One summer a friend and I gathered what felt like 100lbs of prickly pear fruit. We torched them in a cast iron skillet and then boiled them down, strained them and made jelly and syrup. It was great. Tastes a lot like grapes.
Even when I carefully scrape or scrub the spines off, they're still on the loose and some always transfer to my clothes and eventually to my skin. However they burn as easily as hair. I don't own a torch but I use a Zippo if I'm picking a handful or I roll them for a few seconds on a hot grill to scorch away the spines. I can process a lot that way in just a few minutes.
When I bought tunas in the grocery store, I learned, the hard way, that I still had to watch out for the spines. Fortunately, a friend told me to wrap my hand in bacon, to help remove the spines from my hand.
The neighbor down the road has a huge cactus growing in the yard. I just learned yesterday that the fruit is edible. This morning I went for my walk, bag in hand. I failed to watch an educational video on the proper harvesting techniques needed. Needless to say, now I know why it’s called prickly pear. 😂
😂 oh no!… I’m so sorry for your pain but I don’t blame you because when they are ripe they look so tempting to just grab and eat! like me I mostly learn by hands on learning as well 🤠🤝
I’m glad more people have found this wonderful fruit. It looks like you’re living in a semi dry area and you’ve got cattle. You know cattle love the cactus pads? You should give it to them together with hay so they digest it better. When you’re feeding you’re cattle with cactus pads, you don’t need to give them as much water. Cactus pads contains 80-85% water… and if you give them cactus pads you can give the cattle less corn since there are carbons in cactus pads. Prickly pear/cactus are the future since it’s getting dryer and dryer. I live in North Africa and if it wasn’t for the cactus/prickly pear our animals would starve to death and die from thirst. Turkeys prefer the peeling from the prickly pear fruits. Sheep and goats also love eating the cactus pads but cattle likes it more. I’ve got tonnes of experience with animals and cactus. I’m living in the second most dense cactus country in the world according to ICARDA. Don’t be dependent on the government for your watering and feeding your animals. Grow cactus and set yourself free. There are cutting machines available for cutting the pads and then you just mix it with hay. You’ll save a lot of money. Take care cowboy ;)
Wow what a great informative comment!!👍So many great things you say! Yes prickly pear and nopales cactus are amazing!! It’s so crazy how it’s a fruit and vegetable in one drought resistant plant!! Haha oh my word my goats go crazy for cactus!! I’ve tried some with cattle but because of your comment I want to experiment more with them! I have seen the grinders some use for cactus but I don’t know their names as it’s been a while. Literally my goats just eat through cactus they get a hold of even with the thorns. So do you all shred and grind up the cactus to spread over the hay easier or to loosen up the thorns for the cattle to eat? My cactuses are growing very nice since I planted them praise God👍... A storm hit a section of them last week but unlike the other plants that got messed up... the cactus I have just been replanting and dethorning and eating and also putting in water to drink. I’ve been wanting to and plan on putting up a small video of how I make prickly pear smoothies as they are so good and healthy!Thanks for your comment!
