Author Topic: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya  (Read 64837 times)

ricshaw

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #50 on: January 29, 2014, 11:06:00 PM »
Did you get the (f1) Cereus peruvianus monstrose x Cereus aethiops cuttings? If so I have 2 of them from the FL collector (which I believe is the same you are talking about). I also have Yellow skin Cereus sp. seeds coming and a Purple flesh Cereus sp. I would be interested in trading for those Pitayo Dulce seedling cuttings. I think a lot of people are starting to collect the Cereus sp. and other high quality fruiting cactus (seems to be trending from what I am seeing).

Yes, I got 4 C. peruvianus x C. aethiops cuttings (different strains).

There are a couple of Florida collectors with almost the same collections.

I will try and find the rest of the Pitayo Dulce seeds. If I find them, you can have them.

« Last Edit: January 29, 2014, 11:10:33 PM by ricshaw »

starling

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #51 on: January 30, 2014, 12:05:38 AM »

I have a Burbank's Opuntia which is supposedly the creme de la creme of fruit bearing cactus. I know it is legit after some research. It is the only variety he specifically bred for fruit quality, but the downside is, it has spines, whereas those he developed for cattle fodder do not. It does not have glochids--yet, but I have been informed that future paddles may revert, and will have them.

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nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #52 on: January 30, 2014, 01:08:01 AM »

I have a Burbank's Opuntia which is supposedly the creme de la creme of fruit bearing cactus. I know it is legit after some research. It is the only variety he specifically bred for fruit quality, but the downside is, it has spines, whereas those he developed for cattle fodder do not. It does not have glochids--yet, but I have been informed that future paddles may revert, and will have them.


Would love to see the fruits when they are harvested. I have quite a few good selections of Opuntia sp. now. Including one that supposedly taste like banana flavor.
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starling

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #53 on: January 30, 2014, 01:14:11 AM »
Not sure if you do overseas postage Null but I would love more Opuntia. Cuurently I have compressa ( Nopales) and the burbanks, and that's pretty much it. I have heard of a variety called crystal which is supposed to be very good, green skinned, white fleshed fruit.
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nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #54 on: February 08, 2014, 02:02:46 PM »
Here are some recent additions;

Haageocereus pseudoversicolor  (supposedly large sweet fruit columnar cactus)


Echinocereus fendleri × dasyacanthus (Hybrid I bought from Ebay, E. fendleri fruits and stems were eaten by native americans, E. dasyacanthus Greenish-purple fruit, of fine flavor) I am hoping the hybrid produces tasty sizable fruits.


Corryocactus melanotrichus (medium sized kiwi tasting fruits)


Corryocactus brevistylus (Columnar cacti, Very large fruit lemon acidic flavor)


Trichocereus validus (Columnar cacti, Very large sweet fruit 4" diameter)

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Ethan

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #55 on: February 08, 2014, 02:43:15 PM »
Nice additions N/Z, hopefully it wont be too long before you get fruit.

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #56 on: February 08, 2014, 02:48:47 PM »
Nice additions N/Z, hopefully it wont be too long before you get fruit.

Ethan,

Thanks, I am going to try to push them along with organic fertilizer. Hoping 5 years to fruit on some of them? Once I get them to flowering/fruiting age the cuttings will fruit in 2 years or so in most cases.
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gunnar429

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #57 on: February 08, 2014, 07:13:09 PM »
consider my mind blown!  Now i realize i have to do more acquiring







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ScottR

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #58 on: February 09, 2014, 12:18:31 AM »
Nice new acquisitions Steven, the collection grows! ;) 8) 8)

gunnar429

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #59 on: February 26, 2014, 12:04:53 PM »
anyone growing cereus (for the fruit) in FL?  I see a lot as ornamentals so i gather they grow well here.
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nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #60 on: February 26, 2014, 12:12:25 PM »
anyone growing cereus (for the fruit) in FL?  I see a lot as ornamentals so i gather they grow well here.

