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Cactus Pears.....HELP!!

18 years ago

OK, I'll admit it, I just can't help myself sometimes. I was driving back from Elery's this weekend and my Jeep just jumped right off the expressway and into the parking lot of one of Sol's favorite places, Horrocks. I do have pictures, but they aren't loaded on the computer, so I'll post them later.

Anyway, the real problem is that I bought 3 cactus pears? Why? They were 3 for $1 and I've never had them, so I couldn't help myself.

Now, of course, I have absolutely no idea what to do with them. Does anyone have any suggestions other than make them into jelly? I'm almost afraid to just eat them, who knows what the heck they taste like, LOL.

Annie

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Comments (8)

trixietx
18 years ago
Make jelly, we have an employee and his wife makes cactus pear jelly. I don't know of anything to do with them other than that.

Maybe someone else will have ideas!
centralcacyclist
18 years ago
Make jelly, it's delicious. I grew up in the dessert and could eat them fresh once in a while if someone wanted to clean them for me.

Saguaro cactus fruit are the tastiest, and the hardest to harvest.

I like the pads scrambled with eggs. But not enough to pick and clean them!

Here is a link that might be useful: Some recipes.
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Depends a lot on where you live. Zone 5 New Mexico gives you a lot of choices. Zone 5 New York will really limit your options because of the wet winters. Would you be interested in "cactus-y" things like Agaves, Sedums, Sempervivums, and Yuccas? There are a few non-Opuntia ones that would be good choices for wet spots, but you'll probably need to get them from a specialist. Look for Echinocereus triglochidiatus, E. viridiflorus, E. reichenbachii, all come in a bunch of varieties so you might find them under different names. Also the extremely tough Escobaria vivipara and Escobaria missouriensis. For preparing your soil, simply pile on as much grit as you can get your hands on. More grit than soil would be a good idea if you are on the wet side of the country. There are lots of very hardy cacti, but very few that can stand being in wet soil when it is cold.
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centralcacyclist
18 years ago
I meant "desert."
canarybird01
18 years ago
They sell them here in the market as we have many types of cactus growing here, but I don't buy them. Our German friend says he once ate a prickly pear which still had one of the spines in it. It stuck in his tongue and he couldn't get it out for days. It wasn't a pleasant experience for him. So I figure we have enough good fruit here without spines so I'll stick to them.
But I will look in my local cookbooks to see if there is another recipe I can pass on. :-)

SharonCb
Marigene
18 years ago
Use them in a salad.
beezee
18 years ago
pick them (touch them with tongs...prickly is their name)boil them in water and the pricklys arent prickly any more...you can now touch them...you are after the pulp...discard the many seeds within and the tough outer skins...they taste like a combo strawberry/grape flavor...i have made jelly which some times came out and sometimes not...however, all is not lost, it can make tasty syrup if the jelly fails...lots of work!!! bz
annie1992
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions, they are already picked and seem to have no "pricklys" left. I'm not sure how much jelly I can get out of only three of them, I think I'll peel one and taste it and then see whether they become jelly or salad ingredients!

Annie
Solsthumper
18 years ago
AB! I'm so happy they're back. I was at Horrock's last week and didn't see them. I always grab a few when they bring them out. Sometimes I'll bring Jim along, just to see the vexed expression on his face at my choice of fruits. He wonders why I never gravitate toward "normal" fruits like apples and oranges.

Anyway, I think you'll like these, even if their taste is a little bland. If you haven't started on the jelly, you might also consider a cool, Prickly Pear Sorbet. The brilliant color is a knockout.

Sol

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