Prickly Pears
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Prickly Pears
They're gathering Prickly Pears around us like they are Manna from Heaven: I've asked our local Goat man and he says they're horrid so what do they do with them.
I've looked at Google for recipes and am not impressed so any one in the know I'm all ears........
I've looked at Google for recipes and am not impressed so any one in the know I'm all ears........
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All my lot eat these pears...I have see someone eat 22 one after the other...they are good for you... first put on some plastic gloves...once picked...normally using a long stick with a piece of cane at the end slit open like a round fork.. the pear is pushed into the cone shaped fork and twisted ... brush with a broom..then rinse...then with a knife cut off ends..cut a line in remaining pear and turn back each side..get someone else to pull the inside out leaving the prickly skin behind...place in fridge and eat when cold...There is someone growing in Murcia who got a lot of recipes from Mexico..they make ice cream, and other things including a kind of coffee substitute that sells well in health shops.. they are also used as animal fodder
No muerdes la mano que te da de comer.
Our Spanish friend calls them "Chumbo" he has a long rod with a round can shaped attachment that picks them from the top of the cactus, then using a knife he peels them with expertise avoiding the spines, inside the flesh is delicious.
Whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can't, you are absolutely right.
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chumbas
A fairly easy way to deal with prickly pears/chumbas is, pick them wearing leather gardening gloves, then (still wearing the gloves) rub them in a box of fine sand. Wash the fruit and enjoy. My Spanish neighbour tells me the red fruiting variety is superior. However he doesn't eat them, he chops the plants and fruits to feed to his organically fed pig............
Sandramay
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My neighbour says rub them with some newspaper to gt rid of the spines.rub them in a box of fine sand.
Will be trying it this weekend as some of ours look ripe.
If no posts for 2 days, someone call a doctor.
Alan
Remember that everything that Fred Astaire did, Ginger Rogers did too; except she did it backwards and wearing high heels!
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I'm pretty sure that the plants are called either 'chumberas' or 'higueras chumbas'. I've always known the fruit as 'higos chumbos'.
In Cabo de gata (and probably a lot of other areas of Andalucia), they used to used them to cultivate the cochinilla beetle (food colouring). Round here (Valencia) I've also heard them referrred to as 'sh*t eaters' - apparently they hasten the disappearance of this sort domestic waste and most houses in the country had a patch.
Quite pleasant, lots of seeds and curiously salty - well that's my experience anyway.
In Cabo de gata (and probably a lot of other areas of Andalucia), they used to used them to cultivate the cochinilla beetle (food colouring). Round here (Valencia) I've also heard them referrred to as 'sh*t eaters' - apparently they hasten the disappearance of this sort domestic waste and most houses in the country had a patch.
Quite pleasant, lots of seeds and curiously salty - well that's my experience anyway.
There has been medical interest in the Prickly Pear plant. Some studies have shown that the pectin contained in the Prickly Pear pulp lowers levels of "bad" cholesterol while leaving "good" cholesterol levels unchanged. Another study found that the fibrous pectin in the fruit may lowers diabetics' need for insulin. Both fruits and pads of the prickly pear cactus are rich in slowly absorbed soluble fibers that help keep blood sugar stable. There are on going studies and at this point there are no proven results on humans. You can make your own study and see if works for you, which is the only test that really counts.
The prickly pear fruit normally ripens and is ready for harvest during the late summer and early fall months. When gathering the fruit, wear leather or rubber gloves to avoid contact with the cactus needles. They are a nuisance, especially the tiny soft-appearing barbs of glochids on the fruit itself. The glochids are very difficult to remove if you get them in your skin. A long-handled tong can also be used to pick the fruit from the cactus. Once you have harvested the fruit, you will need to remove the glochids by passing the fruit through an open flame or shaking the fruit in a bag of hot coals. The glochids can also be removed by cutting them away with a knife or peeling off the skin. Once the fruit is removed from the cactus, it will rapidly lose nutritional value and may ferment, so try to consume or process soon after harvesting.
The prickly pear fruit normally ripens and is ready for harvest during the late summer and early fall months. When gathering the fruit, wear leather or rubber gloves to avoid contact with the cactus needles. They are a nuisance, especially the tiny soft-appearing barbs of glochids on the fruit itself. The glochids are very difficult to remove if you get them in your skin. A long-handled tong can also be used to pick the fruit from the cactus. Once you have harvested the fruit, you will need to remove the glochids by passing the fruit through an open flame or shaking the fruit in a bag of hot coals. The glochids can also be removed by cutting them away with a knife or peeling off the skin. Once the fruit is removed from the cactus, it will rapidly lose nutritional value and may ferment, so try to consume or process soon after harvesting.
Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated into the collective
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