Montezuma’s Castle was a place I had visited before, in the
early 70’s, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to replace that memory with a new
one. On the other hand I was in the area
and it was supposed to be good birding there, so why not. It wasn’t as grand as I remembered and I had
to check out a few facts with the ranger.
I remembered climbing up into the ruins but now it was not allowed, so
was my memory playing a trick on me.
Nope, the ranger said at that time they did allow visitors to go into
one section. I guess it pays to get to places early as you can.
Englemann’s Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia phaeacantha), the
most common of Arizona’s prickly pear varieties, is one I have actually tasted
in jelly form. The sign at the visitor
center stated that “after removing the spines, the pads – called nopalitos in Spanish – are roasted,
steamed, pickled, or fried and are believed to promote good digestive health.
The fruits, or tunas, are gathered,
cleaned, boiled, and mashed to create red dye and jelly. My parents used to
live in Tucson and there I tasted the jelly which isn’t bad if you like sugar,
other than that I don’t remember much of a taste.
I picked strawberries and made jam this weekend. It was a lot of work, so I can't imagine how labor intensive that prickly pear jelly must be. When you live in the desert, desserts must be hard to come by so you make the most of what you can. Sugar can make anything palatable almost.
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