Thorny, colourful and healthy
Tough on the outside, with its tough thorns, but soft and sweet on the inside, the Prickly Pear is certainly an original fruit that offers variety, taste and benefits.
The Prickly pear is the fruit of Opuntia, a family of plants belonging to the Cactaceae family, which grows in difficult conditions. In fact, it has no particular need for water, so much so that it is native to the desert areas from which it originates, and it is able to adapt to withstand even the most drastic of climate changes.
Opuntia is such an ancient plant that it was also used for its healing properties by the Spanish conquistadors in Mexico and elsewhere. The peels, which are rich in water that the plant is able to extract itself from the subsoil, are even used in rural tradition to put out fires or used as food even today.
The prickly pear has always been one of the symbols of Sicily, so much so that it is often mentioned by famous writers such as John Galt and Elio Vittorini.
Prickly pears are pocket-sized with many properties
In nature, the Prickly Pear is characterised by its very thorny peel and typical colours. It is a fruit that is difficult to pick, due to it having thorns, but once picked, it is easy to be won over by its taste, almost as if it were a reward for the difficulty of picking it.
Prickly pears have pulps and peels of various colours, ranging from red to purple, orange and yellow to a soft green. The nuances of colour in the peel correspond to different varieties of taste and this makes it difficult to tire of eating prickly pears.
Each Prickly Pear, in short, is a pleasant discovery for the palate.
As well as being a tasty fruit, the Prickly Pear is also a real concentrate of wellbeing, in a practical, pocket-sized format.
Prickly pears are rich in vitamin C (18mg per 100g of product) and minerals, such as potassium and magnesium, but also in fibre, which helps regulate the functioning of the intestinal system. In an average fruit, about 150g, there is about 7g of fibre per 93kcal (Source crea.gov.it)
In addition, the seeds in its pulp and mucilage are an excellent natural treatment to control sugar absorption. In fact, the consumption of Prickly Pears is correlated with a reduction in blood glucose levels, according to a study published in the International Journal of Pharmacognosy.
To get the best taste from Prickly Pears, it is advisable to eat them fresh. It is a refreshing end to a meal or a snack that restores minerals..
