Fruit bearing cacti

does anyone have any edible fruit bearing cacti or has anyone read any references to cactus fruit being used?
We have a few Opuntias, ficus-indica of course (allways room for more), all the others are noxious weeds in Qld. Got a few Epi's that produce very nice fruit & the ubiquitous dragon fruits.

I have a book of recipes for cactus fruit and pads and a friend makes a fantastic cactus wine!!

Cereus Peruvianus has edible frut along with Trichocereus. I'm not sure how palitable they would be?

Hylo is the best for fruit I've seen.

cactus wine? sounds nice. to bad i dont drink anymore. i wouldnt mind trying to make it though, does your friend have a recipe gracie?

many species have nice fruit. Cereus, trichocereus, hylocereus, myrtillocactus, opuntia sellinocereus (i always forget the spelling of that one!) etc. i think all cacti fruits are likely at least -ok- tasting, just gotta find a nice fleshy one that is big

Hellonasty, i think so too...dragon fruit is ...........................................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........................

Im a bit cautious about Trich's given what some Ppl use them for, happy to use them for grafting stocks though. You can "improve" the flavor of at least some by keeping the water up to them and feeding some sulphate of potash, definately works with Epi's & Cereus Sp? (no idear which Cereus it is but the fruit taste like lemon mango)
Whats the title of your book Gracie? sounds like it could be a winner with the boss.
Currently i have plants and or seedlings of hylocereus undatus "red flesh", (i'd still like to get the white fleshed one); Selenicereus megalanthus; Cereus, Neoraimondia herzogiana a couple of Echinocereus and a few assorted Epi's. We've even tried a few Mamm's; be carefull of the milky sapped ones.

Trichocereus spachianus is about the only tricho i have found to have nice fruit, the rest are pretty bland imo. I like cereus fruit, there is an exceptional one at Fields garden.

Cereus jamacaru have good fruit i have not tried C. peruvianus but i assume its similar

Mammillaria fruit is edible, most taste like somewhat like strawberries ranging from very bland to delicious. The flowers of Mammillarias are also edible and often taste very sweet provided you get the whole flower. the base usually has nectar.
I have also tried the fruit of melocactus and it was alright.
Also Epithelantha fruit is okay, some people claim you can get certain effects from consuming heaps but this bulls*it. I'd rather keep the seeds for sowing. I am also a tad cautious about Trichs in general other than as grafting stocks to mate... i did try T.spachianus and it tasted alright. hylocereus undatus is of course good and the yellow/white fruited one is supposed to be even better.
the best cactus fruit of all is reputed to be that of Echinocereus stramineus.

Would love to get a cutting from the exceptional Cereus from Fields garden PD.
Interesting to hear about the Epithelantha, bugger though, i gave away all but 2 of my seedlings because i wasnt game to try them.
Selenicereus is very good allthough a good clone of H undatus is better, the yellows are far too sweet for my taste. The kids love em though.
There does seem to be a huge amount of variation from clone to clone, out of the 5 Mamm bocasana seedling we kept, 4 tasted like sweet nothing but the 5th tastes like pineapple/banana.
Apparently my next mission is to make a seperator so the we can have speck free jams, fruit leathers & cordials & i can keep the seed.

shortly wrote:

be carefull of the milky sapped ones.

theres something wrong with the fruit of the milky sapped ones

I'm just very suspect of any plant that produces latex. after all its a chemical deterant to stop things eating it, they dont often poison their fruits but id rather not find out which is which by sticking it in my mouth.
There is lots of conflicting info out there so when it comes to latex & alkaloids Discretion is the better part of valor.
I'll just stick to looking at the latex producing Mamm's.

Oh phew... i eat my acceptable tasting Mammillaria mystax fruit and flowers occassionally and it has white latex. no ill effects there. I doubt even the milky sap of these is poisonous, they aren't euphorbias or anything. although admittedly i wouldn't be the first to volunteer to drink the latex, only eat the fruit. MmmMmmammillaria.

recipe book is from the american cactus and succulent society 1978.

as we are talking about optunia subulata...
small round sections of opuntia subulata taken at the stem tip make a decorative as well as tasty addition to a green or vegetable salad.
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The new tender shoots of Trichocereuss spachianus, peeled and diced can be added to a vegetable salad.
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Epiphyllum salad.
the peeled red fruit of Epiphyllums especially" Rosetta" make a delicious addition to fruit and vegetable salads.
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Night Blooming CEREI
The ripe fruit, peeled, of the Night Blooming CEREI can be used in fruit and vegetable salads, for added colour and flavour.
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(submitted to recipe book by Mrs "Cactus Pete")
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Torch CACTUS sorbet.
Use a basic icecream or sherbet recipe, mixing in a blender, then adding the frozen fruits of Trichocereus spachianus. when smooth and creamy, eat at once.
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Strawberries.
most of the Echinocereus species fruitts are juicy, rich in sugar, and may be eaten like strawberries.
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Cereus Peruvianus candied fruit peel.
Remove peel from fruit, cut into small strips and wash. Place in a pan in a small amount of water. For 2 cups peel add 1 and half cups sugar. Cook slowly. when cooked enough to be transparent, and the syrup is thick, take strips of peel out of pan, separate and lay on wax paper to dry out. turn over several times until dry enought to handle.
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these are just a few, there are lots fro Opuntia pads and fruit. jams, omlettes, patties , cakes, breads, salads, drinks etc.
hope this makes members try some .. me I cant wait to try my opuntia pads.
that s one way to keep the plant size under control.

this link has very good information on cactus fruits.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cacti/msg0618271414150.html

Pereskia aculeata is supposed to have good fruit, and has been named the 'Barbados Gooseberry'.
Rhipsalis fruit is also edible.. the ones i tasted were very bland though.

Dragon fruit [Hylocereus undatus]. I have one small piece but it is readily available here. A chap comes into the markets on Thursdays and will being me any amount if I let him know the day before.

SELENICEREUS MEGALANTHUS!!!

Pitahaya/yellow pitaya
sometimes called 'yellow dragonfruit'

omg.. by far and large the best fruit you will ever taste from a cactus. far superior to hylocereus undatus IMO.

also this produces the largest flowers of all cacti!

Found this mob on the web, dunno if they are still trading but their page looks interesting none the less.

http://desert-feast.com/cact_n_z/sc_stell.html

Nice link, shortly. It's quite good to be able to browse through that list of plants.

Lewis, have you found anyone who sells S. megalanthus plants? It's one species that I'd really love to try growing.

i have this one - i recently propagated it from seeds. i could try and get you a fruit or a cut (lady at markets sells them) or could send you one of mine when they are a bit bigger
edit: yellow pitaya is what im talkin about

Cheers for the offer mate, but another member here has already helped me out.

I'm really excited about growing this plant, although I suspect Melbourne weather may impede growth and flowering somewhat.

oh goodo. you've got yourself a challenge there! they are really nice fruit, like a kiwi thats not at all sour with a softer texture. mmmm

Well, I'm moving into a new place soon, and one little project I have in mind is setting up a small greenhouse in which to grow fruit-bearing cacti. I've got indian fig, both the red and pearl dragonfruit and now yellow dragonfruit, so come summer time I should be able to get a reasonable crop.

A fresh, chilled dragonfruit for breakfast has to be one of the best and most refreshing ways to start the day...