A series of articles discusses common tropical fruits from A-Z. In this article you will find all information, including origin, processing, use and cultivation of the tropical fruit prickly pear.
Originally the prickly pear, also known as desert fig or sabra, comes from Mexico. The fact that the fruit occupies an important place is apparent from the fact that the fig is incorporated into the coat of arms of Mexico. Thanks to Spanish sailors, the fruit ended up in southern Europe. Here the fruit started to become very popular and quickly took on an important place as a cultivated crop.
The prickly pear grows on the disc cactus, the Opuntia ficus-indica. This cactus can grow up to 4 meters high and has fleshy, disc-shaped and thorny leaves. In the spring, the cactus begins to have yellow flowers, after which fruiting takes place. Initially the fruits are green, but as time goes by they turn orange-red. The inside (the flesh) is also orange and has small black seeds. The fruits themselves are ovoid and vary from 7 – 10 cm.
Several varieties of the prickly pear are now available, including the pitahaya. This is a large red scaly prickly pear without spines. The flesh is deep purple with black seeds as well.
Finally, there is also an orange-yellow variant, which has no spines but knobs. Unlike the aforementioned varieties, this one has translucent flesh with black seeds.
If you have never eaten a prickly pear, then you are naturally curious about the taste. The taste can best be compared to that of a pear. It is not called prickly pear in English for nothing. Sweet and a little sour, but above all wonderfully fresh and fruity. Incidentally, the seeds can also be eaten.
Prickly pears are particularly healthy and contain no less than 25 mg of vitamin C. This amount corresponds to 24% of the daily recommended amount. In addition, the fig contains a lot of B-carotene. Iron is also present, although the amount is not too bad. In addition to all kinds of other substances, it is also worth noting that the fig contains no less than 31% of the daily recommended amount of magnesium.
Do you suffer from stress or a reduced resistance? Could you use a little more concentration? Then the prickly pear is highly recommended. A nice side effect:the vitamin C that is present enhances the effect of fluoxetine, making the fig a natural antidepressant.
Now that you know which important substances the fruit contains, it might also be fun to see what you can use the prickly pear for:
The fruit is ripe when it feels soft. You can check this by gently pressing the peel. Depending on the season, different colors of prickly pear are available. The red pitahaya is often not so easy to find.
After purchase, the prickly pears can be kept for about 1 week. For this you have to keep the fig in the fridge. The fruit is tastiest when eaten completely chilled.
PLEASE NOTE:a prickly pear has barbs that get stuck in the skin and can cause nasty inflammations (sadly speaking from experience!). So never handle the prickly pear with bare hands!
It is easiest to handle the fig with a tea towel or even better with gloves. Before use, rub the fruit under running water with a brush to remove the barbs. You can then score the peel and remove it easily. You can then cut the fruit into cubes or slices.
Do you think all this is too much work? Then you can also just halve the prickly pear like a kiwi and then spoon it out.
- Halve and eat from the fist (spoon out)
– Delicious in a fruit salad with other tropical fruits such as kiwi, banana, melon and papaya
– Serve the fruit with ice cream and whipped cream
– A tasty seasoning with cold meat with a fine sauce
– Make a chicory salad with prickly pear
Do you like tropical fruits? Read my other articles in the tropical fruits series:pineapple, avocado and banana
Featured image prickly pears from Shutterstock
