Cattail pollen pancakes

[mainewoods]

I came across this and My self will need to try it this spring when the pollen is ready., sounds good! Here is the Recipe.

Cattail pollen pancakes


Ingredients

Main ingredient is 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of cattail pollen. The other ingredients are:
2 eggs
2 cups of milk
½ cup honey
¼ cup oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Preparations

1.) All the dry ingredients should be mixed together in a bowl.
2.) Eggs, honey, oil and milk are then added to the mixture and the mixture mixed thoroughly.
3.) The batter formed from mixing, should not be thick to pour. If it is thick, add more water until it has a good pancake batter consistency.
4.) Finally, cook the batter on a hot griddle until it becomes golden brown.


Make sure you harvest from a good clean area.

 

[justin_baker]

Thanks! That sounds really cool. Maybe I will try this with bullrush, they have a pollen you can kinda make flour with.

 

[Sides]

What are they calling cattail pollen? Is it the brown thing on top that breaks apart in the fall?

 

[Awasos]

Hay thanks brother I am going to print this one for next spring

I wanted to try cattail pollen flour in bannock this fall, unfortunately I missed the prime time to collect it. There is a cool description in on collecting it in Tom Seymour's Foraging New England I posted about last week.


http://www.amazon.com/dp/0762709545/?tag=bcusa-20

Check this out too.
Collecting Cattail Pollen - YouTube

Maybe well hook up to go on a Pollen foraging trip this fall

 

[Lerch]

Be sure to post if/when you try this.

 

[mainewoods]

Be sure to post if/when you try this.

Sure will Lerch. Hope to plan a harvest with Awasos. Brother give me a PM ok

 

[Easy_rider75]

Sounds interesting look forward to the results

 

[Old Philosopher]

What are they calling cattail pollen? Is it the brown thing on top that breaks apart in the fall?

The brown thing is the blossom. The pollen forms on the stalk above that. In the video Awasos posted, you can see where the blossom is forming below the pollen stalk.
From my limited experience, it takes a LOT of cattails to gather a cup of pollen!

 

[Lerch]

Anyone have any idea how particular you have to be with the cat tails? I am concerned about the water I see them in most of the time. Pollutants and the like. Do these plants suck up the nastiness? I could see the pollen part being ok in these conditions but the roots and stalks could possibly absorb the pollutants. Hopefully someone has more input on this.

 

[wolfy]

The brown thing is the blossom. The pollen forms on the stalk above that. In the video Awasos posted, you can see where the blossom is forming below the pollen stalk.
From my limited experience, it takes a LOT of cattails to gather a cup of pollen!

You said a mouthful there, albeit a small one brother! I had delusions of trying this after reading one of Euell Gibbons' books on foraging for pollen one time. Those little spikes have a VERY small amount of pollen on each one of them! I started, but soon gave up on getting the necessary amount. I put the pitiful amount I had gathered in my pancake batter and it made them yellow, but I couldn't tell that it affected the taste much.

 

[Old Philosopher]

You said a mouthful there, albeit a small one brother! I had delusions of trying this after reading one of Euell Gibbons' books on foraging for pollen one time. Those little spikes have a VERY small amount of pollen on each one of them! I started, but soon gave up on getting the necessary amount. I put the pitiful amount I had gathered in my pancake batter and it made them yellow, but I couldn't tell that it affected the taste much.

LOL! Yeah, I just read a woman's blog who claimed she often got a tablespoon of pollen off each stalk. That's still 16 cattails for a cup, but I question her harvest. I was lucky to get a 1/2 teaspoon! Maybe it was just the wrong time of year?

Anyone have any idea how particular you have to be with the cat tails? I am concerned about the water I see them in most of the time. Pollutants and the like. Do these plants suck up the nastiness? I could see the pollen part being ok in these conditions but the roots and stalks could possibly absorb the pollutants. Hopefully someone has more input on this.

Interesting question. I'd probably avoid cattails standing in water that had an oil slick on the surface. But I've dug cattail tubers out of some of the smelliest, gooiest muck you'd ever find in a frog pond, and never gave a thought about pollutants. The muck didn't kill the cattails, or me.
I wouldn't worry at all about the pollen.

 

[mainewoods]

The brown thing is the blossom. The pollen forms on the stalk above that. In the video Awasos posted, you can see where the blossom is forming below the pollen stalk.
From my limited experience, it takes a LOT of cattails to gather a cup of pollen!

Yes indeed Brother OP. But I'am thinking about a 1/4 to 1/2 of cup to try LOL

 

[Old Philosopher]

Yes indeed Brother OP. But I'am thinking about a 1/4 to 1/2 of cup to try LOL

Don't expect this burst of succulent, wild flavor. The main objective is the nutrients, and stretching your flour. Flour was worth its weight in silver back in the day. Even rye and barley flours were merely used as an "extender". Even today recipes call for a 50-50 mix with wheat flour.

 

[dwightp]

The "brown thing" is only brown in the fall. In the spring and early summer it is green. Cut the "green thing" off, boil in water, add butter, and then eat like corn on the cob.

 

[Old Philosopher]

The "brown thing" is only brown in the fall. In the spring and early summer it is green. Cut the "green thing" off, boil in water, add butter, and then eat like corn on the cob.

LOL! Yeah...but if you're a little late gettin' it young, hope that you remembered to pack some dental floss.