Pickly Pears!

I have cactus on my land which had yellow flowers in the Spring and now has what looks like pickly pears they are going more red with time. If they are pickly pears can I eat them? And is there any special/good way of preparing them?

I believe that's "prickly pears"

and I have no idea.

I know how to pick them, carefully they have really fine prickles!

I've never had prickly pear fresh, but have bought it from the store.  You have to peel off the entire thick outer layer with the thorns (wear heavy gloves!), and the fruit inside is pink.  You can eat it raw. 

Cool thanks, I've never eaten them fresh either I'll have to try them when they look ready. I'll also have to track down a calorie count although I woudn't have thought they'd be that high being predominately water?

Thx

 

For some reason these things are called "tunas," too. The most common use for them that I'm aware of is as jelly or syrup. The flavor isn't all that strong, but the color is pretty. Calorie-wise, I imagine they're similar to the cactus pads (nopales or nopalitos), but probably higher in sugar?

I love these! My dad used to peel some for us when we were little and we'd eat them raw (honestly didn't even know people prepared them). The way we peel them is to cut off the top and the bottom then cut a vertical line from top to bottom only cutting the skin. Its messy work but afterwards we just simply slid our fingers between the skin and the fruit and discarded the skin. Only downside are the seeds.

Thank you.

Are the seeds poisonous? Like in persimmons (Nispero)? Or just unpalatable? I'm definitely going to try some. I am lucky I have an almond orchard, table grape vine, lemon tree and now I discover  cactus i can eat :o) Plus by mis-spelling the name originally I got everyone’s attention :o) Thanks guys I appreciate your help and if you’re ever in Spain, you know where to come for prickly pear!!!!

When I first moved to Tucson, I used to steal them from all over the place (neighbors yards, ranches, *cough* parks...)

You can totally eat them!  Be sure to get good rubber glove to pick them with (that the spines can't penetrate).  Be brave...you will probably get stuck a few times anyway as the spines are tiny and hard to completely avoid.

 

You can eat them more or less raw.  Best way to peel them that I know of is to blanch them in boiling water for 20-30 seconds to soften the spines then take a sharp knife and peel them quickly again using rubber gloves.  Make sure you get off all the outside as the spines will reharden in 30-60 sec.  There is nothing bad about the seeds, they are just very hard, so watch your teeth.

 

Experiment with different ripenesses too!  Bright red are more apple-like.  Dark red are much sweeter.  Both kinds have juice that stains a lot (think dark pomegrantes) the riper the fruit, the more vibrant the juice so watch your clothes...I guarantee you will end up with stained fingers if you eat them with your hands, but that's okay :)

 

You can also cook the fruit (again removing the spiny outside as described) and use it as you would any other fruit in baking or jelly.

 

Also, the nopalitos (the green pads of the cactus) are edible.  Remove the spines (easier on the pads than on the fruit since they are larger and more spaced out).  If eating raw, I recommend peeling and slivering into a salad...it's a taste I don't personally care for and they can be slimy, but worth trying.

 

But you can also cook the nopalitos!  (I much prefer them cooked)  If you slice them up, they go great in stir fry or mixed with peppers and onions in fajitas.

 

Look online for recipes also.

Although do please make sure they are prickly pears!  Most cactuses are not poisonous, but they can really upset your stomach.

i think of the seedsas being more like pomagranet seeds... too small to do anything more than swollow. Theyre not poisenous or anything. I do recomend you use tong to gather the fruits and then take them home and use a stove burner to burn the thorns off. You can use a lighter or something but its much harder lol. Then cut top and bottom and slit up the side, or cut into quarters. They are really yummy... and make a great sorbet if you cook them, strain thru a cheesecloth (and squeeze! get all the juice!) and put in an ice cream amker with a bit of sugar and lemon juice. YUUUMMMY!