It grows extremely well in Florida. I have seen the this following plant loaded with flowers +50 flowers on it. I assumed the fruit set and was gobbled up by wildlife.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=136+Southeast+Manly+Avenue,+Port+St.+Lucie,+Florida&hl=en&ll=27.303861,-80.347811&spn=0.000628,0.000754&sll=27.303861,-80.347811&sspn=0.000633,0.000754&t=h&hnear=136+SE+Manly+Ave,+Port+St+Lucie,+Florida+34983&z=20&layer=c&cbll=27.303861,-80.347811&panoid=xH3C7PNzQ_Ku_iDpxxmWyg&cbp=12,329.02,,1,3.76
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gunnar429

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #61 on: February 26, 2014, 02:55:44 PM »
great to hear, Null.  i look forward to obtaining tasty specimens
~Jeff

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nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #62 on: February 26, 2014, 03:44:21 PM »
great to hear, Null.  i look forward to obtaining tasty specimens

Gunnar,

No problem, I  have not forgotten about the walking onions. I should be able to get them out on Monday.
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Recher

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #63 on: February 27, 2014, 05:42:06 PM »
By far, the best cactus fruit was from a Mammillaria sp.-- tasted exactly like intense strawberry.... beter than field ripe field picked strawberries

Opuntia ficus-indica.. at least one I have.. i prefer to any Hylocereus. I fruit C. jamacuru grown from seed and its on a par with Hylocereus.
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ricshaw

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #64 on: August 24, 2014, 06:30:14 PM »
Null and Jack, thank's for I.D on the Stenocereus thurberi, I have some seedlings of this plant , fruit from Edgar V. used different columnar cactus flowers  for hybridizing his dragon fruit and came up with some nice cultivars. Also Adam, a nice variety with blue berry like fruit is Cipocereus bradei doesn't like frost!Stenocereus family has many fruiting plants; S. griseus,S. gummosus, S. pruinosus,S.queretaroensis,S. stellatus, S. thurberi, S. treleasei. Opuntia many many with nice fruits, have one only know as Hawaii-fruit yellow when ripe tropical -melon taste, one with papaya tasting fruit , one with honey dew tasting fruit, one with big round red fruit w/ big round pads common name dinner plant. Have also two cereus peruvianus monstrose from Roger M. one with red fruit , and one with purple or yellow fruit? Don't remember but got cuttings from Roger @ C.R.F.G. conference many yrs. ago, never has fruited either one this yr. flowering tried pollinating time will tell.
Also myrtillocactus geometrizans has blue berry shape fruit, had it but lost it in ground.     

Today at Edgar Valdivia's Dragon Fruit tasting and garden tour, he had me taste the little dried fruit hanging on a columnar cactus he calls "cactus raisin".

The dried fruit taste just like a "raisin"!



I lucked out...  he gave me a cutting.  My guess it is Myrtillocactus.  Edgar said he got it from a collector in Santa Barbara.


starling1

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #65 on: August 24, 2014, 07:57:33 PM »
Null and Jack, thank's for I.D on the Stenocereus thurberi, I have some seedlings of this plant , fruit from Edgar V. used different columnar cactus flowers  for hybridizing his dragon fruit and came up with some nice cultivars. Also Adam, a nice variety with blue berry like fruit is Cipocereus bradei doesn't like frost!Stenocereus family has many fruiting plants; S. griseus,S. gummosus, S. pruinosus,S.queretaroensis,S. stellatus, S. thurberi, S. treleasei. Opuntia many many with nice fruits, have one only know as Hawaii-fruit yellow when ripe tropical -melon taste, one with papaya tasting fruit , one with honey dew tasting fruit, one with big round red fruit w/ big round pads common name dinner plant. Have also two cereus peruvianus monstrose from Roger M. one with red fruit , and one with purple or yellow fruit? Don't remember but got cuttings from Roger @ C.R.F.G. conference many yrs. ago, never has fruited either one this yr. flowering tried pollinating time will tell.
Also myrtillocactus geometrizans has blue berry shape fruit, had it but lost it in ground.     

Today at Edgar Valdivia's Dragon Fruit tasting and garden tour, he had me taste the little dried fruit hanging on a columnar cactus he calls "cactus raisin".

The dried fruit taste just like a "raisin"!



I lucked out...  he gave me a cutting.  My guess it is Myrtillocactus.  Edgar said he got it from a collector in Santa Barbara.

