Author Topic: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya  (Read 65457 times)

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #25 on: March 08, 2012, 07:28:52 PM »
Null, have you heard of this cactus before?

Eulychnia acida - Cactaceae - Copao - Fruta de um cactus, com sabor ácido, da região semi-desértica do Chile - Vicuña - IV Region - Coquimbo - Chile - 23.01.2009 - Foto de Anestor Mezzomo





https://picasaweb.google.com/101936771881917391876/Frutas24Chile#5298552265208915522

First time hearing of this, Felipe thanks for the mention of it! I will now have to add it to my seed list lol.
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nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #26 on: August 19, 2013, 03:37:04 PM »
Just ate some excellent tasting Cactus Apples (Cereus sp.). They were the size of a medium apple had an excellent dragon fruit flavor. I believe in a blind taste test it would rank up their with a top tier dragon fruit. It had a nice classic sweet dragon fruit flavor, with mild amount of acid.

I could easily eat 10 or these in one sitting. Actually devoured the 3 fruits and wish I had more. Yield was excellent considering it was seldom watered, not given much fertilizer, and fruited in a 3 gal container!





The waxy skin separated from the flesh very easily. It actually slide right off with a little push. The skin was edible and tasted like a slightly sour cucumber with a little jalapeno flavor (with no heat or spice, perhaps it has culinary usage as a garnish or blended into a sauce).
« Last Edit: August 19, 2013, 03:39:40 PM by nullzero »
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plantlover13

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #27 on: August 19, 2013, 04:12:55 PM »
Just ate some excellent tasting Cactus Apples (Cereus sp.). They were the size of a medium apple had an excellent dragon fruit flavor. I believe in a blind taste test it would rank up their with a top tier dragon fruit. It had a nice classic sweet dragon fruit flavor, with mild amount of acid.

I could easily eat 10 or these in one sitting. Actually devoured the 3 fruits and wish I had more. Yield was excellent considering it was seldom watered, not given much fertilizer, and fruited in a 3 gal container!





The waxy skin separated from the flesh very easily. It actually slide right off with a little push. The skin was edible and tasted like a slightly sour cucumber with a little jalapeno flavor (with no heat or spice, perhaps it has culinary usage as a garnish or blended into a sauce).

Any clue what species of cerus?

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #28 on: August 19, 2013, 04:28:07 PM »
Source of this original plant was from Roger Meyer cutting. No idea on the exact sp. just was stated that it was Peruvian cactus apple from Roger Meyer. If I had to guess, I would say its Cereus repandus.
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plantlover13

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #29 on: August 19, 2013, 04:31:25 PM »
Source of this original plant was from Roger Meyer cutting. No idea on the exact sp. just was stated that it was Peruvian cactus apple from Roger Meyer. If I had to guess, I would say its Cereus repandus.

Ok, thanks.

Jack, Nipomo

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #30 on: August 19, 2013, 04:43:09 PM »
How about Stenocereus thurberi?  Not as pretty as Stenocereus gummosus, but more highly flavored.  S. gummosus is called pitaya agria (sour), whereas S. thurberi is called pitaya dulce (sweet) in Mexico.  In the fall of the year all over Baja Sur, these fruits (mainly dulce) are sold by the roadside.  Both fruits are the same size, agria is not sour, but dulce is sweeter.  S. gummosus is a rambling thorny cactus, S. thurberi is an erect columnar cactus, smaller thorns, easier to get fruit.  One day I'll post about the "second harvest" of the pitaya in early Baja California.

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #31 on: August 19, 2013, 04:53:33 PM »
How about Stenocereus thurberi?  Not as pretty as Stenocereus gummosus, but more highly flavored.  S. gummosus is called pitaya agria (sour), whereas S. thurberi is called pitaya dulce (sweet) in Mexico.  In the fall of the year all over Baja Sur, these fruits (mainly dulce) are sold by the roadside.  Both fruits are the same size, agria is not sour, but dulce is sweeter.  S. gummosus is a rambling thorny cactus, S. thurberi is an erect columnar cactus, smaller thorns, easier to get fruit.  One day I'll post about the "second harvest" of the pitaya in early Baja California.

