Prepare and Preserve Click Here for a PDF of Prepare and Preserve Enjoying the produce from your trees is the fun part! Native mesquite, palo verde and ironwood provide flowers, pods and/or seeds. These may be eaten fresh, sprouted, roasted, cooked in savory dishes, or dried and ground into flour for baked goods. The products of these and many other native trees and shrubs can be harvested, prepared and enjoyed in multiple ways. For detailed information, see resources at Desert Harvesters, including their cookbook, Eat Mesquite and More. The sweet fruits of citrus can be eaten fresh, juiced, zested, dried, or made into marmalades, butters or candied rinds. Stone fruits and berries can be eaten fresh; made into jams, jellies and chutneys; cooked into delicious pies and breads; frozen into sorbets and made into many other delectable dishes. Fruit such as dates can be dried, made into date syrup or fermented into vinegar. Nuts from pecan, almond, and walnut trees are rich in essential oils and protein and can be processed for eating and/or pressed for their oils. Olives can be pressed for their oil or cured, dry salted or otherwise seasoned to eat in the long tradition of their European origins. |
Olives harvested from trees at the University of Arizona were pressed into oil and bottled. Each 5-gallon bucket of olives yielded about 20 ounces of olive oil.
Peaches canned for later eating and use in baked goods. |
Ironwood seeds soaked and sprouted for use in salads. |
CAUTION: Never eat anything that is not properly identified. It is your responsibility to ensure that all fruits, nuts, seeds, pods and other edible products of trees and shrubs are correctly identified and safe to eat before eating them or serving them to others.
Copyright 2023
LEAF is under the fiduciary stewardship of the Arizona Community Tree Council, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
70 S Val Vista Drive, Suite A3-186, Gilbert, AZ 85296
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
This website and other LEAF Network products shown here was prepared under the Diverse Urban Forest grant, WCG 14-501, administered by the Arizona Community Tree Council. Funds for this project were provided by the Urban and Community Forestry Financial Assistance Program administered through Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management – Urban and Community Forestry Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. In accordance with Federal law and USDA policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability (Not all prohibited basis applies to all programs). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.