How do you know when mesquite beans are ready to harvest?
Mesquite beans can normally be harvested between June and September. You can tell if the pod is ripe. It should snap when you break it and vary in color from light brown to red or purple. Only harvest the pods that are dry. The best trees will produce a sweet-tasting pod.
How do you use mesquite beans in cooking?
You'll find mesquite beans sold as a flour, which is actually quite versatile. You can use it in meat and vegetable-based dishes and desserts. If cooking meat or vegetables, experiment with sprinkling a little bit on top of when cooking to add a bit of sweetness to the dish.
What is mesquite milled beans?
Milling is a process by which the mesquite beans are pulverized into a protein-rich powder very similar to flour. The entire bean is milled – the brown husk is where the flavor is and the hard seeds inside are protein rich.
How do you harvest mesquite pods?
Collect mesquite pods in September and October, discard the light or hollow ones and retain the full or heavier ones. Dry in the sun, or in the oven on low heat, until pods are crumbly, then grind in blender or food processor. This can be difficult because the seeds are much harder than the pods.
How do you harvest and prepare mesquite beans?
Grab one of the beans from the tree, snap it in half and nibble on the end. It should taste sweet and be very palatable. If it doesn't sing in your mouth, move on to the next tree. Step two is to harvest handfuls off of the tree into a bucket (remember NO beans should come from the ground).
What do you do with mesquite beans?
Flour made from mesquite bean pods has a sweet and nutty taste and has been used to make low-glycemic breads, pancakes, and tortillas. It is also gluten-free. The health benefits of mesquite bean pods include managing weight, regenerating muscles, regulating digestion, lowering blood pressure, and controlling diabetes.
How do you make mesquite beans into flour?
Snap off any part of the mesquite pod that's been bored into by insects. Toast mesquite pods until they're golden and fragrant before grinding. Break toasted mesquite pods into smaller pieces before grinding. Grind toasted mesquite pods in a blender, food processor, grain mill or other device.
Can you eat the beans from a mesquite tree?
You can pop them right off the branch and eat the pods like jumbo green beans, or mash them into a fine powder to make flour, jelly, or even cocktails. See, Skittles do grow from trees. They're just a little uglier.
When can you eat mesquite beans?
From late June through September, pods of the mesquite tree begin to ripen into a yellow-beige or purple color. That's the time to harvest them for eating right there or to dry and mill into flour. Sharon O'Brien remembers eating mesquite pods as a child as a curiosity and a summer treat.
Can you eat the sap from a mesquite tree?
It is not only edible, but sweet and chewy and was collected, saved and then used to dose ill children, rather like a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. Mesquite sap was used to treat diarrhea.
How do you dry mesquite beans?
Collect mesquite pods in September and October, discard the light or hollow ones and retain the full or heavier ones. Dry in the sun, or in the oven on low heat, until pods are crumbly, then grind in blender or food processor.
How healthy is mesquite flour?
Mesquite is a high-protein, highly nutritious food, rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and lysine. 3 Studies have shown that diets rich in potassium, an essential mineral and electrolyte, can help to prevent stroke and high blood pressure, and increase bone mineral density.
How long does mesquite flour last?
six monthsStore mesquite flour in a lidded glass jar in a cool, dark place. The flour should stay fresh for up to six months.
Do deer eat mesquite beans?
Many browse plants produce mast deer eat readily. For exam- ple, mesquite beans can be a very common food item during the summer months in South Texas.
Do cows eat mesquite?
Mesquite beans primarily affect cattle, although goats have also been affected. Sheep are reportedly resistant. Horses that eat the beans may be susceptible to impaction colic. In some ways, the syndrome produced by a diet of mesquite beans is best considered a nutritional problem.
What do you cook with mesquite?
Mesquite wood is the best wood for smoking dark meats that can stand up to the strong flavor of mesquite, such as Texas-style brisket, wild game meat, duck, lamb, and Tex-Mex barbacoa. Try mesquite coals for grilling steaks, vegetables, and other quick-cooking, flavorful foods.
How do you eat mesquite?
1:0111:17Mesquite Beans: How to Eat - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipI usually just like kind of chew on the stick like you know kind of like a little like a sucker orMoreI usually just like kind of chew on the stick like you know kind of like a little like a sucker or something. But you have to be careful chewing this chew it very lightly. And what you're gonna try to
Are Mesquite beans sweet?
Their branches, spiked with two-inch thorns, hold desert-colored, seed-hugging beans that rattle when they're ready to pick. If you break one open and put it in your mouth, it tastes lightly sweet.
What is mesquite used for in food?
