Ingredient Spotlight: Mesquite Beans & Flour

Most people are familiar with the use of mesquite firewood for barbecuing, but did you know the tree has edible pods, too? Flour made from the ground beans is becoming more readily available, and if you live in the Southwest, where mesquite trees grow, you can harvest your own beans now or later this year.

Although mesquite beans and flour were an important food for many Native American tribes, they had been been largely forgotten since the late 19th century. Now, more people are rediscovering and enjoying mesquite's sweet, smoky flavor.

The long seed pods may be harvested when green (some varieties are also streaked with red) and cooked into a sweet syrup for pancakes, while the dry, tan-colored pods (listen for a rattle when shaken) may be ground into a delicious, gluten-free flour. Use this in bread, cookies, and other baked goods, or as a spice for meat or vegetables. For mesquite bean harvesting directions and recipes, see Desert Tropicals and DesertUSA. Also be sure to check out 101 Cookbooks' recipe for Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Packaged flour may also be purchased from Casa de Fruta, Native Seeds, and La Tienda.

(Images: Flickr members grrlscout224 and cogdogblog used by permission)

Comments (11)

Growing up in Texas, mesquite beans grew everywhere...no one ever considered eating them! Then again, gluten-free wasn't hip at the time.

I've got two in my front yard right now, if anyone wants to, you know, come harvest the pods that have fallen from them. :)

(The flour really is fantastic.)

Note that mesquite is a legume, so people with peanut allergies should be cautious. Having said that, I had some roasted (I think) mesquite beans at a botanical garden a while back and they were delicious!

My dog loves mesquite pod season. It's her favorite treat.

LibrariNerd, are you talking about the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix? They have a big mortar and pestle worn from stone and you can grind the pods to taste the flour. I think once a year they also have a big agave roasting event.

Wow...like Cbina, I lived in Texas and these things were annoying as dandelions (if you're annoyed by dandelions). They always seemed to be sticky, too, from the pods. Who knew??

Agree with Nikki, I have a huge mesquite tree in my yard. My mum use to eat them as a kid I've tried it but don't really care for the taste. And word of caution don't wear flip flops while these are sticking out of the ground. One time one went right through my sandal! ouch.

@sturgeongeneral yes! I think that was it. However it was prepared, it was surprisingly good!

You can buy mesquite meal and other goodies online at the wonderful Native Seed Search store. I'm never without their chipotle chile flakes and wonderful bean varieties they grow (to sell and preserve) at their farm south of Tucson.

http://www.nativeseeds.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=5&osCsid=urvb43b8g97kj6ggi9dc21cd07

Good afternoon,

I am the partner in Casa de Mesquite (formerly Casa de Fruta) that is a major supplier of mesquite flour. We have had our mesquite flour tested for soy, peanut and gliadin allergens by the international testing company Silliker and they have found no allergens for any of these products. However it must be realized that our pods are made from the sweet pulpy portion of the pods and not the seeds that may contain similar allergens to peanuts and soybeans.

We have also had our flour tested for aflatoxins and it is negative for this as well

Please email me Peter_Felker@hotmail.com if you would like to see the analysis or have other technical questions

Peter

The Desert Harvesters' (Tucson) website also has tons of useful information on harvesting and processing mesquite beans, as well as recipes using the flour: http://www.desertharvesters.org/harvesting-processing/

So far I have about 10 gallons harvested, and they keep on coming!