@@UnitedRanch Hahaha I know the goats go crazy on the pads. They love it and it’s nutritious for them. If you’re unsure about the cattle or if you’re not sure about buying a shredder then you can harvest the pads and cut them by hand in smaller pieces and mix them with hay and try it on the cattle. I bought a shredder locally for about 300 dollars. Ive seen Chinese made ones for cheaper. In the US i would guess they cost maximum of 1000 dollars. It’s just a normal shredder for agriculture. Nothing special. Same shredder as for barley and with different net sizes for smaller or bigger pieces. Just make sure it’s corrosion free because the pads contains a lot of water, otherwise your shredder will have corrode. So make sure it’s made of stainless steel. We mix it half shredded pads and we shred the hay to. Here in Tunisia we even mix the shredded pads with shredded straw. I know you don’t give you’re animals straw but here we do it. Straw from barley or wheat. The hay or straw is for making the pads more fibrous because the pads alone don’t have so much fibres. Hay is better since it contains more proteins but as I said here straw works fine since that is what is available most of the time. I’ve been making prickly pear seed oil from the seeds inside the prickly pear fruit. The seeds contains 12-16% proteins and vegetable oil. You maybe understand it if you ever eaten 6-8 prickly pear fruits on an empty stomach. You feel full. After we press the seeds, we’ll give the leftovers to the animals. They just go threw it. It’s the seeds that contains the protein and the juices contains carbons. Another god advice if you want to eat prickly pear off season. Is to pick the fruits before they flower. What will happen? They will grow back but during off season so you’ll be able to eat the fruits during November, December and January. With that I don’t have so much experience but my grandfather is doing it all the time and my neighbours are also doing it. Instead of only eating them during August to September. I see that your opuntia indica is spineless so you don’t need to worry about the animals when you cut it by hand. I know there are still some spines but they are few and small so they don’t effect the animals. If you get a shredder then it will shred the spines. Here we have mostly three verities. All of them opuntia but one is with lots and big spines. One that has no spines, like yours and the last one we call it “camel tongue”, because the pads looks like a camel tongue. The one that has lots and big thorn, we just shred it in the shredder and the cattle loves it. With your spineless pads they would like it. Just give them some time to get used to it. You can just check on RUclips and you’ll get some ideas about how to feed your cattle with opuntia indica. Another thing you also could do with your opuntia is to make biogas from it. I’ve not done it but I know they are doing it in Mexico. From biogas you can make electricity. If you’re going to plant some new opuntias then do it on a poor soil. You can plant it in a good soil but it’s a waste. Just give it some cow manure and water it in the beginning. When it’s established then you don’t need to water it. Just put some manure and leave it to God. It will flourish. No need for chemical fertilisers. Just a waste of money. Cow manure or whatever animal manure you have. Welcome to the world of opuntia/cactus.
Wow you have a wealth of knowledge and experience!! I’m glad you reached out! As I get time I would like to pick your brain on some things! My father is the one who got me into nopales and tuna and I screenshotted your comments and sent to him. He lives in the city but his yard is filled with so many cactus and herbs and fruit!! I’ll try to respond when I get the time!👍. How do you get the oil from the tuna seeds?? I dry mine after I strain them out for smoothies and then Blend them reel fine to almost a flour. Do you have like a special press?? That’s awesome ... so your cattle diet is about half grinded cactus and half barley or wheat straw? That’s cool. I’ve never heard of the flower trick! My dad and I just dethorn and freeze them for future tuna smoothies! I probably still have a few hundred in my freezer! And yes the variety I have have smaller thorns than some of the huge variety! They still have thorns on the tuna and pad but not freakishly looking😂
