Cholla Buds of the Tohono O’odham

Cholla Buds of the Tohono O’odham

One of my goals during an early spring trip to Tucson was to bring home as many indigenous foodstuffs as possible and prepare them in my kitchen. I managed to locate saguaro syrup, tepary beans and cholla buds.

The cholla buds are plucked from the buckhorn cactus just before it flowers, and they must be harvested and cleaned carefully: they have lots of thorns. Typically they're dried and stored.

Harvesting and processing seems to be handled largely by the Tohono O’odham, who have eaten this bud for a long time.

We bought a small package of dried buds and simmered them for about an hour before adding to a salad of other ingredients native to the Americas (corn, squash, tomato).



I had read that the flavor would be like asparagus, and although they look a little like asparagus tips, I didn't detect that flavor. The flavors were very subtle, almost grain-like, and the buds popped when bitten into, which was pleasant, and they’re slightly mucilaginous, kind of like okra.

Much like the chaya, the buckhorn/cholla bud grows in an inhospitable environment but is very high in nutrients, especially calcium, and very low in calories.

Cholla seems to be survival food. Though undoubtedly my 21st century palate is somewhat jaded, so (what I understand to be) the hard work required to harvest the cholla seems hardly balanced by the slight flavor. Of course, if you’re hungry in the desert with some time on your hands, cholla will probably start to look mighty fine.

If I remember correctly, Leo Stein, prescient art buyer and brother of Gertrude, used to starve himself to sharpen his perceptions. It might be a useful exercise for those of us who eat so much, and taste so much, to take a break every now and again to recalibrate the tastebuds. After not eating for a few days, I'd probably be better able to detect the nuanced flavor of the cholla.

Old high school friend, chef Michael O'Dowd, co-authored a cookbook in which Cholla buds are featured. I bought it a while back and, while I haven't cooked anything out of it yet, I found the information on ingredients of the area very interesting. http://www.marianbetancourt.com/the_new_native_american_cuisine_99112.htm

boudreaulicious wrote:Old high school friend, chef Michael O'Dowd, co-authored a cookbook in which Cholla buds are featured.

Would I be correct in assuming this is the same Michael O'Dowd who's EC at Kai Restaurant here in Phoenix? (Have we discussed this already?)

Kai's all about working native ingredients into a fine dining context, and we had a very nice meal there (albeit, with a problem or two) earlier this year. Observe, cholla bud peeking out from behind buffalo tenderloin:



My impression was more artichoke than asparagus, though it's hard to say with such a fleeting taste. Tepary beans also figured prominently (though not in this dish).

Dmnkly wrote:My impression was more artichoke than asparagus, though it's hard to say with such a fleeting taste. Tepary beans also figured prominently (though not in this dish).

Yes, more artichoke-y. We did have some tepary beans a few months ago -- just fine, though largely indistinguishable from most other beans.

Just wanted to give a little props to my old high school friend (technically longer than that I think), Michael O'Dowd, Executive Chef of Kai at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa in Phoenix for being recognized as one of only 15 Five-Star and Five Diamond Restaurants in the U.S. If anyone is headed to Phoenix, seems like this is a place not to miss. I hope to make it there at some point!!!

I was in Tucson last week and picked some Staghorn Cholla buds, Christmas Cholla buds, and Barrel Cactus fruit. Overall I liked the Cholla buds, but the flavor wasn't overwhelming (Artichoke or Okra seems like a good comparison). I soaked them overnight to remove the spines (though there weren't many on the Staghorn buds) and tried them boiled and roasted by themselves. The texture of both was a little off putting to me (especially the Christmas Cholla), but the flavor was OK. The Barrel Cactus fruit was great though, I'll write some more about that in a separate post.



Barrel Cactus Fruit - Staghorn Cholla Bud - Christmas Cholla Bud