Ever had a prickly pears from Granada?Here is where and how to get some...
"Prickly pears. Delicioso!" Go to almost any hillside within the province of Granada and you will see chumbos, or prickly pears, from Granada growing on the pads of the cactus plants. Only last week I saw a couple busily harvesting their "early" chumbos. They were well protected with thick gloves, fire-tongs and buckets. Those spines really are painful.
The chumbos are delicous to eat and profitable to sell. To buy just three prickly pears in Granada (prepared and ready to eat) will cost at least two euros. The fruit I am 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, seed - and even the flowers - are all edible and can be prepared and eaten in a variety of ways. However, in this area of Andalucia it is the prickly pears (chumbos) themselves which are most enjoyed. A Safe Use For Prickly PearsSome 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 the end of August, beginning of 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 all of 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.
Around the Granada and Padul area they are harvested in the following cautious manner:-
Click on this link more detailed description of preparing prickly pears from Granada for a more detailed description.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 favourite city in August/ September and we will be pleased to offer you some thick gloves and a pair of tongs. And then we will point you in the right direction for picking prickly pears in Granada. It is an experience well worth enjoying. Top ten links related to this page
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