Barrel cactus is a winter season desert food, available from November-on, though sometimes fruits persist on plant until following bloom/fruit season. Barrel fruit tastes tart and lemony and can be used fresh, frozen, cooked, or dried. Seeds have high oil and protein content, and subtle savory taste, and can be toasted, ground into flour, or used raw. Seeds may be germinated in hot, humid, summer conditions.

Perennial desert food plants have been harvested by native cultures for thousands of years in the Sonoran Desert. That wisdom guides our demos and workshops, in which participants learn easy ways to recognize, safely harvest, process, and prepare seasonal desert foods for inclusion in delicious, nutritious, place-based meals.

Recipes from the cookbook Eat Mesquite and More will be featured. We encourage the use of low energy use methods like solar cooking and drying, and fearless experimentation. Emphasis is placed on connections and interconnections between water harvesting, year-round harvests, arid lands strategies, benefits of Sonoran Desert food plants, and local/ regional food and water security.