Who would believe the fruit of a plant that is older than Grandma, gets practically no water, and is covered in thorns could taste good? Well, get your taste buds ready, because it is the truth. The Saguaro cactus was prized by the Tohono O’odham people; in fact they depended on this food crop for sustenance, harvesting in late June and through July. They would open the green fruit and strain the pulp from the juice. The pulp was soaked to separate it from the seeds, which are prolific. Seeds were sun-dried and used as a garnish like poppy seeds, or ground and added to other ingredients to make flour or a butter paste. The pulp was mashed and strained, cooked into thick, and then dried in thin strips. It was eaten in thin dried strips much like fruit roll-ups; used to make jam or pudding; cooked into breads, cakes and sauces; or used like sugar.

The juice was cooked until it reduced to syrup, then used for teas or other drinks. It also made a very good wine, which was the first product consumed at each harvest. The new wine took 3 to 7 days to ferment. When it was ready, it was time for the Harvest Festival to begin. Today many Tohono families still gather and celebrate the harvest festival as a tradition. The wine is said to taste a little like figs, with strawberry thrown in.

In Tucson AZ, a lady named Cathy Lambert reportedly makes her own Desert Decadence Saguaro Blossom Cactus Tea from saguaro fruit she harvests on her own property. She adds other ingredients, such as rose hips and strawberries, and markets the product all over the country. One such market is PaulsPantry.com, located in Scottsdale, AZ.

For those who are so inclined, I have included some recipes I found. I’m sure there are plenty more.

This recipe was found for Saguaro cactus jam, courtesy of pepperfool.com. “Gather 6 cups of saguaro cactus fruit pulp. Put pulp in a pot and add water until half of the pulp is covered. Soak the pulp for an hour and a half. Stir every now and then. Put the pot over a low flame and cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Separate the pulp from the liquid, saving the pulp. Boil the liquid very slowly (stirring all the time) until it turns into a syrup. Then mash the pulp and put through a strainer to remove the seeds. Combine the remaining pulp with the syrup until the mixture has the consistency of jam. When it looks like jam, it is jam. Serve over warm fry bread. P.S. -do not add sugar.”