2004-03-08-0349Z

First edibility test in a long time that came up negative. I tried the fruit of this large cactus (saguaro?) this morning; it's small, shaped like a tomato, has a pleasant taste not unlike a cucumber, and the seeds have a mild nutlike flavor. But about 5 minutes after swallowing the sample, I started to feel a burning sensation in my throat. It lasted several hours but never got too unpleasant; nevertheless, I'm going to classify this as "not edible as sampled". Maybe with cooking the objectionable qualities could be removed. Oh, forgot to mention there's a milky sap which appears when the fruit is picked. Maybe it's that "milk" that contains oxalates or some other problem component. Anyway, no great loss, those fruits aren't really big enough or plentiful enough, at least in this place, to worry about.

I think I'm going to spend a few days and nights in San Diego if you-know-who doesn't object too strongly. I'm not getting any programming done here, and there's almost zero chance of me making any money in Baja, whereas there's some small opportunity in Southern California.

Back to blog or home page

last updated 2013-01-10 20:15:11. served from tektonic.jcomeau.com