Today, mesquite is most commonly used as a flavoring for many of our favorite foods, and is used across the Southwest, Mexico, Argentina, Greece, The Middle East, and India. The pods are often ground and used to marinate meat for grilling, but many people cook with mesquite wood, as well.
How to Easily Harvest and Process Mesquite Pods at Home
It’s midway through our hot desert summer here in Arizona. This year (2018) seems to have been especially dry and hot. Despite the lack of moisture and oppressive heat, there are some plants and trees that don’t seem to mind the long wait for late summer monsoon rain. Among those is the ever-ubiquitous mesquite tree.
History
A hundred years ago during the dawn of modern-day settlers to the low desert valleys, there were once dense mesquite forests known as “bosques”. These bosques occurred anywhere where there was moisture found in the soil (and expanded their region as agricultural ditches, flooding, and cattle ranching spread the ideal range of the trees.
Tree of Life
The native mesquite tree varieties have long been valued as an ethnobotanical gem by ancient peoples who used every part of the tree.
The Pods
Among all of the valuable offerings of the mesquite tree, our focus today is on its sweet pods, which will be the emphasis of the remainder of this post. I have long been aware that mesquite pods produce a nutritious flour and have even had some recipes made from such, but not all mesquite species produce valuable pods.
Harvesting
This year I decided that with a little extra effort added to the cleanup of the pods, I would give mesquite flour a try. Since then I have come to find out that in the dry heat of June is usually the very BEST time to harvest them. Before I tell you what I did with them I want to make it clear that timing your harvest is important.
Processing
The processing of the pods turned out to be WAY easier than I had expected. But don’t get ahead of yourself. You will see, as you collect your pods, that there are likely many holes in them. These are exit holes of the harmless bruchid beetle.
Nutritional Value
Mesquite is well known as a superfood with great nutrition, some of which are fiber, protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Many recipes have you cook the mesquite flour, however, we have recently learned that mesquite is easier to digest raw than cooked (and the flavor is milder).
What Are Mesquite Beans?
Mesquite beans are the bean-shaped pods of mesquite trees. Commonly found in the southwestern United States and Latin America, the trees bloom every fall. Years ago, mesquite bean flour (made from milling the pods) was a staple ingredient for many Indigenous peoples.
How to Cook With Mesquite Beans
You'll find mesquite beans sold as a flour, which is actually quite versatile. You can use it in meat and vegetable-based dishes and desserts. If cooking meat or vegetables, experiment with sprinkling a little bit on top of when cooking to add a bit of sweetness to the dish. You can also mix a couple of tablespoons into chili.
What Does It Taste Like?
Mesquite bean powder (or flour) has a mild, sweet, nutty, molasses-like flavor with a touch of caramel and a hint of chocolate.
Mesquite Bean Flour Recipes
Swap mesquite bean flour for all-purpose flour in cookie and brownie recipes for a gluten-free alternative or add a tablespoon to your favorite chili recipe to counter the spice with a touch of nutty sweetness.
Where to Buy Mesquite Bean Flour?
Mesquite bean flour or powder is most commonly found online. Shop for the flour from Amazon, Casa de Mesquite and Desert USA. Prices start at around $10 for a pound of flour, which can also be bought in bulk.
Storage
Transfer mesquite bean flour to a food-grade container with a tight-sealing lid, to keep it from absorbing moisture, odors, and flavors from other foods and to ensure that pests can’t get into it. The flour should stay good in a cool, dry place for up to six months.
Step 1
Obtain mature and fully dried mesquite seed pods from a parent tree. Split the pods open to obtain the beans within, which are brown and hard. Examine the beans for damage. Dispose of the empty pod and any damaged beans.
Step 2
Boil 1 quart of water in a cooking pot. Remove the pot from the stove and submerge the mesquite beans into the water. Allow the beans to sit overnight.
Step 3
Fill the cells of a seed tray with a good seed starter soil to within 1/4 inch of the top of each cell. Place one bean in each cell. Cover the beans with soil and press the soil down gently. Water the seeds so that the soil is damp, but not wet.
Step 4
Insert the seed tray in a large zip-top plastic bag. Poke holes in the bag with the pencil. Seal the bag. Place the tray in a warm and bright place away from direct sun to encourage the beans to germinate.
Step 5
Check the mesquite seeds after 2 or 3 weeks to see if they have sprouted. Look for the seed leaves, called cotyledons, to emerge from the old seed coat first. Remove the bag, once the seedlings appear. Water as needed to keep the soil damp.
Step 6
Transplant each seedling to a 1-gallon pot filled with potting soil, after the seedlings have 3 to 4 true leaves on them above the cotyledons. Water as needed to keep the soil moist.
Step 7
When the saplings have reached 2 to 3 feet in height, plant them outdoors, or in a larger pot for indoor planting.