@@UnitedRanch Here in Tunisia it is common knowledge about the picking of the fruits so you can eat them off season. Even city people that don’t know anything about agriculture knows it. Because during season 20kg (around 40 pounds) of prickly pear fruits cost 2-5 dollars depending on from where you buy it. During off season it costs five to ten times more. So the city people know why it costs more when they want to buy/eat prickly pear off season because the prickly pear that is picked off season is more labour intensive. You need to pick it twice and the supply is less during off season and the demand is still high. I just have a couple of cows. Nothing fancy. My neighbours have more. Here in Tunisia it’s most sheep and goats. Me and my father own some sheep that give lamb and that we eat from and sell. It’s most my father who loves the sheep. It makes him remember the old good days. Our thing is sheep just as your thing (US) is cattle and beef. The cattle i give 60-70% pads with hay/straw and the rest is barley and leftover from the barley/wheat shells that are leftover from the flour industry. I don’t know what it’s called in English. During the prickly pear season they get the peelings from my prickly pear seed production, juice mixed with straw/hay and of course the prickly pear kernel from the pressing. The sheep also gets that. The prickly pear we pick when they are over mature. They get super red when they are over mature and the oil content is more in over mature prickly pears seeds. Its not me picking them, I buy them from nearby farmers and women that work for the farmers. It’s veeeeeery labour intensive and I need around 800kg of prickly pear fruits to make 36-38kg of seeds that make me 1litre of prickly pear seed oil. It’s not for eating, you can eat it but there are cheaper alternatives. It’s for skincare. Everything goes on export to Europe. You can imagine how much leftovers I have when I need 800kg of prickly pear for 1litre of prickly pear oil…. I even give leftovers to my neighbours who also have animals and the juice I give some to a guy who makes vinegar with it. In this moment I have around 1100kg of seeds that I’ve stored and that I can press on demand. I use a KK40 press from Germany for the pressing. It’s super strong and have a special built screw for hard kernels. You can’t press the prickly pear with a normal screw for sunflower or almonds. The screw will break. The over mature prickly pear are super cheap since they are not so nice to eat and they are easier to pick because the women that picks them don’t need to choose nice ones. They just pick what’s infront of them. 20kg cost me around 1 dollar and that’s with transportation included. The prickly pear get super redd when they are over mature. Tunisia have 600’000 hectares of prickly pears/cactus according to ICARDA. Second most country in the world after Mexico. Tunisia is maybe as big as Florida. You can drive from north to south in 7-8 hours. Its a small country. It’s not like we are planting it nicely in rows and taking care of them. It’s God who is taking care of them. We use it as fencing and pick the pads for our animals and for eating them during late summer. But priority nr 1 is for fencing. Here in Tunisia, if you don’t fence your land, then your neighbour will take it. I’m serious! It’s veeeery difficult to register your land and most of the landowners have land that they owned for generations but that they can’t register it. It costs lots of money to register land and it takes several years to do it. I even have a property that I build and where I can’t register it. This is Tunisia and the third world. Don’t ask my why. It’s just like that. So if you want to keep your neighbour from tanking your land then the only solution is to grow opuntia with large spines as fencing. You should check the scientific papers that ICARDA has made on prickly pear, opuntia and agriculture. They write in English so that’s no problem for you. I’ve seen a research from them where they gave milking Holstein cows 60% of shredded pads, 20 % hay and 20 % soy without any effect on their milk production. So there are huge potential. Take care !
Great exchange of ideas. By the way, my girlfriend spent several hours last night trying to remove tuna spinners from her hands. I will show her this video for next time.😊
I love Prickly Pears whenever I can buy them. Endured all those fine thorns in my fingers! Thanks for info on tongs, gloves and scrubber. No more thorns! You might try cutting them lengthwise in four quarters to eat right aways. Peeling them if juicing makes so much sense. Big thanks!
Thank you very much🤠! Yes if I’m eating them fresh I cut both ends off and then lengthways with Kevlar gloves and peel them too👍… I made a short video on my simple process! They sure are good🤝
Thank you for the excellent presentation! Prickly pears grow wild in a beach access area where I live in Melbourne Beach, FL. I have harvested some. The fruit and the juice are excellent. I now have in pots 21 seedlings that I have been growing (from the seeds of one fruit) the past few months. I have also pruned some of the wild bushes, of which my son has planted some clippings in pots in his back yard in Orlando. They are showing signs of growth, showing me that they are very easy to grow. I have enjoyed the prickly pear leaves prepared by chefs at resorts in MX. Everyone should be growing fruits and vegetables of all sorts!
Thank you for the encouragement brother! Yesss nopales cactus are sooo easy to propogate!! Cut off the pads from the mother… plant a section in ground or even lay it on the ground they grow roots very easy👍… yes many dishes with both the cactus and the fruit that would be great if more people grew this gem👍 I have yet to have the patience to grow from seed but that would be a cool experiment! Have you seen any growth from your seedlings yet??
