A Gathering of Punks
But not of the trouble-making variety
We know them as cattails, reeds, bulrush, sausage tails, and even cumbungi. They grow in wetlands and are edible. Some of us cultivate them while others fight them as invasive weeds.
I’ve never eaten a cattail and don’t plan to. My research, however, suggests they can be tasty.
Here’s guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
Cattail Shoots — raw young shoots taste like cucumber and can also be made into pickles. When the young shoots are steamed they taste like cabbage.
Cattail Base or Stem — where it attaches to the rhizome can be boiled or roasted like potatoes.
Cattail Rhizomes — (underground stems) and lower stems have a sweet flavor and can be eaten raw, baked, roasted, or broiled. Cattail rhizomes are fairly high in starch content; this is usually listed at about 30% to 46%.
Hungry yet? I confess I’m not. Maybe someone will rebrand the punk and get me to eat one.
On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, rain creates a fertile ground for punks. They pop up each year in drainage ditches next to roads. In some areas, where water collects, there are thousands of them. In other areas, just a few.
