Mike’s Hot Spicy Food Recipes

Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit

  Watch out the government nannies will put you in jail if you eat a prickly pear fruit on government property. It is illegal to pick prickly pear fruit on public property!

I guess that makes me a criminal and I didn't even know it. I have ate more them my share of prickly pear fruit I picked in Phoenix parks!

Prickly pear fruit is real tasty!!! Mmmmmmmmm.

Source

Cookbook author shares cactus fruit secrets

Mandy Zajac, Tribune

August 19, 2009 - 10:08AM

“People always say, ‘Do you really eat this stuff?’ and I tell them, ‘You better believe it.’” laughs Groen, 76. In shorts and sneakers, she’s just scoured a friend’s acreage in the foothills of the Superstition Mountains, looking for plump, deep red fruit huddled on the green ridgelines of prickly pear cactus pads.

Called “tunas” in Spanish, the fruits are ripe for the picking now through next month. Groen, co-author of local tomes “Foods of the Superstitions: Old and New,” and “Plants of the Sonoran Desert and Their Many Uses,” will show home cooks how to take advantage of their unique flavor in workshops at Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior. She’ll also hand out free samples of her creations at Saturday’s Cactus Fiesta in Queen Creek.

In the hourlong arboretum classes, Groen and other volunteers show visitors of all ages how to remove the “pears” with tongs and rid them of as many glochids — fine, sharp whiskers — and spines as possible. It’s a trick that can, and probably should, be tackled several ways, from brushing the still-attached fruit with a handful of desert broom cuttings or shaking them in a jar of sand, to rolling them on the ground with a broom-rake or brushing them in a bucketful of water.

Also important is learning where to pick the fruits: Native plants are protected by law, and it is illegal to harvest fruit from city, county, state and federal lands or roadways. You may pick them on your own property or on a friends’ with permission, or you can get a permit from the Arizona State Land Department to harvest prickly pears on state land. (Go to www.land.state.az.us/programs.htm and click on “Applications,” then “Remove Natural Products,” or call [602] 542-2699.)

Guests in the class learn how to juice the fruit by cooking and mashing it or putting it through a juicer or blender. They can also pick up ready-made products or books containing recipes.

A longtime favorite in souvenir-shop candy, prickly pear fruit can be used in many ways, says Groen. She makes barbecue sauce, jelly, quick breads and spreads from it, and her margarita recipe won first place at the 2005 Scottsdale Culinary Festival’s Garduno’s Margarita Village.

“The easiest thing for a lot of people to try for the first time would probably be a smoothie,” says Groen. She suggests pulsing three or four large, raw “pears” in a blender, straining the juice from the seedy, spiny pulp, and then blending (in a clean blender) with ice, fruit and yogurt of choice.

“It tastes kind of like watermelon, but not really. It’s hard to describe,” she says. “The only thing I ever add to it is sugar and lemon juice, and pectin, if I’m making jelly. It tastes pretty good as is.”

Cactus Fiesta

What: Learn about the splendor of the desert and sample some of Jean Groen’s prickly pear and other cactus creations.

When: 10 a.m. to noon Saturday

Where: Queen Creek Library’s Zane Grey Community Room, 21802 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek

Cost: Free

Information: (480) 358-3003 or www.queencreek.org

How much to pick?

Fill a five-gallon bucket halfway with “pears,” and you’ll have enough to make about 1 gallon of juice — plenty to experiment with over about a week in the refrigerator or enough to freeze for later.

Want to test a smaller amount? Pick four or five large fruits to make 1 cup of juice.

Prickly pear lemonade

  • 1 can frozen limeade, plus 1 can water
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup prickly pear juice, to taste
  • 2 cans any lemon-lime soda, or more, to taste

Procedure: Mix all ingredients in a gallon-size pitcher and serve cold.

Source: Tucson Cactus & Succulent Society

Jean Groen’s first-prize-winning prickly pear margarita

  • 2 parts agave tequila
  • 1 part Grand Marnier
  • 1 part Cointreau
  • 4 parts sweet and sour mix
  • 1 1/2 parts prickly pear juice or syrup

Procedure: For frozen margaritas, blend with ice and serve in a salted or unsalted glass with a slice of lime. For margaritas on the rocks, increase sweet and sour by 1 part. Combine all ingredients in a shaker; shake well and pour over ice into a salted or unsalted glass garnished with lime.

Source: Jean Groen

 
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Mike’s Hot Spicy Food Recipes