Tried a prickly pear for the first time

[texasgirl]

I'm not impressed! What the heck are you suppose to do with them? I know that you can consume the seeds, but, there are so many and so hard that you can't enjoy the sweet flesh. What do any of you do with them?

 

[Katie H]

A book I have says a way to use them is to simmer them in water and sugar for a bit then strain, chill and add lemon or lime juice. combine tequila, triple sec, some of the prickly pear puree and lime juice to make a margarita.

The puree can also be combined with veggie oil, sugar, white wine or cider vinegar for a salad dressing.

Supposed to be good when paired with bananas, hoenydews, lemons, limes, oranges, or watermelon. Sounds interesting. What's it taste like?

 

[texasgirl]

Well, it is sweet like a Bartlet, but, very soft, almost like applesauce, but, a little thicker. It still holds together, it isn't runny, just soft. The seads are about the size of sesame's, maybe smaller, but, lots of them. That is what makes it hard to eat. A person has the natural instinct to chew, but, you'll break your teeth on these hard little suckers. It really ruins the experience.

 

[Katie H]

The seeds sound like a dentist's delight. My book didn't make any reference to the seeds. Guess if you make puree, it has to be strained like raspberries, etc. A lot of work for very little gain.

 

[texasgirl]

I have been looking for a picture on the web, too lazy to go through all my programs to get it to download here, but, maybe this is wrong? The ones that I am finding are red. Mine are green. Think mine may not be ripe or something? Maybe the seeds get softer?

 

[Katie H]

They're also called "cactus pears," texas. Look here and see if any of these look like the one you bought.

 

[texasgirl]

The 2nd column, 3rd row down look just like mine. This page shows A cut open picture, you just have to scroll down to it. And she says she chewed some of the seeds, but, when I tried, almost lost some teeth.

Google Image Result for http://www.datazap.net/sites/winmurray226/PricklyPear.jpg

 

[Katie H]

Guess the jury is still out on this critter. By the way, how much does one of these things cost? Can't get them here.

 

[college_cook]

If they're still green I don't think they're ripe yet. I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be that deep reddish purple color.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Remembering back to my wilderness survival camp experiences in Boy Scouts ... they are not ripe until they are red. I don't remember them being hard or having hard seeds in them - and we ate a bunch that week!

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I've only ever had them in margaritas - for a while prickly pear margaritas were all the rage on the RiverWalk. But for sure, it made them red so I think they must ripen to a red color. Perhaps the seeds get a little softer as they ripen?

 

[texasgirl]

Okay, thank you everyone. I guess I will let them sit and see if they turn red.
Katie, I got them at Walmart. They were only .59 a piece.

Michael, were they sweet when ripe? They are sweet now, but, with a little bit of twang to them.

 

[AllenOK]

I just added a recipe to my files about making a sauce with prickly pears.

Heck, there's someone that lives a couple miles from me with a prickly pear cactus in their front yard, and it has fruit on it. They aren't quite ripe yet.

 

[Dina]

These pears are green and once ripe, turn to a reddish color. We used to eat these tasty fruits when we'd travel to Mexico when we were very young followed by excessive "fiber" foods as they tend to put a damper on your digestive system.

 

[Barbara L]

In San Diego they grew all over the place near us. We called them cactus apples as well as prickly pears. My mom tried making jelly with them once. It was delicious--right after it was made. Once it sat for awhile (even sealed) it lost all its fruit flavor and tasted like sugar-water jelly!

Barbara

 

[Bacondise City]

next time, beware.

 

[Michelemarie]

Well, it is sweet like a Bartlet, but, very soft, almost like applesauce, but, a little thicker. It still holds together, it isn't runny, just soft. The seads are about the size of sesame's, maybe smaller, but, lots of them. That is what makes it hard to eat. A person has the natural instinct to chew, but, you'll break your teeth on these hard little suckers. It really ruins the experience.

I just tried one for the first time last week - same exact experience? So many seeds and big too. I think mine was green too, maybe that was the problem, but it was awful!

 

[scottsdale]

I'm pretty prickly pears are supposed to be seedless. But I've never seen them in a store, only from a cactus. The cactus has pretty, yellow flowers. It makes me wonder if there's an issue with fertilized pears vs. un-fertilized pears.

Rounding out my lexicon of knowledge about prickly pears:

1. If they're green, they're not ripe. You want bright red.

2. The pears are covered in short, fine needles that get under your skin. Luckily, the needles are highly flammable -- use a direct flame and burn them off. I wonder how Wal-Mart removes all those needles.

3. IMO, prickly pears taste awful, no matter the preparation.