The prickly pear I sampled last week was a complete disappointment. I’m thankful I read Melanie Mendelson’s account of eating a prickly pear in her “Melanie Cooks” blog, How to eat a Prickly Pear, as her information was exactly what I experienced when I cut into my prickly pear.
The fruit was a gorgeous color and had a bit of a sweet scent. I also could see why Melanie said she wouldn’t buy another one; the fruit was FULL of seeds.
I scooped out a bit of flesh with the tip of the spoon. I found it uneatable. The half teaspoon measure of fruit was filled with six seeds, maybe more.
I won’t be buying this fruit again, but I will try growing a prickly pear plant from the seeds to have something to show for the $1.49 I paid for it. The recommended way to start these seeds is to soak in citrus juice first to break down the hard shell.
MINDING MY P'S WITH Q 
Good to know so I won’t waste my money. This is why I won’t eat pomegranates – I refuse to chew on the seeds and the flesh to seed ratio is too small for the expense and trouble.
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I agree Jane…I buy the juice of the pomegranate mixed with other fruits. I’m glad I tried it, and hopefully I will get it to grow and not feel I’ve totally wasted my money. 🙂
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Thanks for the info…have you read any way to deseed it?…I might check it out…Interesting!
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It had more seeds than any fruit I have ever come across. I have no idea what you could do other than make jams out of it. I also soaked a few seeds in some water and the water turned a gorgeous magenta hue. I wonder if you could make a natural dye, or possibly use it in the place of food-coloring as a red. One of my young nephews has bad reactions to food coloring. I will have to tell his Mom about the color. I think you can use beets though…and they are easier to find. Thanks for the question and comment. 🙂
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That is what I was thinking, Kathy – dessert sauce (it might be good over vanilla ice cream) or jam. Put the cut up flesh into a wire mesh sieve, over a bowl, and press it out with a rubber spatula. Perhaps I am lazy but I’ve always preferred to eat fresh fruit out of hand, less mess to clean up. BTW, what did the pear’s taste remind you of? Similar to a berry?
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It tasted a bit like a mild strawberry. The ice cream idea is a good one. Thanks Jane.
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you are welcome…interested!
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I have a few posts to get caught up on here – and shall be back later to do so – but glad I saw this one – too bad this was not good – looks like it would be packed with stuff we need – and well, love your photos of the sampling….
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Doesn’t it look scrumptious? It was nothing but seeds. If I had time to fuss around with it, maybe I could have come up with a use, but the taste didn’t do much for me. 😦 I have the seeds in dirt now…hopefully, I ‘ll get something out of it. 🙂
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hmmm – very interesting fruit for sure.
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