Eat Mesquite

/ February 08, 2011

Desert Harvesters, 2011. Desert Harvesters.

This is primarily a cookbook, and most of the pages are composed of recipes, although the beginning section talks about the natural history, ethnobotany, lore, and general harvesting and preparation information about the mesquite genus. The book was put together by Desert Harvesters, a unique organization that promotes the use of native food plants in the Sonoran Desert region of southern Arizona, in an effort to connect people to the ecosystem and build sustainable communities.

For those who live in this region, mesquite is perhaps the single most important wild food staple. It is exceptionally abundant, easy to identify and harvest, crops prodigiously (albeit variably), and is good food. There is probably no better plant to partner with to begin the journey of food gathering, and the variety of recipes in this book facilitate that marvelously. Now I must admit, since I do not live in the Southwest, I have collected and eaten mesquite a total of two times, and I have eaten foods made with mesquite flour prepared by one of the book's contributors (Brad Lancaster) a total of two other times.



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