edible cactus fruit (prickly pear) growing in the wilderness [recipes in description]
How to Cut and Prepare Prickly Pears
How do you cut and prepare prickly pear? Carefully. Here's a step-by-step guide to cutting and using delicious cactus pear with recipes
By Garrett McCord
Updated October 19, 2022
Bunch of Prickly Pear on a Counter with One Cut in Half for How to Cut and Prepare Prickly Pear
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
What Is Prickly Pear Fruit?
Known to few, the fruit of the nopales cactus (cacti with beaver tail-like paddles), are actually quite edible. Called prickly pears, these neon fruits provide delicious juice that tastes like a cross between all-natural bubble gum (if indeed there is such a thing) and watermelon.
How to Use Prickly Pear
Prickly pear juice is often used to make jam or candy, but it also works wonders in cocktails and in vinaigrettes for salads.
I've used the juice from prickly pear to flavor cream cheese frosting for a lime flavored cupcake and have seen others boil cactus pear down with a bit of orange and lemon juice to make a sauce for fruit salads and cheesecakes.
How to Cut and Prepare Prickly Pears
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Where to Get Prickly Pear
Many Mexican markets, farmers markets, and some natural food supermarkets carry prickly pear fruit, and you can find cactus pear growing in California, the Southwest, Mexico, and the Mediterranean.
Be warned: while the prickly pear in markets has been cleaned of the tiny hair-like thorns, the ones fresh off the cactus are covered with them, so be sure to handle them with heavy leather work gloves and scrub them hard to ensure all the painful little barbs are off.
Either way, handle prickly pear carefully or with gloves just in case.
A Bunch of Prickly Pears on a Counter
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
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How to Cut and Prepare Prickly Pears
Prep Time 10 mins
Total Time 10 mins
Serving 1 serving
Yield 1 prickly pear
I recommend wearing work gloves when handling unpeeled prickly pears. This is to protect your hands from any barbs.
Ingredients
1 or more prickly pears
Method
Slice off both ends:
Use a sharp knife to slice off both ends of the prickly pear. Discard them.
Cutting prickly pear
Slice down the slide:
Make one long vertical slice down the entire prickly pear.
Cutting prickly pear fruit
Grab the peel:
Slip your finger into the slice you just made and grab ahold of the peel from the inside.
Peel back the skin:
Begin to peel back the thick fleshy skin that's wrapped around the flesh of the prickly pear. Discard the skin. You'll be left with the prickly pear itself.
peeling prickly pear or cactus pear
how to eat cactus pear
The flesh is studded with tons of little edible seeds. If you like them, feel free to just chop the prickly pear up and eat, seeds and all.
Extract the juice:
To extract the prickly pear juice, place the husked prickly pears into a blender or food processor and pulse until liquefied.
Place the mixture into a fine mesh sieve and push out the juice into a pitcher or bowl. Discard the remaining pulp and seeds.
How to eat cactus pear - extracting the juice
Use the juice as you like. Depending on the size of the prickly pears, 6 to 12 prickly pears will get you about 1 cup of juice. It's great mixed in with some fresh lemonade (equal parts of prickly pear juice to lemonade).
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Glass of Prickly Pear Juice with Ice
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
139
Calories
1g
Fat
34g
Carbs
2g
Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
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How to Candy Barrel Cactus Fruit - Desert Harvesters ReWilding Taste Buds and Neighborhoods Video
Disclaimer:
These videos provide general information about Sonoran Desert plants and foods, and are intended for educational purposes only. Please consult additional resources to supplement your knowledge and practical experience. Videos are not meant to be reproduced without written permission from Desert Harvesters. The producers and editors disclaim any liability from the use or misuse of this information. Thank you!
RECIPE: CANDIED BARREL CACTUS SLICES
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS.
Barrel cactus is a favorite wild food because it brightens the Winter season with its tart yellow goodness! Barrel is also one of the easiest cactus fruits to harvest and use because the fruit has no spines or glochids.
20 ripe yellow barrel cactus fruits
1 cup organic raw cane sugar, more or less as needed
chiltepin, cayenne, or ginger powder to taste (optional)
Preheat solar oven to at least 275 ̊F. Rinse and dry ripe barrel fruits. Slice off fruit top below dried flower part until seeds are visible. Slice off bottom above small opening. Cut fruits width-wise into 1/4-inch slices, keeping seeds intact. Sprinkle sugar evenly onto the bottom of a shallow glass baking dish. Arrange barrel slices flat and close together on sugar. Sprinkle remaining sugar on top of slices. Add optional seasonings as desired. Bake until sugar dissolves, bubbles, and candies fruit slices, about 1 hour, depending on season. Check progress often to monitor doneness. Crack solar oven door to let out steam. Remove slices when done. Cool slightly and enjoy sticky and warm, or let cool and store in a container in the refrigerator.
If using a conventional oven, bake at 300 ̊F for about 30-60 minutes or until candied. Roll leftover lemony sugar (barrel flavored) into balls for more treats!
To watch additional 2022 Desert Harvesters introductory videos see:
How to Make Aromatic Desert Tea:
How to Make Desert Salve:
Additional Recommended Resources:
John Slattery- Southwest Foraging, Southwest Medicinal Herbs
Michael Moore- Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West
Desert Harvesters Website -
Desert Harvesters Store and Donations -
Desert Harvesters Facebook - facebook.com/DesertHarvesters
Desert Harvesters Native Food Guides (NFGs) in Spanish and English -
Neighborhood Empowerment and Outreach Network (NEON) -
Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona -
Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, featuring Desert Harvesters Demo Series -
Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, University of Arizona -
Gabrielle Pietrangelo music - and on Spotify
How to Make an Edible Cacti Terrarium
Recipe for Meringue: Ingredients:
3 egg whites, room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions:
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in mixer bowl with whisk attachment on high speed until foamy. Slowly add sugar a little at a time. Continue beating until sugar is dissolved and whites are glossy and stand in stiff peaks. Bake at 225 degrees for 2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
How To Pick and Process Prickly Pear Fruit in 9 Easy Steps
For some recipes go to abrechkooutdoors.com.
In this video you can easily learn how to harvest and process Prickly Pear Fruit that grows wild around the Southwest. Prickly Pear fruit is produces a beautiful nectar that can be used in many amazingly delicious recipes. Follow this quick step my step process and have an adventure to the desert with your kids and produce this sweet treat.
Happy Adventures,
Andrew