Prickly Pear Preparation

Although sellers label it "tuna" in Mexican markets, the fruit of the prickly pear cactus has a light, sweet flavor that is not at all fishy. When fully ripe, both the flesh and skin should be a juicy red color. It is best eaten as soon as possible after harvesting, because the fruit can start to ferment and will lose nutrients after picking. After you have removed all the spines from this prickly fruit, peel the skin and enjoy it by itself or use it to add flavor to smoothies, salads and other dishes.

Gloves
Knife
Vegetable peeler
Cereal
Omelet
Ice cream
Blender
Yogurt
Beverages

Instructions

- 1
  Wear leather gloves to prepare a prickly pear. It has both long spines and shorter, hairlike spines that will dig into your skin.
- 2
  Scrape the edge of a sharp knife along the fruit to remove the large spines.
- 3
  Peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler or your knife. This will get rid of any remaining thin spines. Rinse carefully to wash away any spines that may have stuck to the fruit.
- 4
  Eat the fruit raw by itself, if you prefer, or slice it to add to a fruit salad. The seeds are edible. Dice the prickly pear fruit and use it as a topping for cereals, omelets or even ice cream.
- 5
  Add chopped prickly pear fruit to a blender along with plain yogurt to make a smoothie, or blend it with vanilla ice cream to make a milkshake. Another option is to squeeze the juice of the prickly pear into beverages to add a fruity flavor.

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