You see buckhorn cholla and think, "Uh-oh — cactus. Stay away from that."
Usually, there's a painful experience behind that reasoning.
But the Tohono O'odham, with a wisdom centuries old and the common sense to step carefully around chollas, see beyond spines, thorns and stickers. For them, buckhorn cholla is the source of a delicious food low in calories and packed with powerful nutrients.
And, thanks to Tohono O'Odham Community Action (TOCA), others are beginning to recognize that the desert is not a barren wasteland.
"There's food everywhere," says Terrol Dew Johnson, TOCA co-director. "It's a matter of knowing how to store and prepare it."
Because cooking native foods has become somewhat of an obscure art, TOCA has hired Mary Paganelli as a project coordinator with the food systems program.
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A writer who focuses on foods and nutrition, Paganelli moved to Tucson from New York City seven years ago and immediately wanted to know what edibles grew around here. And what were the traditional dishes, besides beans and fry bread, she asked.
In time she found TOCA and got to know the late Frances Manuel, author of "The Desert Indian Woman."
Together they began gathering information about native foods and compiling recipes — none was written down — for a cookbook to be published by TOCA.
And in the process, they introduced the foods to local chefs.
Many, such as Scott Uehlein, corporate chef at Canyon Ranch, have incorporated them into their culinary repertoire.
"Our mantra when it comes to food is 'local, organic and sustainable,' and the cholla buds we buy from TOCA fit the bill," Uehlein said.
"We think that being able to showcase foods that have been around for thousands of years is really neat. Also, they have a great flavor — kind of asparagus and green beany with an okra texture.
"They take on the flavor of whatever you put with it. They have a strong enough flavor to hold their own but (they're) adaptable to go with other foods."
And cholla buds are a "nutritional powerhouse," said Marilyn Majchrzak, corporate director of food development at Canyon Ranch.
"A third of a cup of cholla buds has more calcium than an 8-ounce glass of milk," she said. "That speaks to how the Tohono O'odham got their calcium" in the past.
"It also has more potassium than a banana and 8 grams of fiber — more than most cereals and vegetables. In fact, it is one of the highest fiber contents for the serving size" compared with other foods. (People should have between 25 and 40 grams of fiber daily.)
This naturally higher fiber makes cholla buds invaluable when it comes to helping stabilize blood sugar.
Yet, that third-of-a-cup of cholla buds has only 57 calories.
You can't ask for more than that — something that tastes good and is good for you.
toca's mission
Tohono O'odham Community Action (TOCA) is a nonprofit organization whose aim is to revitalize cultural awareness, community health and sustainable development in the Tohono O'odham Nation.
Over the decades, the O'odham have strayed from their traditional diet, opting instead for the white man's food — especially those ubiquitous fast foods loaded with calories.
Trouble is, such foods are almost as deadly as poison to the O'odham, leading to serious weight gain and related health problems, including diabetes.
Which is why TOCA is working so diligently to reintroduce the native foods to younger generations. These foods, including cholla buds, which are now ready to be harvested in the surrounding desert, help regulate blood sugar, a must for diabetics.
"We (the O'odham) have known how valuable the (native) food is, how good it is for our bodies," said TOCA co-director Terrol Dew Johnson, chuckling.
The chuckle — ironic but shaded with humor — is because O'odham young people are beginning to pay more attention to the admonishment from tribal elders: "Eat your vegetables — the locally grown, native ones."
Why? Because the outside world — including nutrition authorities such as Dr. Andrew Weil — "is beginning to discover our food," Johnson said.
"(Our grandparents) didn't have the academic papers to say, 'These foods are good for us.' "
Now the O'odham have white men saying these things, and that makes it acceptable.
Gathering cholla buds
The good thing about cholla buds is that they're all around us, and they're ready for harvest.
The bad thing about cholla buds — all those stickers, spines and thorns.
Mary Paganelli, who is working on a cookbook on Tohono O'odham native foods, explains the harvest:
The buds should be picked before they flower; don't use the branches.
Traditionally, the O'odham used a tool called a wa:'o — made of sanded saguaro ribs — to pick the buds. ("The tool looks like chopsticks with a hole in the middle," Paganelli said.) Then they put the buds on a flat surface made of fine screen and rolled them around until the spines came off. They also used greasewood branches to brush over the buds to help remove the spines.
"The buds were roasted in a pit lined with rocks. Mesquite wood was burned in the pit to create coals, and more rocks were added to cover. Then the buds were poured on top of that with a few more rocks nestled in among them. The whole thing was then covered with dirt and left overnight.
"The heat and steam (created from the buds' moisture) would sear off the spines. The next day, the buds were removed from the pit and allowed to sun dry to preserve them.
"When they were dried, the buds are very hard — like a rock — and can be stored indefinitely."
These days, Paganelli said, "we would pick the buds with kitchen tongs, the kind with a spring and not a hinge."
You can use a hand-held butane torch (like the kitchen tool to do a crème brûlée top) to sear off the fine spines, she said, "but you gotta be very careful."
"Or you can use a colander or fine screen to remove the spines. Then boil them for about an hour and sun dry.
"You have to keep moving them around so they dry on all sides so they don't get moldy. They have to be completely dry before storing."
To reconstitute them, boil them again, Paganelli said. When the buds are dry, they're "kind of khaki green, but they turn brighter green and soft when they're boiled."
Cholla Bud Salad
Makes 7 ( 1/3 cup) servings
u 1/2 cup dried cholla buds
u 1/4 cup minced, red onions
u 1/4 cup minced, red bell peppers
u 1/3 cup diced tomatoes
u 2 tablespoons fresh, chopped cilantro
u 2 tablespoons lime juice
u 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
u 2 teaspoons minced, jalapeño peppers
u 1 teaspoon sea salt
In a large saucepot filled with water, add dried cholla buds and bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until buds are soft — about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Drain cholla buds, chill and chop.
Combine all remaining ingredients with chopped cholla buds and toss together.
Nutritional information per serving: 85 calories, 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g fat, 0 mg fat, 2 g protein, 274 mg sodium, 8 g fiber.
Chef Scott Uehlein, Canyon Ranch