pollen taste like?

Cattail pollen has been described as having a sweet, nutty flavor similar to cornmeal. It’s commonly used as a flour substitute in baking. When mixed with water, it makes a batter that can be used to make pancakes, bread, and other flour-based foods.

Can you make flour from cattails?

Yes, you can make flour from the pollen of cattail plants. To harvest cattail pollen, shake the male flower heads into a bag when they turn yellow. The pollen acts as a nutritious flour substitute that can be used for baking.

Are all parts of a cattail edible?

No, not all parts of the cattail are edible. The edible parts include the lower stalk (peeled), the pollen from the male flowers, and the young, immature flower heads before they turn fluffy. Other parts like the leaves and mature flower heads are too tough to eat.