This delicious fruit has many names:Prickly Pear,Cactus Pear,Tuna,Cactus Apple and in Italian:Fico d’India (ficundiana in calabrese)…here at italyville.com,I call it Y-U-M-M-Y!
The cactus that produces cactus pears is abundant in many areas of Italy (especially in the south) as well as here in the US. The fruit grows right off the cactus leaves and it’s not uncommon to see 5,10 or more fruit growing on 1 leaf. The fruit isn’t difficult to find in the US but is usually on the expensive side. Our local grocery store has a small basket of about 10-15 of them and they sell for .99 cents each or 3 for $2. That’s a little pricey. We usually go to a local produce wholesaler or large produce retailer. This year we’re paying about $15-$20 per case. As you can see from the case below,it holds 30 pieces. Prickly pears can usually be found in store from September to about January (give or take.) In Calabria you can find them ripe on the cactus from approximately late summer to early November.
Eating Fico d’india
The fruit is great on it’s own but be careful peeling away the skin as there are lots of very small prickers on the plant as well as the fruit. If you buy them by the case or at a grocery store,the prickers are usually removed but there may be a stray or two so why chance it? If you are trying to get one straight off the cactus…. be extra careful!
An easy way to peel a prickly pear is to grab them with a napkin,cut off both ends,then make one slice the long way through the outer skin (not too deep.) Peel back the skin as seen above and then pull out the fruit. It’s ready to eat! The fruit is full of small edible seeds and is sweet and juicy. Most of the ones I’ve seen here are red but I’ve had yellow and orange ones as well.
In the US,“Andy Boy”from California is the brand that we buy and is most prevalent. Andy Boy was founded by the D’Arrigo brothers who came to the US from Messina,Sicily. Their main products include:Broccoli Rabe,Fennel,Romaine Hearts,Radicchio and Cactus Pears among others…. not surprising for 2 guys from Southern Italy!
I’ve never made or seen a recipe that uses them as an ingredient…. anyone? How about a cocktail?
PS- Make sure to throw the napkin out after using it to grab a prickly pear…. don’t use it to wipe your face!
PPS- The great picture with the ocean backdrop is from flickr –giogio68 and was taken in Capo Vaticano in Calabria (VV).
Do you know this is something that I have never tried yet. The colour!
(Happy New Year to you too,Joe. Let’s make it a great one.)
I’ve never made anything with prickly pears,but I have linked to some recipes at my place:
Fichi d’India Information and Recipes
My suoceri just bought a case of them right before Christmas,so they’re still around these parts even now!
I was taking some shots of those when in Positano Joe.. a local man saw me and asked me to try one right off the vine. He had a special knife and had that pear peeled in no time.. it was so juicy &scrumptious to eat!
Yum! I love fichi d’India and we also get the Andy Boy brand. We can go through a case a night!! As far as recipes,I don’t know of any,but I’ve had granita fichi d’India in Soverato one summer…and it was sooo good!
buon weekend,Joe!
Growing up in Tucson,my grandfather and great-grandmother would sneak out late at night and gather these from neighbors’cactus because they knew they would just rot off. Then they would clean and cut them for us kids.
Beautiful color inside,aren’t they? I’ve only eaten prickly pears as part of a fruit salad,but I’m definitely with you on the cocktail idea. A prickly pear cosmopolitan,anyone? well,it’s friday at 4pm,so yes,I’ll have two please!
We picked a couple shopping bags full of these in Arizona a few years back. I made prickly pear jelly –something that my AZ grandmother always made. Have also seen recipes for margaritas and other drinks.
They’re all over the place in Positano. There are some growing just over the path in the walk between the beaches. I’m surprised that they don’t hit anyone over the head when they fall!
When my father came to visit (a Calabrian) he was amazed that no one tried to pick them.
I’ve never thought to buy one of these for myself. I think I tried them for the first time while on vacation in Arizone. A prickly pear margarita is one beautiful coctail –colorwise and tastewise!
We used to eat these all the time in Malta where they grow like weeds. I love them,the Maltese farmers keep them in buckets of cold water,it softens the prickles and after a while they fall off. We planted some here but as yet no fruit. Great photos. amanda
I never would have associated them with Calabria. We have them here in SoCal,and I’ve also associated them with Mexico. Thanks for teaching me something new,Joe!
Beautiful colors. The ones we get up here can be rather it or miss as they tend to probably harvest them too early for shipping. Seems like they weren’t around for long this year. I’d love to see them grow like weeds in their natural habitat. Someday…
We call them prickly pears. When I was younger we would hike through the hills and along the roadsides they were everywhere.. un-owned and free for the picking.
Very careful picking that is. It is definitely best to handle these with gloves.
These,persimmons and oranges were a local favorite! Thanks for this article!
Yes,definitely be careful when you peel these! I’ve also seen them peeled in a bucket of water,I think it makes it easier to peel. They are so delicious. Usually,the color of the fruit is preceded by a flower of the same color.
Does anyone know the correct proportions of ingredients in making fico d’india liqueur? It’s like making limoncello except you use fichi d’india. My family was originally from Vazzano,Calabria and there is a grainy YouTube video posted from there about the fico d’india festival showing how the liqueur is made but difficult to understand. Grazie in advance.
how can i get these prickly pears,or can you mail to me ?