That would be a Bilberry cactus, or blueberry cactus (myrtillocactus geometrizans). The fruit is quite good fresh, quite similar to blueberry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtillocactus_geometrizans

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #66 on: August 24, 2014, 08:48:09 PM »
Myrtillocactus geometrizans is a nice sweet fruit, the only issue is the size of the fruit and the yield for the mass of plant. I have a selection from Baja that fruits multiple times a year. Its not a plant I would recommend for fruit quality and yield. Cereus sp. is a much better columnar cactus fruit plant in my opinion.
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ScottR

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #67 on: August 24, 2014, 11:37:28 PM »
Nice score Ricshaw, I have that plant but hasn't set fruit yet! Good luck growing, I also have many seedlings of Edgar's " Pitayo Dulce" a few have flowered but haven't set fruit yet! Might have to try and hand pollenate.

ricshaw

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #68 on: August 24, 2014, 11:48:11 PM »
Nice score Ricshaw, I have that plant but hasn't set fruit yet! Good luck growing, I also have many seedlings of Edgar's " Pitayo Dulce" a few have flowered but haven't set fruit yet! Might have to try and hand pollenate.

I have 3 seedlings from Pitayo Dulce...  by the time they get big enough to flower...  I may be dead!   :-\

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #69 on: August 25, 2014, 12:06:45 AM »
Some of my seedlings are 3-4foot tall and started flowering so maybe about  whoa, I just kinda of thought about it I think there about 10-12 yrs. old? I'll have to check my records to see when it was that I visited Edgars place. I know it was after a festival of fruit conf. down in L.A. area maybe Riverside or Pomona?I check and get back with true age of seedlings.

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #70 on: September 17, 2014, 06:29:13 PM »
Anyone tried the fruit of Dendrocereus nudiflorus? The cacti looks like a mix of hylocereus sp. and cereus sp. Supposedly a specimen is growing at Fairchild Gardens, its native to Cuba and has larger smooth skinned fruit.
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ricshaw

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #71 on: September 24, 2014, 10:36:03 PM »
I have heard that people who eat prickly pear cactus fruit (tunas) like the green ones.

A local speciality market advertised Green Cactus Pears for sale.



I stopped by there to pick up some.  I was surprised how many they had (huge pile) and how big they were.



The biggest one above weighed almost 8 oz. and was over 4" in length.

I checked online and I gather that most people make juice with them.

I cut one open to taste it.



I was a little disappointed. It tasted like a mild sweet cucumber.



The seed are big and hard. Some people eat the seeds, I spit them out.

I still would like to get a cuttings of an Opuntia that produced fruit like this.

« Last Edit: September 24, 2014, 11:25:30 PM by ricshaw »

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #72 on: September 25, 2014, 12:06:55 AM »
Ricshaw,

That green prickly pear does not look very appealing. I have eaten a lot of prickly pears the last 5-6 years, I would say most of the store bought ones were large with a watered out flavor and hard seeds. Prickly Pears, at least the ones sold in the markets here, seem to be selected for size, durability, and then color. The red and orange flesh prickly pears are most likely healthier due to the compounds which give the prickly pears color.

You really wish I could share some pads atm, I have no pads available right now. But in the next several months to a year more pads will be available.
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ricshaw

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #73 on: September 25, 2014, 12:11:08 AM »
Ricshaw,

That green prickly pear does not look very appealing. I have eaten a lot of prickly pears the last 5-6 years, I would say most of the store bought ones were large with a watered out flavor and hard seeds. Prickly Pears, at least the ones sold in the markets here, seem to be selected for size, durability, and then color. The red and orange flesh prickly pears are most likely healthier due to the compounds which give the prickly pears color.

You really wish I could share some pads atm, I have no pads available right now. But in the next several months to a year more pads will be available.

They appeal to some people.  When I bought mine, a lady was buying about a dozen or more. The green ones are popular with some people.  Not sure why.

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #74 on: September 25, 2014, 12:19:43 AM »
This will sound surprising considering I'm living all the way on the East Coast, but I do prefer the greens over the reds too. The riper ones will have more of a sugary taste (with flavor akin to sugarcane, IMO), the unripe ones do have a tendency to taste like watery cucumbers. Unfortunately the seeds are still hard, making them more for blending up than eating fresh.. Can't afford to crack a filling or two :-X And the reds aren't as flavorful or as sugary, in my opinion. I'd love to try great selections of opuntia or cereus, but that isn't found easily here in New York (if at all!)