Prickly pear and mesquite too

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Permalink Reply by Nick on July 7, 2008 at 11:37am

Where is the fairmont resort located? I have an all day class tuesday and wednesday but would love to go get some prickly pear fruit after that!

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Permalink Reply by Anne Goldfeld on July 7, 2008 at 11:52am

On Princess Dr., between Scottsdale & Hayden Rds. Best place to park is uncovered parking at Crown Court Apartments, 7900 E. Princess. The cacti are all along Princess Dr. between the Fairmont Princess and Hayden Rd. Not a lot ripe yet, but I'm watching them daily! I forgot to ask if they spray, but have not noticed spraying and will try to catch the grounds guy on Weds. Give me a call 480.282.8488 when you come, as I would love to learn more about harvesting and preparing the fruit. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Nick on July 15, 2008 at 1:59pm

Hey Anne,
Any news on the fruits? Pesticides? Ripe?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Goldfeld on July 16, 2008 at 4:53pm

Some arelooking very ripe, and more are turning red every day. I left a message for the landscaping office about pesticides, but no reply yet. I keep trying to get out early in the morning to try to harvest, but I keep running into obstacles. Hopefully tomorrow!

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Permalink Reply by Anne Goldfeld on July 17, 2008 at 10:54am

Great news! Landscaping called back and they DO NOT use pesticides on the cacti. Yeah!

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Taylor on July 12, 2008 at 11:27am

Thanks for posting this, Anne. I'd love to make a trip up there for some prickly pears and mesquite. I don't know too much about harvesting prickly pear fruit either, but I've heard a few tips and I've gotten some info online, so I'm ready to experiment!
Will you keep us posted and let us know when they are looking ripe? I could head up there and meet you. If anyone else wants to carpool up from Tempe too, let me know.

Lisa
lisa.a.taylor@asu.edu

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Permalink Reply by suean stewart on July 16, 2008 at 5:18pm

Harvesting prickly pear is really as simple as it sounds. Use tongs (bar-b-q type) pinch and twist a bit, put them in a baggie/or tuperware, and stick em in the freezer. You can begin to prepare them as soon as the next day. There are several other ways to deal with them but this is the SUPER EASY method. I am thinking about another pancake breakfast and following it with a prickly pear syrup/jam canning class. Anyone on board for that?

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Permalink Reply by Nick on July 16, 2008 at 6:31pm

Im definately on board for some jamming! I tried to grab some fruits yesterday. They looked dark purple but upon opening, they were very white inside...gotta wait longer I guess

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Permalink Reply by Anne Goldfeld on July 16, 2008 at 6:47pm

So freeze em first, huh? Ok! Then cut the spines off or use a peeler? My crew and I are up for another pancake breakfast & syrup/jam. They were mad at me for missing the breakfast at the farm. At the market on a Sat or somewhere else?

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Permalink Reply by suean stewart on July 16, 2008 at 7:06pm

sorry, hurt child, had to cut that last post short. The beauty of freezing the fruit is the removal of the spine removal step.
So there are several ways to remove spines/ burn/ peel/ scrape! YUCK. Jay Johnson showed me a trick that works with such ease it just silly. SO the little guys are frozen huh? O.k. next step, thaw them out. Put them in a colander, over a bowl and walk away. Take a hike, get out and do something you wouldn't normally have time for, because.... the work is in progress with out your help. So, when the liquid in the cells of the fruit freeze, they expand, bursting the cell wall. THen as they thaw, they basically deflate. After they have done all they can do for you, mush em up with something like a potato masher. Feed the chuncky seedy parts to the chickens, they love it, and strain the juice through some cloth. I usually use a t-shirt for this part, great color horrible color fastedness. you are done. I don't know where the spines and glochids went. Do not ask me, I do not wear gloves and I rarely ever get even just one glochid in my hands.
Good luck, as for the pancake and jam session, no not at the market, I haven't come up with where just yet. I'm still in the "Is anyone willing to commit to helping?" phase.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Taylor on July 16, 2008 at 8:33pm

I'll commit to help with a pancake breakfast - it sounds fun. And I'm excited about trying out some prickly pear canning too. Let me know what I can do to help...

Lisa

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Permalink Reply by Anne Goldfeld on July 17, 2008 at 8:20am

We finally got some fruit this morning. It's in the freezer now. Will upload photos to show how much fruit there is and in varying states of ripeness. Tomorrow we'll get the mesquite beans! Say, Suean, would Slow Foods get involved with the pancake breakfast?

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