Sliced and Juiced Prickly Pear

Jar of prickly pear juice (cactus pear juice) with 3 whole prickly pears next to it, on gray surface.

If you've ever wondered how to eat a prickly pear, you're certainly not alone. These pretty cactus fruits might look intimidating, but they're surprisingly easy to peel, cut and juice once you know how. Their sweet, refreshing flavor makes them perfect for drinks, vinaigrettes, sauces and desserts. I'll show you exactly how to prepare them safely.

Makes 1 cup / About 4 servings, depending on how it's used

Prep Time5

Course: Drinks, Ingredient

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: exotic fruits

Servings:

Calories: 18kcal

Author: Valentina K. Wein

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound prickly pears (cactus pears) - about 5 pears

Instructions

Put on cooking gloves! If you don't, you will have tiny, almost invisible, sharp spines stuck in your fingers and hands.
Use paring knife to cut about ½ inch off of each end of the fruit. Then, make a slit with the knife, vertically, through the skin — ¼ inch deep (or less). Now use the tip of the knife to lift the skin away from the slit a bit.
Use your hands to gently pull the skin off. It usually will come off in one piece and may remove a bit of the inner flesh — that’s okay. Once the skin is removed, you can cut the fruit into slices.
If you don't want the fruit with the (edible) seeds, purée it in a blender and then strain out the seeds to use the juice.

Notes

Nutritional information is automatically calculated, so it should only be used as an estimate.

Nutrition