Begin by slicing about one-quarter inch off of the ends of the fruit. Then take your knife and slice the skin of the fruit lengthwise across the top, about one-quarter inch down into the fruit. Use your fingers to pull the skin back off of the fruit. The skin is thin on the outside, but has a thick layer underneath that comes off too.
Peel all of the skin off so that you are left with just the interior pear-shaped piece of fruit. Now that the skin is removed, you can slice up the prickly pear to eat. The prickly pear has small, hard seeds that you cannot bite through, but they are safe to swallow if you prefer.
Or you can chew on the fruit and seeds and spit the seeds out. You can also use a juicer or strainer to remove the seeds.
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Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Learn more about the value of the desert from the experts at Complete Landscaping. Our landscapers know all about the Southwest and the wonders that come from it.
Please call us at to schedule an appointment with our landscaping team. How to Harvest Your Prickly Pear Fruit Prickly pear fruit is one of the natural beauties and tasty takeaways of the Southwestern desert.
Use Proper Tools Using the right tools when handling cactus and its fruit is essential to keeping yourself from injury and maintaining the integrity of the plant. Choose the Right Fruit Only pluck ripened fruit, and never take it off the ground. Pick a Preparation Method Ensure that all your prickly pears are well-rinsed before preparation. Footer Contact Us. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Contact P. Water the plant on a regular basis, and allow time in between watering for the roots to dry out.
Whether you keep this plant inside or out, make sure it gets plenty of light. Rather than watering from a bottom tray, or doing a deep watering, prickly pear does best with top watering. The roots of the prickly pear cactus are fibrous, shallow, and spreading. Stretching just under the surface of the soil allows them to access whatever precipitation falls quickly. The cactus transports water to the fleshy pads, and stores it for drier days Forest Service, There are more than a handful of species in the Opuntia genus.
The different species vary in elevation preference, potential height, fruit, and pad characteristics Desert USA, n. Due to the spiny nature of this plant, it is important to use the proper equipment and a healthy respect when working with the prickly pear. Always wear thick puncture-proof gloves when handling the fruits or the pads. Tongs can be helpful to grasp pads.
Use clippers or a knife to cut pads or fruit from the plant. Always cut at the bottom, where the seam between the two plant parts is visible. To remove the thorns and glochids, you have a couple of options. One is to use tongs to steady the pad on a flat surface while using a knife to scrape the thorns and glochids from the pads. Always scrape the thorns and glochids away from you—and from anyone else for that matter!
If you live in a space where you can safely build a fire in a grill or a fire pit then you may prefer to process your prickly pear over an open flame. To do this, place a grate over the fire, and place the harvested prickly pear fruits or pad over the open flame for a few moments to burn the spines from the plant.
Use tongs to place and remove plant parts from the fire, and use safety measures necessary when working with an open flame. Plunge the pad or fruits into an ice water bath to bring the temperature down, and make them safe to handle immediately. After the prickly parts of the prickly pear are removed, wash the pads.
Use kitchen gloves to avoid coming into contact with any stray remaining glochids. It is best to consume the prickly pear immediately, or store it in the refrigerator for up to a week. Pads and fruits may be frozen for future use. Working with a plant is often just as good a salve for the soul as the constituents housed in the fibers of the plant are for the body.
These gifts can only be obtained with the use of tenderness and attentiveness. This plant reminds us that thoughtfulness and care are important parts of gaining access to the gifts of our relationships with other living beings.
The young pads of the prickly pear are tender and succulent. Buds of the new pads appear in the spring and stretch and flatten themselves out as they grow. Once the pad reaches the size of your hand, or about inches, they are ready to harvest. The mucilaginous inner flesh of the pads is demulcent and soothing to the internal tissues of the digestive system.
Also, the inner flesh of the prickly pear pads can reduce blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. The addition of nopales to a meal has the potential to aid in improving metabolic control for diabetic people. While it will not lower the blood sugar of a healthy person, prickly pear is contraindicated for people on insulin Sanchez, Peter Bigfoot, desert survivalist and bioregional herbalist, teaches participants of his survival classes about the first aid uses of prickly pear cactus.
The pads serve well as a kind of emergency bandage for scrapes and abrasions. To use as a bandage, clean the outside of the pad of thorns and glochids as mentioned above. Then slice the pad, along the edge, into two halves. Place the inner portion of the pad against the wound. The inner flesh of the pad has both a soothing and drawing effect that is excellent for wound care.
Clean and prepare the pads as above. Either place the pad on the burned area and bandage, or scrape the pulp from the center, and spread over larger burned areas such as in cases of sunburn. Prickly pear fruits are a good source of vitamins C, E, and K as well as minerals and amino acids.
The flavonoid and antioxidant profile for this fruit are also impressive and contribute to the benefits we gain from ingesting the delightfully fuschia colored fruit. The fruit juice is added to lemonades and iced teas. You can also use the prickly pear tunas to make Jellies, candies, syrups, popsicles, and salsas. Even the seeds are edible. For candies, syrups, or beverages, you will want to use a cheesecloth to separate the juice from the pulp and seeds which are plentiful.
While nopales and cactus tunas are not exactly mainstream market staples, they are at least seasonally common in Mexican goods markets. Find one in your area, and scope out the produce section.
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