Prickly Pears, the Fruit that Sticks
By Jo Ann
@akalinus (40440)
United States
September 20, 2018 9:11am CST
When I was a kid, we lived in a place that gave us prickly pears. The cactus is called nopal and it has oval shaped leaves or pads that are full of stickers that hurt. Its ripe fruit is red like the ones in the photo.
How did we harvest the pears? Very carefully. Before eating, we peeled away the skin and the prickles.
It tastes good, something like bubblegum and watermelon mixed together. Have you ever eaten it? Did you like it?
12 people like this
13 responses
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
21 Sep 18
LOL! Did you find out the fruit sticks from personal experience, Jo Ann? 
Yes, I've eaten prickly pears and the leaf pads, both. My sister has acreage in Arkansas and has prickly pear growing in large patches there. (We had some on our farm in Missouri, too.) My daughter and I go down to her house a couple of times a year to help her harvest some of the prickly pears and pads from those patches.
We've found it easier to keep from getting stuck by wearing thick leather gloves while picking the fruit and the pads from the living cactus plants and then holding both over a small fire to burn the spines away before peeling them.
You can slice the pads up and cook them with meat. The pad slices take on the flavor of the meat and you feel like you are getting much more meat than you actually cooked.
I agree, both are delicious! 
Yes, I've eaten prickly pears and the leaf pads, both. My sister has acreage in Arkansas and has prickly pear growing in large patches there. (We had some on our farm in Missouri, too.) My daughter and I go down to her house a couple of times a year to help her harvest some of the prickly pears and pads from those patches.
We've found it easier to keep from getting stuck by wearing thick leather gloves while picking the fruit and the pads from the living cactus plants and then holding both over a small fire to burn the spines away before peeling them.
You can slice the pads up and cook them with meat. The pad slices take on the flavor of the meat and you feel like you are getting much more meat than you actually cooked.
I agree, both are delicious! 2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
22 Sep 18
@akalinus We had read about burning the spines off in the book Old Yeller. (Travis, the oldest son, described burning the spines off the fruit before he ate it.) So we decided to try that. It works really well!
We had read about burning the spines off in the book Old Yeller. (Travis, the oldest son, described burning the spines off the fruit before he ate it.) So we decided to try that. It works really well! @akalinus (40440)
• United States
22 Sep 18
@DaddyEvil I don't remember that in the book. Wow, I guess I missed a lot.
1 person likes this
@Nickzter1331 (4229)
• Philippines
20 Sep 18
,,,never heard of it before.. thank.you for sharing it.. where can i find that kind of fruit?
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40440)
• United States
21 Sep 18
@Nickzter1331 I have never tasted the pads so don't know anything about them.
@amadeo (111948)
• United States
20 Sep 18
I see them at the market now and then.But it has been a while
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
30 Sep 18
Yes I had it once and did enjoy it. I watched a you tube video to see how to eat it. How did you learn to eat it? Did you remove the large seeds inside or eat them with the fruit being careful not to bite on them?
@akalinus (40440)
• United States
1 Oct 18
@MarshaMusselman They might have been there but I just don't remember them.
@akalinus (40440)
• United States
1 Oct 18
@MarshaMusselman I just don't remember any seeds. Are we talking about the same kind of fruit?
1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
22 Sep 18
OMG, how did you manage to eat anything after peeling all those skins and prickles? (Are they bigger than a cherry size?)
@akalinus (40440)
• United States
22 Sep 18
@Shivram59 I know I hear about new and interesting things every day on myLot.
1 person likes this
@Shivram59 (31773)
• India
22 Sep 18
@akalinus Agree.We learn a lot of new things from mylot.
1 person likes this
