Depending on the cactus variety, pads, buds, flowers, fruit and seeds may be edible. Nopales are most likely to be found in markets; most other items need to be carefully and responsibly foraged or obtained from a specialty provider like Natives Seeds/ SEARCH (barrel cactus seeds), Cheri’s Desert Harvest (prickly pear syrup) or San Xavier Co-op Farm (cholla buds). For cactus pads, high and dry heat minimizes the “slime” factor.

VISIT: ediblephoenix.com/foraged for recipes.