Want Them All

Went to a friend's house, these were growing out back. We tried eating it, kinda sweet, but LOTS of seeds. What are they called? I vaguely remember seeing something like this for sale at a Mexican market, but not totally sure, as it's been a while since I was there.

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browndrake

they are prickly pears. As you said, the have lots seeds but taste good. They make really good jelly. The jelly has a different kind of look...almost a florescent purple. (at least with the prickly pears near us....but are pears are purple....so who know what your would turn out like)

aaron

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Want Them All

Do you make the jelly yourself? Wonder what's a good way to get rid of the seeds.

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Patty in Wisc

I grow prickly pear here inground (believe it or not they are taking my winters!) but never got a flower. I see them in Mexican food marts but only the green prickly leaves. They rub the thorns off & cut them up like french fries & fry them - so I was told by a cashier there.
What a cool looking plant!

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Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

browndrake

yeah, the leaves are eaten quite a bit, but I have not eaten them.

For jelly, I peel them, cut them up, add some water and boil them. To remove the seeds and pulp you can strain it . The cookbooks all say to use several layers of cheese cloth or a jelly bag. I have never used either. tee shirts, pillow cases, panty hose..... all work fine.

aaron

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Patty in Wisc

Pantyhose is my favorite strainer! I also use them on my drainer hose from my clothes washer to catch lint.
My friend also grows prickly pear here & I saw the beautiful flowers on them this year but i don't think she ever got fruits. I still think it's amazing that we can grow them here inground over winter. Maybe I'll get flowers next year.

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Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

mbfirey

Prickley pears area great raw- though I think some may have more seeds thatn others- I buy them at the Latino stores and peel them and eat. The stores usually have either green or yellow. I'd like to grow some, but I'm not sure which produces the most "edible" fruit- check the Wikipedia entry on Opuntia- they are like 20 different cultivars-
Anyone here have a cutting of an edible kind they'd like to share?

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sbl

I remember reading that the best way to remove the thorns is to use a propane torch--there are many fine thorns at the base of the big thorns.

lorax

At the Mexican market, they were likely called Tunas....

Prickly pears also make a great juice when they're ripe - rub off the spines, cut in half, scoop the whole fruit and seeds and whatnot into the blender, add a bit of water, pulse, and strain. Extremely refreshing.

If you skip the water part in the whole blend-n-strain endeavour, you can ferment the mash to get an excellent, sweet liqueur. Kind of like making apple jack.

Eric

Great looking cactus! We've always just called them cactus apples. Our cactus put out a bunch of green apples last year! This year, so far, it's only put on yellow flowers. Hoping to get more apples, though!
We're in zone 7 and our cactus lives right through the winters, even the 2007 ice storm disaster!
Anyway, Happy eating!

mbfirey

Anyone have an edible variety they'd like to trade- or send in exchange for postage?

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Want Them All

What do you have for trade?

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mbfirey

At the moment not too much, I'm afraid- I have a few agave pups, Orange Flowered cannas (green or dark leaves), and some Iris rizomes (not sure on colors have purple/White, and light Purple not sure which is which).
For a cutting that I could root I'd happly pay postage-or even pay a small amount.

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turtile

Opuntia humifusa is native to your area. Its the only type of prickly pear I've eaten so I don't know how good the fruits taste in comparison to other species.

South Carolina County Level Distribution for Opuntia humifusa (devil's-tongue) | USDA PLANTS

You'll have to look in sandy soil to find them. They should be located in pine forests.

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planetrj

This is exactly right! I love eating the cactus leaves (Nopales). I used to go to Tijuana and would watch them go over to the big enormous tree right next to the little casitas, strip them, torch them, and it would be completely homemade, called "Tacos ensalada de Nopalitos". This basically means "Cactus salad tacos" and they are incredible! They sautee them in a pan with some "buche de guche" oil (pork fat), and then fry up the tortillas, sprinkle with sea salt, and cover them in a salsa that's called Picadillo or also they use Pipian, which is a peanut oil and ground pumpkin seed sauce that is IN-Credible when you put it on one of those, or even a chicken taco.. Mah-velous! lol

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