Fruta del Sol

Las tunas

To walk outside these days is to lose one’s will to live … it’s that hot. Yet, in the midst of the swelter, some of the prickliest of the Rancho’s cactuses are bringing forth fruit. Las tunas — Spanish for what Americans call cactus apples or prickly pears — are in season now and their colors are gorgeous.

In the Rancho’s harvest, the largest of the fruit were produced by Cereus peruvianus. When I first spied them from the car they seemed so dark I thought they were black. But taking a closer look I found them to be deepest purple and raisin with traces of blue-violet; a long black string trailing from one end.  Called “pitaya” and “Peruvian apple”, this variety of cereus is actually native to Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, despite its name. The large green tunas in the photo are the fruit of Opuntia engelmannii, the “cow’s tongue prickly pear” cactus. These tunas are not yet ripe; if they were ready, they would be plump and deep red-purple. The medium-sized red-maroon fruit studded with gold spots, is that of Opuntia paragueayensis. My specimen produces many bright orange blossoms as well as richly hued fruit, sometimes at the same time. All of these tunas are eaten in Mexico and other Latin countries, and are made into syrups, jams and candies. Click here to go to a brief guide to tunas and their uses from the pages of my favorite food magazine,  Saveur.

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When I was a kid and heard my grandfather call cactus fruit tunas, my first thought was, “So, what’s the Spanish word for tuna, the fish?!” In case you’re wondering the same thing, it’s atun, and pronounced, ah-toon. Go figure.