Prosopis glandulosa (Texas)

HONEY MESQUITE

July 6, 2022

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The honey mesquite is a leguminous medium-sized tree with thorns native to the deserts of Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. In some areas it presents as a low growing shrub forming dense thickets that are used as refuge by wildlife. Tree specimens average 20-30 feet in height and develop unique twisting trunks with drooping branches.

Honey mesquite also possess a very deep taproot (up to 100 ft.) to reach underground water, and this makes it well adapted to arid environments. Both trees and shrubs have feathery foliage and pale, yellow-colored flowers that bloom in spring from which long tubular bean pods develop. The magenta-mottled seed pods remind me of giant wax beans.

TRADITIONAL USES & HERBAL BENEFITS

The English name mesquite has been borrowed from mezquita, a Spanish word, which itself is borrowed from the Nahuatl name for this tree, mizquitl. For indigenous people of the region, mesquite was, and remains, an extremely important plant with numerous uses.

• Trunk/branches: firewood; manufacturing bows, arrows, mortars and furniture
• Roots: used to flavor drinks
• Thorns: awls and for tattooing
• Sap: snack; glue; dye; medicinal tea for sore throats, stomach aches and tooth aches
• Leaves: medicinal tea used as an eyewash or orally for head and stomach aches
• Flowers: tea
• Beans: ground to make flour for bread or pancakes; fermented into a beverage; immature seedpods are cooked, then squeezed to produce a summer beverage

Contemporary use of mesquite flour continues to this day and can be purchased from a number of online specialty grocers. The flour is said to be a flavorful, gluten-free alternative that is low-fat, high-fiber, packed with protein, and contains many other important nutrients including calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and zinc.

SAFETY ALERT

RECIPE

I chewed on a pod (gently – the seeds are like rocks) and I confirmed it was sweet. It was wild foods chef, Hank Shaw’s recipe for Mesquite Bean Syrup that I had to try.

1. Break up the pods and steep in water using a slow-cooker for 24 hours (ratio of 1 gallon of water to 1 pound of beans).
2. Don’t boil the water as higher temperatures extract tannins and other bitter compounds from the pods. Shaw states, “Slow and low is the key.”

The next afternoon, I had a dark chocolate-colored liquid that I now needed to reduce to a syrup by leaving the lid off the slow-cooker on low.

However, every time I was in the camper with the mesquite beans simmering, I developed a persistent dry cough. A little research and I discovered that mesquite is a primary allergen in this region.

I turned the slow-cooker off and set it aside for the night. The next day I set the slow-cooker up outside on a picnic table where it is less likely to bother me. I had about 24 ounces of liquid that I left on low for 14 hours.

Sadly, the liquid did not condense into a syrup like others reported would happen. It’s possible I didn’t break up the beans enough resulting in fewer sugars in my broth (the more surface area of a plant exposed when making a decoction the stronger the final product). After 4 days of fiddling around, I was left with 16 ounces of thin watery mesquite broth that was sweet, but with an element of bitterness that was reminiscent of dark chocolate.

And desperately needed to be a syrup.

So I added brown sugar at a 1:1 ratio because I thought the caramel flavor would compliment the mesquite, and brought it to a boil on the stovetop. After 10 minutes and a cool down period, I had a nice mesquite bean syrup with a complex flavor that is a bit hard to describe but reminds me of coffee, cinnamon, chocolate and caramel. It would be delicious on pancakes or vanilla ice cream.

As I mentioned, this whole process took 4 days so by now we are camping in New Mexico. There our neighbors generously gave us some wild-caught salmon filets which gave me an idea.

Mesquite Soy Glazed Salmon

1. Season salmon with salt, pepper and crushed garlic.
2. In a saucepan, combine mesquite bean syrup and soy sauce at a 2:1 ratio.
3. Add red pepper flakes to taste and simmer on the stove.
4. Grill salmon while basting frequently with mesquite soy glaze.

Joe was a bit apprehensive after watching Operation Syrup for days. As a backup, I also made the other filet with a lime caper sauce. However, we both agreed that we liked the mesquite soy salmon better – the grill caramelized the glaze to perfection.

References

California Native Plant Society. (n.d.) Honey mesquite: Prosopis glandulosa. https://calscape.org/Prosopis-glandulosa-()

DesertUSA. (n.d). Cooking with mesquite beans. https://www.desertusa.com/lil/Mesquite-Beans-recipes-lil.html

Edible Wild Food. (n.d.). Honey mesquite: Prosopis glandulosa. https://www.ediblewildfood.com/honey-mesquite.aspx