Yes and yes , don’t touch with bare hands . Tiny hair like prickers
MrX101
we have a lot of those in malta, generally the ones in purple aren’t always good. Since generally purples ones are when the plant decides to not fully ripen them and wait for next year. But not always. So I’d try the biggest one to see if it tastes any good. Should be sweet and flavorful if its a good one.
Use gloves, you can use pruners or spin to cut it off.
Afterwards use fire to burn the micro needles on the fruit and the gloves. Those things stay inside your skin and are annoying for a few days until the body filly dissolves them. Blow torch or kitchen stove etc. They burn really fast, since they’re small af. Obviously don’t use too much or the gloves catch fire. small bbq lighter works great for the gloves.
Generally tastier if you leave it to cool in the fridge first.
Edit. to me they don’t look ripe because color too uniform and spikes don’t seem to be growing on them.
Critical-Star-1158
My grandmaw would make jelly from the fruits
TheMarriedUnicorM
Yes, it’s a prickly pear cactus.
Do NOT handle the tunas (the purple fruits) with bare hands. You can burn them off using a skewer or tongs over a hot fire.
These don’t look quite ripe to me. I wait until they’re a really dark purple, almost maroon. They’ll also be softer. Use tongs to give em a squeeze.
The fruit can be made into jelly, juiced for marinades, and turned into syrup. The syrup is what makes a $12 margarita into a $18 margarita.
*Side note: The paddles of the prickly pear cactus can also be eaten! It’s called “nopales” or “nopalitos.”
Burn off the needles, wash, and julienne. In South Texas, the slices usually get pickled. But you can eat them fresh. Just a little oil, S&P, onions and garlic in a pan. Once cooked, add a splash of vinegar. Delicious!
Winter-Let-1586
This kind has way more seeds than fruit and the fruit really isn’t great.. but why not try it once?!
SeeetBabyJebus
Picked a bunch of these this weekend. Was trying to be careful removing the thorns and stickers but still got some in my hand. Peeled, pureed in blender with a little margarita mix, and strained to separate the seeds (lots of seeds). Now I have some prickly pear juice to add to palomas or margaritas
reallyreally1945
La Tuna!
Tacokolache
Good source of fiber
DizzyFly9339
Yes and yes but DO NOT harvest with your bare hands
wastedMyKarma
Yes and yes. They’re such a good treat!
Sunrise_Sunflower
Yes. It makes beautiful jelly. I knew my dad would find it bland compared to grape jelly, so I added jalapeños. It became his favorite.
breakonthru_
I would eat these fruit, the tunas, as a child. My grandpa would hand them to me in a newspaper and I’d inevitably spend forever trying to get the small hair like needles out. I thought it was good enough to eat more than once.
This is a nopal cactus, and there’s many health benefits to eating the paddles, referred to as nopales in Spanish as another person mentioned. I’ve had it prepared similarly to a pico de gallo salsa.
I’m glad I read this thread so I can learn how to handle the tunas and try them again one day as an adult.
Bonus fun fact. Coyotes love these fruits and will be attracted to this if you have any in your area.
Sorry-Climate-7982
Those tiny glochids detach about from the cactus much like porcupine quills and imbed themselves in your skin where they are a real problem to remove and can really irritate your skin.
14 Comments
Yes and yes , don’t touch with bare hands . Tiny hair like prickers
we have a lot of those in malta, generally the ones in purple aren’t always good. Since generally purples ones are when the plant decides to not fully ripen them and wait for next year. But not always. So I’d try the biggest one to see if it tastes any good. Should be sweet and flavorful if its a good one.
Use gloves, you can use pruners or spin to cut it off.
Afterwards use fire to burn the micro needles on the fruit and the gloves. Those things stay inside your skin and are annoying for a few days until the body filly dissolves them. Blow torch or kitchen stove etc. They burn really fast, since they’re small af. Obviously don’t use too much or the gloves catch fire. small bbq lighter works great for the gloves.
Generally tastier if you leave it to cool in the fridge first.
Edit. to me they don’t look ripe because color too uniform and spikes don’t seem to be growing on them.
My grandmaw would make jelly from the fruits
Yes, it’s a prickly pear cactus.
Do NOT handle the tunas (the purple fruits) with bare hands. You can burn them off using a skewer or tongs over a hot fire.
These don’t look quite ripe to me. I wait until they’re a really dark purple, almost maroon. They’ll also be softer. Use tongs to give em a squeeze.
The fruit can be made into jelly, juiced for marinades, and turned into syrup. The syrup is what makes a $12 margarita into a $18 margarita.
*Side note: The paddles of the prickly pear cactus can also be eaten! It’s called “nopales” or “nopalitos.”
Burn off the needles, wash, and julienne. In South Texas, the slices usually get pickled. But you can eat them fresh. Just a little oil, S&P, onions and garlic in a pan. Once cooked, add a splash of vinegar. Delicious!
This kind has way more seeds than fruit and the fruit really isn’t great.. but why not try it once?!
Picked a bunch of these this weekend. Was trying to be careful removing the thorns and stickers but still got some in my hand. Peeled, pureed in blender with a little margarita mix, and strained to separate the seeds (lots of seeds). Now I have some prickly pear juice to add to palomas or margaritas
La Tuna!
Good source of fiber
Yes and yes but DO NOT harvest with your bare hands
Yes and yes. They’re such a good treat!
Yes. It makes beautiful jelly. I knew my dad would find it bland compared to grape jelly, so I added jalapeños. It became his favorite.
I would eat these fruit, the tunas, as a child. My grandpa would hand them to me in a newspaper and I’d inevitably spend forever trying to get the small hair like needles out. I thought it was good enough to eat more than once.
This is a nopal cactus, and there’s many health benefits to eating the paddles, referred to as nopales in Spanish as another person mentioned. I’ve had it prepared similarly to a pico de gallo salsa.
I’m glad I read this thread so I can learn how to handle the tunas and try them again one day as an adult.
Bonus fun fact. Coyotes love these fruits and will be attracted to this if you have any in your area.
Those tiny glochids detach about from the cactus much like porcupine quills and imbed themselves in your skin where they are a real problem to remove and can really irritate your skin.
Some folks use glue, some use gorilla tape.
Yes! Fruit is yummy as well as the cactus pads