Prickly pears are extremely dangerous and you can’t eat them without gloves

In Sicily and other places in southern Italy, the prickly pear, or fico d’India as the Italians call it, is a much-loved type of fruit. This spiky fruit grows on a cactus, so you have probably seen it before—if you have ever been to the south, that is. The fruit’s color ranges from bright yellow to deep red, and opening it can be extremely dangerous. Our colleague Minne from Italiamo found that out the painful way after doing it incorrectly.

How do you eat a prickly pear?

Opening a prickly pear is no simple task. You could call it an adventure, or a form of self-inflicted torture if you do it wrong. In practical terms, the spines must first be removed carefully—a task Italians often carry out using special gloves. Once you get through the thick, spiky skin, the danger is over. Minne got this completely wrong.

‘I had bought several beautiful-looking prickly pears at the market and the market vendor did give me some kind of instructions, but my Italian wasn’t good enough yet to really understand them. So when I tried to peel the fruit at home with a small knife, dozens of tiny hairs, or spines, shot off in every direction as soon as they came into contact with my skin. Literally every direction. They were tiny and invisible, but they got everywhere and hurt disproportionately badly for their size. It felt as though I was being attacked by something invisible, because you can’t see the needles properly.

Water doesn’t help

I could still feel them days later, because rinsing with water doesn’t help. My former housemate from the south laughed for an hour and a half when I told her I had tried to open a prickly pear without any instructions. At that very moment, she showed me how it should be done, gloves and all, of course. You cut off the top, then cut into the skin and peel it. My advice would be to quickly watch this video before you try to eat one.’

Are prickly pears healthy?

Is all that dramatic peeling worth it? Yes. The taste of a fico d’India is fantastic and difficult to compare with other fruits. It has the sweetness of a pear, the freshness and juiciness of a melon, as well as a kind of citrusy undertone that makes the whole thing refreshing. In Italy, people love home remedies for health complaints, and the prickly pear is therefore also used to relieve stomach problems and all kinds of other ailments.

Once safely peeled, Italians usually eat prickly pears out of hand, but they can also be used in jams or desserts. One of Minne’s favorite ways to eat a prickly pear is as a granita, the shaved ice that is widely eaten in Sicily. You can simply buy one somewhere when you’re there, and then you won’t have to deal with those extremely dangerous spines.

Also read:

• Why you’re better off washing and cutting your own fruit and vegetables
• Recipe for the easiest pasta in the world (and it’s delicious!)
• 6 ingredients you can replace with cheaper alternatives

Source: Italiamo