By Elizabeth Warburton-Smith
Prickly pear cactus called ‘opuntia’ is a very prolific cacti found growing throughout the southwest and into Central America as well as Australia and other hot arid places. There are over 100 varieties of Opuntia varieties documented in Mexico alone. The familiar paddle shaped pads can easily grow 2 stories high on some types. Blooms of the prickly pear cactus burst with color in whites, yellows, corals and pinks from early spring to late summer depending on the elevation. The pear-shaped fruits start out green and ripen to colors ranging from a light blush to a deep magenta.
Humans have traditionally used prickly pear as food. They harvest the tender new pads in early spring to make a vegetable called ‘nopale’ cooked with red chili meat or eaten in tacos alone for a vegetarian option. Nopales taste very similar to green beans with a hint of lemon and have a little bit of the texture of okra. Prickly pear fruit, called ‘tuna’ is also edible and made into juice, jellies, and margaritas; it even is eaten fresh.
Prickly pear fruit has also been used medicinally. Its juice is a natural blood sugar and blood pressure reducer, so it is recommended that you limit your intake to no more than 2 oz of juice a day. It also lowers cholesterol and apparently cures hangovers so maybe you can have a prickly pear margarita to cure your headache from too many prickly pear margaritas!
A note on where to harvest any desert plants: be sure to harvest from areas that are not federally protected, private property or places that spray herbicides on desert vegetation (like along roadways).
To harvest tunas, you will need a bucket, long bbq tongs, long pants, close toed shoes, sunscreen and a hat. Again, depending on the elevation, prickly pear tunas can be ripe from June to late August. You know they are ready for harvest when you pick the fruit and it actually bleeds with extra juice.
And lastly, be sure and keep a close eye out for snakes, javalina and other critters that like hanging out in prickly pear patches in the desert.
Email WeLoveToGrow@gmail.com if you are interested in taking a zoom class on harvesting and cooking your own prickly pear.
Happy Harvesting!
