For most people, a cactus is a spiny plant that has nothing to do with cooking. It can decorate a window sill or computer table in an apartment, but nothing more. Nevertheless, there are types of succulents whose fruits are not just edible, but tasty.
To find out the fruits of which varieties of cactus can be eaten, many may find it interesting.
Some cactus fruits are quite edible.
Mammillaria
The fruit of the cactus Mammillaria is quite edible. This cactus with red fruits is eaten mainly fresh. Its berries have a sour-sweet taste, somewhat reminiscent of barberry. Mammillaria has a number of healing properties.
In particular, regular consumption of its fruits has a positive effect on the kidneys.
The fruits of Mammilaria look like barberry
Berries are kept on the plant all year round, because of which there is no talk of any seasonality. This edible cactus (its fruits) is often used to make jams or preserves.
Schlumberger
Many people know the Schlumberger cactus, which was popularly called the Decembrist because of its flowering time. Not everyone knows that this fruit cactus can be eaten.
Schlumberger fruits are a bit like rose hips
With cross-pollination, plants on flowers begin to form berries that look very similar to rosehips. Their ripening lasts several months, these cactus fruits are quite edible. Eating them is recommended fresh.
Prickly pear
Another edible cactus is Opuntia. His homeland is northern Africa, in particular, Tunisia. Its second name is the Barbary fig. Succulents bloom up to three times during the year. Fruits are formed along the edges of flat leaves and have the shape of a pear. The average size of the fruit of Opuntia is about 7 cm; the color of its skin can vary from yellowish to dark red, depending on the variety of Opuntia. The same applies to the pulp of the plant - it can be yellow, green, white, red or even purple. To taste, the fruit of the cactus prickly pear resembles a cross between strawberries and kiwi. Berries are eaten fresh or made from them preserves, jams and drinks. Cactus stems can also be used for blanks.
Other species
Among other types of edible cacti, the following are worthy of attention:
- Pitahaya. Pitahaya another name - Dragon fruit, grows in the tropics and is known to many. Recently, fruit can even be found in domestic supermarkets.
Pitahaya fruits have a sour taste and contain a small amount of calories. Eating this cactus should be raw and chilled. Often Pitahaya is used to make wine, juices and a number of other drinks.
- Grandiflorus. Another edible cactus is Grandiflorus or Silenitereus. Its feature is that it blooms especially beautifully, but only for one night. Succulent is growing mainly in Colombia, from where it is successfully imported into many countries. The fruits of the cactus are quite large (about an apple), the taste is sweetish. Most often they are consumed fresh.
- Ripsalis. Ripsalis is known to many lovers of indoor floriculture. In the homeland of succulents in Brazil, cactus is valued, including for very abundant fruiting. The fruits of Ripsalis look like berries, to the taste gooseberries. The benefit from them is minimal, they do not represent any special taste value, therefore they are mainly used as feed for livestock.
The fruits of prickly pears used in food are not the same in appearance. So, for example, in a small-haired plant species, the fruits are red, in the Lindheimer prickly pear, purple with a white top, and in some other varieties, yellow-green. The only thing that unites all these fruits is the original exotic taste.
Taste qualities
Opuntia fruit is also called cactus fig. The pulp of the fruit is juicy and has a pleasant sweet and sour taste, which in some causes associations with strawberries, in others with kiwi, and in others with pear. The surface of the plant is hard and covered with needles.
Opuntia fruit is very refreshing
Exotic fruit can be found in grocery stores in many countries. In the fruit tray, a special grabber is usually put with which the fruit is taken.
Important! If you take the fetus with your bare hands, you can cause yourself significant harm - the needles will yell into the skin.
How to stretch the needles
Touching needles on the fruit of the prickly pear is not recommended under any circumstances. Although they are small, they are very painful. If it so happened that the thorns dug into the skin of the hands, you will need to follow these steps:
- Carefully inspect the hands to understand in which specific places the cactus left a mark.
- Carefully pull out all the needles with tweezers.
- Treat hands with alcohol
Important! Remove needles above the sink. So it will be easier to wash them off with water, and they will not yell anywhere else.
How to eat a fetus
To clean the fruit from needles should be in rubber gloves. Pre-soak the berries in cold water or rinse them under a tap with a strong pressure. Performing the described manipulations will wash away the smallest needles. After washing, the fruit should be thoroughly wiped with a paper towel. In some countries, the freezing of prickly pears is practiced - after it, the needles are easily shaken off and washed off. You can also scorch the fruit over the fire, as is the case with carcasses of chickens, to remove the remnants of plumage.
After that, it remains only to peel the fruit.
This will require:
- Cut off the ends of the fetus;
- Cut berries along;
- Peel the pulp.
Benefits and harm to the body
Cactus fruits have a large number of useful properties:
- strengthen the immune system due to its high content of vitamin C;
- improve digestion due to the content of a sufficient amount of dietary fiber;
- strengthens bones and teeth due to its rich calcium content;
- reduce weight;
- improve heart function.
Fruits practically do not cause harm. The only exceptions are the presence of allergic reactions and individual intolerance.
