Native American Food

How to turn it into Jam

Gather saguaro cactus fruit pulp. Put 6 cups of the pulp in a pot and
add water until half of the pulp is covered. Soak the pulp for an hour
and a half. Stir every now and then. Put the pot over a low flame and
cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Separate the pulp from the liquid, saving the
pulp. Boil the liquid very slowly (stirring all the time) until it turns
into a syrup. Then mash the pulp and put through a strainer to remove the
seeds. Combine the remaining pulp with the syrup until the mixture has
the consistency of jam. When it looks like jam, it is jam.

Serve over warm fry bread.

p.s. do not add sugar

The 3-inch, oval, green fruit ripens just before the fall rainy season, splitting open to reveal the bright-red, pulpy flesh which all desert creatures seem to relish. This fruit is especially important food source to Native Americans of the region who used the flesh, seeds and juice.