Cacti have a bad rep. Sure, they’re thorny, surrounded by sand and dwell in the deep desert. But Southwesterners know there’s more to the prickly plants than that.
The Tohono O’odham people of southern Arizona’s Sonoran Desert prize the cactus so greatly that they harvest the lush red fruit of the saguaro every summer – and now’s prime time to gather them in. It’s after the harvest that the fun begins. The saguaro can give up all sorts of goodness. Consider:
- June 30 the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum hosts a saguaro fruit harvest, one that comes replete with plenty of cooking demonstrations and discussion about desert plants as food.
- July 7 Colossal Cave Mountain Park opens a 6 a.m. workshop with an O’odham blessing. It’s part of the popular park’s kickoff for the Ha:san Bak Saguaro Harvest Celebration. Show up with an open mind and a flexible palate. Learn how to make a fruit picker, how to harvest that fruit and how to turn it into syrup. You’ll have to register for the workshop no later than July 5.
- Seek simply to savor the flavor of the saguaro’s fruit sans all the work? Cheri Romanoski understands. She runs Tucson’s Cheri’s Desert Harvest. Her shop is full of cactus preserves, cactus candies and cactus syrups. There’s also a smashing recipe for Cactus Margarita. It’s best enjoyed under the shade this time of year, or from the comfort of a covered patio.
- If cactus leaves you cold, Tucson serves up the Southern Arizona Salsa and Tequila Challenge Aug. 25. Sample professional and amateur salsas, take salsa dance lessons. Kick back with live mariachi music, quaff Mexican beer and tequila-based drinks (excluding Margaritas). Bring along the kids. There are plenty of activities for them too.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: kretyen)