Jack,

I am growing Stenocereus gummosus, Stenocereus stellatus, Stenocereus griseus, and Polaskia chichipe also. No fruit so far from the others yet, they seem to be slower growers then Cereus sp.
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plantlover13

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #32 on: August 19, 2013, 05:17:14 PM »
HOw long would a cerus or an opuntia take to fruit from seed?

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #33 on: August 19, 2013, 05:21:52 PM »
HOw long would a cerus or an opuntia take to fruit from seed?

I would say 3-5 years, the majority of the time is spent building up size of the main segments. Once it reaches a certain mass, most seem to began flowering. The great thing about cuttings, is it already has some nice mass to it and can fruit soon after rooting (if the mother plant was already fruiting before).

So unless you are growing some crosses or breeding a new selection, I would stay away from seedlings in most cases.
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luc

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #34 on: August 19, 2013, 06:17:53 PM »






Luc Vleeracker
Puerto Vallarta
Mexico , Pacific coast.
20 degrees north

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #35 on: August 19, 2013, 06:38:48 PM »
wow Luc!
those look excellent.

I wonder how they'd perform in FL.

thanks for sharing!

Nullzy,

thanks for sharing!

I didn't know the skin on those was edible!

Those fruits grow all over central FL...I've tasted one that was delicious, and I've had others the were bland.  I'm ready to try more this year!
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nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #36 on: August 19, 2013, 06:45:48 PM »
Luc,

Did they taste as good as they looked? I would be interested in some seeds of the Stenocereus sp. whenever you are able to get some. Those colors look amazing, I hear the taste really good as well.
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plantlover13

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #37 on: August 19, 2013, 06:51:33 PM »







So these are the "stenocerus? species?

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #38 on: August 19, 2013, 08:47:48 PM »
Wow, the tree, the fruit color and the photos are amazing. I've never seen anything like it.
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plantlover13

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #39 on: August 19, 2013, 08:51:09 PM »
Wow, the tree, the fruit color and the photos are amazing. I've never seen anything like it.
Totally agree. THis is something i will be on the lookout for.

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #40 on: August 19, 2013, 08:54:50 PM »
I am pretty sure those are Stenocereus queretaroensis or Stenocereus stellatus fruits (referring to Luc's second and third picture).
« Last Edit: August 19, 2013, 08:58:02 PM by nullzero »
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JoeP450

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #41 on: August 19, 2013, 09:22:28 PM »
I am growing cereus peruvianus and I also like the taste of it, the flesh is more like shaved ice compared to thick flesh of dragon fruit with about the same sweetness IMO. I also have a cereus peruvianus monstrose variety but it is a slow grower and only a bout a foot tall. The flowers on cereus peruvianus are one of the prettiest I have ever seen and are very short lived. Both my cacti were grown from gorilla gardened cuttings from ones growing in random vacant lots, so easy to propagate just gotta keep your eyes pealed and you might find them randomly growing and can grab a cutting.

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nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #42 on: August 19, 2013, 09:40:07 PM »
I am growing cereus peruvianus and I also like the taste of it, the flesh is more like shaved ice compared to thick flesh of dragon fruit with about the same sweetness IMO. I also have a cereus peruvianus monstrose variety but it is a slow grower and only a bout a foot tall. The flowers on cereus peruvianus are one of the prettiest I have ever seen and are very short lived. Both my cacti were grown from gorilla gardened cuttings from ones growing in random vacant lots, so easy to propagate just gotta keep your eyes pealed and you might find them randomly growing and can grab a cutting.

