Ever had prickly pears from Granada? Now is the best time to get them

Ever had a prickly pears from Granada?

Here is where and how to get some...

Now is the time to get prickly pears in Granada.

prickly pears in Granada on pad Go to almost any hillside within the province of Granada and you will see chumbos from Granada (prickly pears) growing on the pads of the cactus plant. In our locality you will also see people walking carefully around them, armed with thick gloves, tongs and buckets for self protection.

The chumbos are delicous to eat and profitable to sell. To buy just three prickly pears in Granada now will cost a whole euro.

The fruit we are talking about is, in actual fact, the Opuntia ficus-indica (Indian Fig Opuntia) which is a variety of domesticated cactus found throughout the hot and dry parts of the world.

The fruit and the pads, seeds, and even the flowers are all edible and can be prepared and eaten in a variety of ways but, in this area of Andalucia it is the prickly pears (chumbos) themselves which are most enjoyed.

Some of our neighbours actually encourage the spread of these easy to grow plants around the perimeter of their property.

Why?
For two reasons:-

First, because they form an effective barrier against all types of intruders (human and animal) and

Second, in September of each year they have a bumper crop of prickly pears from Granada to harvest.

The plants start to flower in June and the flowers can come in a multitude of attractive colours.

The growth of these plants has been documented for many centuries. They even accompanied Christopher Columbus on his explorations to prevent the onset of scurvy. Prickly pears have been used as a sweetener, as a flavouring for ice cream, as a hair conditioner.

Having said al that, these chumbos need to be approached with caution as they are not called prickly pears from Granada for nothing!! They are covered with a layer of fine spiney hairs or glochids which can irritate if they get caught in the skin.

prickly pears in Granada on floor

Around the Granada and Padul area they are harvested in the following cautious manner:-

Using fire tongs, grip the ripened chumbo, cut it off at its root or give it a slight twist to break it from the pad.

Put it directly into a bucket without touching it.

Once you have collected enough, take them home and spread them out onto the floor outside. Now hose them down with water while brushing them backwards and forwards with a broom. The brushing action breaks off the spines and the water flushes them away.

Next, cut off the thicker skin at the top and tail of each pear making sure that you rinse the knife under a running tap after each cut. The reason for this is that there often are very fine spines (hairs) growing at the ends of the Granada prickly pears and, if not rinsed, they could easily be passed onto the flesh of the pear.

Now cut across the pear from end to end and peel the skin off the pear. It is now ready to eat.

Put the prickly pears Granada into the fridge until it is time to eat then. Especially when cold, they are deliciously refreshing with a taste not unlike melon. The fruit contains seeds, which are easily chewed and digested.

As well as simply eating the flesh of the prickly pears Granada they can also be used for pies, jams and milk shakes. But the joy of harvesting and then preparing them make for a special treat and a real occasion.

If you would like to try some, visit our bed and breakfast in Granada in September and we will be pleased to give you some thick gloves and a pair of tongs and point you in the right direction for prickly pears from Padul. It is an experience well worth enjoying.

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