Harvesting Mesquite - Milling into Powder / Flour
I've been around Mesquite off and on for years but never thought of using the pods as a powder / flour with nutritional value until moving back to Arizona; in fact that's when I found out you could eat Palo Verde Pods. Mesquite is a high protein source, has trace minerals, gluten free, diabetic friendly, tastes great and more. To think, I just thought of all the wonderful flavor enhanced foods when grilling with mesquite wood made and that wonderful smell - my my my! But God always gives us more in His creation and to benefit our health. :) BTW - on grilling I also heard you can use unused pods for smoking also - humm I may try that ~
The pods ripen throughout summer. Around here they're the plumpest after the Monsoon have been through. "Simply more moisture!" :) You pick when they're dry and yellowish in color (around our house) though they can been reddish on some varieties. They also come off easily when you pick off the tree - a slight pull will do. Like picking apples when they are ready, though some pods just fall off with the slightest touch. :) You also want to pick pods free of any mold etc. The best of them indeed and if there a little damp from monsoonal action allow to dry through - I place mine in our dehydrator.
Milling Mesquite is different and I don't have the proper mill - "one tough enough" to handle the job. The pod are simply to hard, that is the seeds inside are. So I use a blender to get the outer surroundings off the seeds. Our old blender needs replaced part that are on back order and we broke down and purchased the Kitchen Aid above. It truly handles the task!
You'll need to blend and sift several times to remove the seeds and get the flour to the consistency desired. Above the seeds and of course below what the start of Mesquite flour looks like - yet not there yet. :D
Mesquite is sweet and the flour is slightly sticky - the flour should be like what is sticking to the side of blender.
Several trays I used to dehydrated the pods - making sure all moisture was removed. The pods are taken up mostly with seeds and since you only use the other shell it takes many to get a couple cups. It's work but I think it's worth it - I only wished I had more time to gather more. I also wished I had an actual mill that could do the trick or at least a job better then my hand mill and faster then the blender - though awesome ~
Below are more great links:
Mesquite, The Rediscovered Food Phenomenon
Mesquite Harvesting and Processing - Desert Harvest
Accidental Brilliance Benefits - Cool site though I don't agree with "accidental" :)
Mesquite Powder Benefits, Tips and Recipes
The pods ripen throughout summer. Around here they're the plumpest after the Monsoon have been through. "Simply more moisture!" :) You pick when they're dry and yellowish in color (around our house) though they can been reddish on some varieties. They also come off easily when you pick off the tree - a slight pull will do. Like picking apples when they are ready, though some pods just fall off with the slightest touch. :) You also want to pick pods free of any mold etc. The best of them indeed and if there a little damp from monsoonal action allow to dry through - I place mine in our dehydrator.
Milling Mesquite is different and I don't have the proper mill - "one tough enough" to handle the job. The pod are simply to hard, that is the seeds inside are. So I use a blender to get the outer surroundings off the seeds. Our old blender needs replaced part that are on back order and we broke down and purchased the Kitchen Aid above. It truly handles the task!
You'll need to blend and sift several times to remove the seeds and get the flour to the consistency desired. Above the seeds and of course below what the start of Mesquite flour looks like - yet not there yet. :D
Mesquite is sweet and the flour is slightly sticky - the flour should be like what is sticking to the side of blender.
Several trays I used to dehydrated the pods - making sure all moisture was removed. The pods are taken up mostly with seeds and since you only use the other shell it takes many to get a couple cups. It's work but I think it's worth it - I only wished I had more time to gather more. I also wished I had an actual mill that could do the trick or at least a job better then my hand mill and faster then the blender - though awesome ~
Below are more great links:
Mesquite, The Rediscovered Food Phenomenon
Mesquite Harvesting and Processing - Desert Harvest
Accidental Brilliance Benefits - Cool site though I don't agree with "accidental" :)
Mesquite Powder Benefits, Tips and Recipes
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