Avoid the second harvest

on SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

One of the first Baja books I purchased was the Baja California Plant Field Guide. I’ll admit I have been known to curl up on the couch and read it for fun. Sometimes, the writers add little nuggets of history about the plants and was just this situation when I learned the intriguing history of Pitahaya Dulce the fruit of the cactus Stenocereus thurberi aka Organ Pipe Cactus.

Baja is arid and the native people didn’t have a lot to eat most times. So when the rains come and the cactus flower and fruit, a kind of festival-like atmosphere would commence. This was a time of gluttony and hedonism. The women would craft fruit harvesters out of lengths of cactus skeletons with a hook at the end to pluck the ripe fruit off the tops of the plants. They literally had to watch their backs while harvesting else a randy brave sneak up behind them. I suspect the tribes had a seasonal trend of babies born about 9 months after the harvest.

During this season, the tribe would also defecate in a particular place near the trail – and here’s where we get to the fun facts. Apparently, they come back past this spot after their wanderings and sift the seeds out to make a paste similar to peanut butter. This was called the second harvest. Unsurprisingly, the Spanish and Jesuits were disgusted by this practice and highly discouraged the practice. While I think I’ll avoid the second harvest, I think it is pretty ingenious and definitely helps sustain the tribes through some lean times.

The fruit is lightly sweet and a beautiful crimson/fuschia color. Recently, we stopped by the ice cream store in town and they had a sorbet that I tried. It reminded me a bit of a light raspberry with current notes. The seeds were tiny and black and crunchy which added an interesting texture. Definitely worth a try if you see it!