When we talk about flowers, cacti normally don’t immediately spring to our mind, even though the flowers turn out to be stunningly beautiful. So are the cactus fruits. It is hard to associate juicy and sweet fruits with the prickly and uninviting plants grown in the drought area. That may be the reason that I never try the cactus fruits in my life till lately，even though the prickly pears can be sold as cheaply as 5 pieces for $0.99, even though I know that they have a wealth of nutrients, very high vitamin C, calcium, fiber, antioxidant, etc.
A couple of weeks ago, while hiking on a dirt road on the barren hill, I saw a cactus pear bitten by an animal and left unfinished under the cactus bushes. The sight of the red meat, which looks much like the color of red dragon fruit, stirred up my interest.
Then a few days later，I found myself tasting the store -purchased prickly pear for the first time. I was thrilled at discovering two different types of fruits, one with red meat and the other green, within two weeks. The juicy and tender meat is a striking contrast to the prickly and spiky outlook. They taste just as delicious as any other fruits, likening much to the pear.
My curiosity towards the newly discovered fruit culminated when one Saturday I took a tong with me and snapped a few prickly pears off the cactus pads in the wilderness. Compared with farmed fruits sold in the store, the fruits off the wilderness tastes stronger, more indigenous but a bit sour. They are full of gravel -like seeds that I need to spit out constantly. Would not recommend at all. Let's leave the nature's produce for the animals to enjoy.
暖冬cool夏 发表评论于
回复 '7grizzly' 的评论 : Ha-ha, you are humorous:)). Ok, here comes my humor: It is a test of how carefully you read. Didn't I say "后果自负”？You failed the test. LOL. Luckily your son did not touch it，right? Otherwise, I will be banned from eating for seven days as someone suggested in my post:)).Throw away the lone fruit or 后果自负：)). Honestly the one from the store tastes better. Have a nice new week!
7grizzly 发表评论于
回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 :
Yes. It's all your fault--I finally realized that ;-) Just kidding.
That lone fruit is sitting on the counter waiting to be properly eaten ;-)
回复 '7grizzly' 的评论 : It's good that I tried, and I now love the prickly pears. I have been returning to the same store for more lately. You might be able to find them in a Mexican store or in my case at a Persian store (but not in Ranch 99). I have not tried the cactus meat though, and according to my coworker, it tastes like okra. Thanks for your information, and I believe in its anti-inflammatory nature. Hope you can find both the cactus and the fruits (or tuna) in your area too.
The scene where a hyena falls into prickly bushes must be from an animation movie (?), which you might watch together with your son, and make both of you laugh:))
Thank you for stopping by, my friend. Have a nice new week!
7grizzly 发表评论于
That's a great discovery. My neighbor told me the cactus meat was great, too. I haven't tried either.
I used to think of the scene where a hyena falls into prickly bushes every time I saw a bunch of cactus plants ;-)
My parents used to relieve the pain with cactus juice when I got stung by a bee.
