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Would the ethanol generated here be conventional alcohol, more or less safe for humans to drink? This isn't meant as a leading question, it's genuine curiosity:
by clock_tower 11y ago
Would the ethanol generated here be conventional alcohol, more or less safe for humans to drink? This isn't meant as a leading question, it's genuine curiosity: regulations permitting, can you really brew alcoholic drinks from cattails?
If so, this has fascinating implications; apparently much more of the plant world is edible than anyone has made use of so far. Not directly edible, of course, and the calories in alcohol are empty; but still, an interesting thought.
- bcg1 11y agoYes, it is essentially moonshine. I'm not sure how cattail spirits would taste though. A word of caution however, the ethanol that you can buy for camping stoves and such is NOT the same thing... by law it is denatured (mixed with toxins to render unsafe for drinking) And cattails BTW are directly edible... the roots produce a lot of starch and can be cooked or ground into flour if that's your thing. Some of those ponds they grow in are pretty murky though, and you might want to make sure you're not near a septic system if try them :)
- clock_tower 11y agoI wasn't thinking in terms of "I want to brew moonshine", but in terms of "could people make dietary use of things we don't think of as edible?". Fernand Braudel talked about cider as a serious competitor to beer in the 17th and 18th centuries, since making cider didn't mean going without bread; it sounds like other crops (and non-crops) could have been used similarly. But still, you answered my question with what I was asking; thank you!