-JoeP450

I got monstrose as well, slow grower for me. I also have a purple fleshed Cereus validus as well. Always up for future trades of cuttings, atm though not enough segments to trade.
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ScottR

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #43 on: August 20, 2013, 11:39:36 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.     

luc

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #44 on: August 21, 2013, 11:18:33 AM »







The first pic is a very strange one , I found it years ago close to the orchard because it had beautiful yellow cactus like flowers , I kept going back till there was fruit and fortunately collected some baby plants . The original plant is gone , bulldozed when making a road . The fruit was good size like a pear and sweet . It is not a stenocereus , more a tree .

The second pic grows in this state ( Jalisco ) and is very appreciated by the people , is sold on streetcorners when in season . Grows higher up , not in my area .

The 3rd was collected in the state of Sonora .

Alll worth growing .
Luc Vleeracker
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Mexico , Pacific coast.
20 degrees north

nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #45 on: August 21, 2013, 11:28:08 AM »
Luc,

That tree cacti looks very interesting. I wonder what it is... possibly some Opuntia sp.? Nice on collecting the plants, seems like a rarer wild plant with good fruit.
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ricshaw

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #46 on: January 29, 2014, 10:26:01 PM »
Just ate some excellent tasting Cactus Apples (Cereus sp.). They were the size of a medium apple had an excellent dragon fruit flavor. I believe in a blind taste test it would rank up their with a top tier dragon fruit. It had a nice classic sweet dragon fruit flavor, with mild amount of acid.
I could easily eat 10 or these in one sitting. Actually devoured the 3 fruits and wish I had more. Yield was excellent considering it was seldom watered, not given much fertilizer, and fruited in a 3 gal container!



The waxy skin separated from the flesh very easily. It actually slide right off with a little push. The skin was edible and tasted like a slightly sour cucumber with a little jalapeno flavor (with no heat or spice, perhaps it has culinary usage as a garnish or blended into a sauce).

That was the experience I had when I tasted what I think was Peruvian Apple Cactus at a CRFG meeting.
It tasted like Dragon Fruit with the crunch of an apple.  At the same meeting we also tasted about a half a dozen Dragon Fruit varieties.
The Apple Cactus fruit came from a columnar cactus named "Pitayo Dulce".





I saved some of the seeds and saved a couple of the cactus seedlings.



I eventually found and bought a Peruvian Apple Cactus at the Cactus Mart nursery in Piru, California.



I have not got any fruit yet...  so I have no idea if it is any good.




ricshaw

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #47 on: January 29, 2014, 10:39:29 PM »
If you are a plant collector, there are few things more exciting than getting one of these in the mail:



The box came from a cactus collector in Florida.



The collector had found out that I was looking for Cereus peruvianus.
The collector mentioned that he was in the process of pruning his cactus and if interested he would send me some cuttings of different Cereus peruvianus unrelated varieties and cactus hybrids if I reimbursed him for the postage.
Of course I agreed.

After exchanging some more emails and giving him my mailing address, I found out that this guy collects cactus that people eat.
He offered to include several different opuntia varieties grown for their pads or fruit.
I am not a big cactus fan... I don't like the thorns!
But, I did not object, especially when I found out some were spineless varieties like Opuntia gomei 'Old Mexico' and Opuntia cacanapa 'Ellisiana'.
I am thinking I can feed the pads to our tortoises or maybe try a Nopalitos Con Huevos recipe; http://www.food.com/recipe/nopalitos-con-huevos-eggs-and-cactus-137388.



None of the cactus is rare.   Most can be bought on eBay.

ricshaw

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #48 on: January 29, 2014, 10:43:50 PM »
I ended up planting all the cuttings in pots. I would let the cuttings tell me which ones to keep.
My idea is to keep 4 - 6 cacti in pots and give the rest away. The potted cuttings are outside.
The variegated N. cochenillifera looked interesting and I was concerned that the pad would not make it.
There was another small N. cochenillifera pad that I did not expect to make it.

The first cuttings to show any growth ended up being the three Nopalea cochenillifera.







nullzero

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Re: Cactus fruits that taste good (sweet), other than Dragon Fruit/Pitaya
« Reply #49 on: January 29, 2014, 10:50:55 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).
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