The safest and best best way of preparing prickly pears in Granadaas taught to me by my Granadino friends Juan and Isabel
"This is the best way to prepare prickly pears!" We normally meet with them at least once a week to "catch up" with the news. They've lived in Granada all their lives and prepare their own prickly pears each year and so they should know how best to do it! And today they were telling us about some friends who went chumbo picking. The friends accidentally got some of the prickly spines on their clothes and had to go home and undress before entering the house! They didn't want to risk taking the spines inside their home. But that shouldn't ever happen to you! If ever you've tried to get chumbos (prickly pears) off the plant, you will know that the biggest problem when preparing prickly pears from Granada is avoiding the spines. The big ones are not too difficult to avoid. At least you can see them. But there are also fine spiney hairs (glochids) which are almost invisible. So, how do you prepare them without getting all those prickly spines in your skin? This method is tried and tested and is easy to follow. Preparing prickly pears in Granada This is what you need
First Step - Harvesting the Prickly Pears Wearing your gloves, bucket in one hand and tongs in the other, approach the prickly pears to collect the ones you want. The ripe prickly pears will be a reddish or dark maroon in colour. Grasp hold of them one by one with the tongs and deliberately twist the whole fruit. It will pull away from the pad easily. Drop it into the bucket. Continue until your have collected enough for your needs. Second Step - Stripping the spines off the Pears Take the pears back home and empty them onto a tiled floor or hard soil. But don't do it inside your house as the spines will cause a nuisance afterwards. Having spread the prickly pears onto the floor, brush them to and fro with your long handled brush (broom). This breaks the spines away from the fruit. But do it thoroughly. You especially want to remove the layer of fine spiney hairs which can cause misery if they get caught on your skin. This is an important part of preparing prickly pears in Granada. When finished, pick the pears up with your tongs and put them back into the bucket. Third Step - Removing the Loose SpinesPut the bucket under an outside tap, or hold a hose-pipe over the bucket containing the stripped pears. Run water into the bucket, continuing until the water overflows the bucket and carries the loose spines away. Keep stirring the pears to help the spines to escape.Fourth Step - Peeling the Prickly Pears This is another important step. Even though you think all the spines have come off, there may be one or two small ones left. If you want to be extra careful, you may want to wear some rubber gloves at this stage although they are not usually necessary.Empty your "stripped" prickly pears into the sink, leaving the plug out to allow the water to flow. Turn on the cold water tap, running the water into a colander. Place another colander nearby. One by one, hold the stripped prickly pears under the running tap while peeling them. Using a sharp knife, top and tail a pear and allow the ends to drop into the colander below. Next, cut through the skin along the length of the prickly pear. Put your knife down, and reach under the skin with your thumb, prising it upwards and away from the "meat" of the prickly pear. You will find that it will peel right off. Drop the skin into the colander and allow the water to wash over the pear you have just peeled. Put the peeled pear into the second colander and then continue peeling the next pear. Fifth Step - Finishing OffOnce the prickly pears are all peeled and in the colander, run the water over them again to make doubly sure there are no spines left. Allow the pears to drain off and then dry them off with a cloth. Put them into the fridge under cover until you want to eat them.Sixth Step - The Best BitEnjoy. You have worked hard to get this far. This is the Spanish way of preparing prickly pears from Granada. But before you eat them, why not click here to read more about eating prickly pears.By preparing prickly pears from Granada the way described, your hands will be spine free and you will be able to sit back and relax while you eat.. Prickly pears are an excellent source of vitamin C, and their delicate "melon-like" flavour make them very refreshing to eat straight from the fridge, especially on a hot day. Enjoy! Related links
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