Pineapple Cactus Fruit

There's a native cactus here in Arizona, and the majority of these plants are found right here in Pima County. It's called a Pineapple Cactus because the fruits look like tiny pineapples. Cute, huh? They usually come out with flowers and then they have this fruit... or is it the fruit first and then the flowers?

Anyway, I haven't been able to find that much info at all on these little pineapples. The website linked above did say that the fruits were sweet. Hmmm, good to eat? I did some further research and found that all cactus fruits are good to eat! Check it out here.

Since the fruit on these particular cacti has no spines (unlike the prickly pear, which is covered with needles), and the fruit is supposed to be sweet, I decided to give it a try.

First, wash the fruit.

Cut off the top and split the rest down the middle. Discard seeds. Now to give this sweet fruit a try!

Blechhh!

This tastes like a cross between an onion and a bell pepper, neither of which I like very much. I did throw throw the rest of my gathered fruit out the car window as I drove, since their population could stand to be a bit larger. No wonder there's no mention of this fruit on the internet!

I'm fine with leaving these fruits where they are from now on!