Hermano.. if it wasn't for your accent i would believe you were Hispanic.. i am amazed .the knowledge you have about the cactus and its benefits. Keep it up
Ah muchas gracias mi hermano!! My very close friends growing up were Hispanic and I so much appreciate their culture!! I’ve learned a lot from them and my dad and research! I appreciate your words mi hermano!😊👍👍
When I lived in Florida. I had them growing all around the outside edge of my house. Especially around my windows. So trust me intruders didn't won't to try and climb through a window. And I would harvest the succulent fruit in the summer and I had several ways of trying to get all the spines off. (And yes use a very good glove with handleing this fruit.) And they all have sharp hair fibers. Almost too small to see, but you will definitely feel them if you get them on your hands or clothes. So the only best way to remove them was with a small torch. My wife actually made homemade jelly from them that was absolutely delicious. And I decided to try them with a mix of blackberries and made some very tasty "make your momma happy" wine. Haven't thought of it. Because that was some time back. And I lost my wife to cancer. I live near Atlanta now. But I think this next spring I'll plant some around my home here.
That’s great you’ve experienced their goodness!! I’m so sorry for your loss. That sounds like a great plan to plant more! That jam sounds delicious!! Do you remember the recipe??
I usually twist them off when ripe. If you use a metal collander and cold water, you can rinse under cold water while swishing the Tunas around, the bump up against each other in the collander, and will rub the glochids off natrually.
@@UnitedRanch I use welders gloves and tongs when I pick. Then when using the colander method I use black rubber mechanics gloves. I also use a blue Jean apron so as not to transfer them to my clothing.
They grow wild and are very invasive here in Sardinia. But the locals love them. They convert a piece of bamboo into a grabber and shake them around together in a wicker basket, and they remove the thorns by rubbing against eachother in the basket.
They also are used as natural fences around the house. If you see them growing, don't be afraid to stop and ask. They are always happy to share and will even give you recipes. You will never see a Mexican home in the country without them. Just look around. They are there. Mexicans are some of the friendliest, most giving people on earth. They even gave me cuttings to plant at home.
I saw a video of a Sicilian man putting them in a water bucket and rubbing them with fig leaves! The fig leaves have strong, coarse, fuzzy hairs that will take off the spines! Then pour the water with thorns onto the cacti ;) repurposing
found them on my holiday trip to greece, couldnt help myself and just bit into the sweet, raw, unprepared fresh of the cactus fruit xD, Lips are healing nicely tho
😂well that’s sure one way to eat them!! I hope you’re healing up nice! I don’t blame you for the urgency to just bite into the sweet goodness though!🤠🤝
Just twist no need to cut. I have harvested tunas for years, just twist an put in bucket, I take them home and put a hose in the bucket turn the water on and stir. When clear liquid flows I decant water and take tunas cut them in half and put in a steam juicer. Nothing but clear clean juice. Freezes well, I make jelly and syrup all winter.
That’s great… yes I twist some but others I knife to get more of a cleaner separation depending how ripe they are👍. What do you mean when you refer to clear liquid?
A cheap bakers handheld propane torch will eliminate glochids from your environment while this method just relocates them. I've carefully processed thousands and glochids always seem to show up at some point on me or my family until using some form of fire to eradicate them.
Ah no I’m sorry! I usually do my prepping of the tunas away from my deck or “hang out” areas. I do not have problems of them relocating and affecting me later.
A pretty cowboy with a tortilla hat taught me about not being hurt by the fearful cactus....In the Mediterranean the locals use a little steel cylinder on a stick (just a bit wider than the fruit)..Place over the fruit and snap...No tongs, no glasses, no tweezers...No complications....
I have a bunch in my yard I just harvest some last night. I didn't wear gloves and it feels like splinters in my fingers. I used the cactus plant for my skin and hair instead of aloe. I don't have those tools😮
Oh no I’m so sorry! Yes if they get in your skin they can be annoying to get out… tweezers and good lighting👍! That’s so cool you use the cactus pad on your hair and skin!! 🤠🤝God bless you☺️
Let me tell you, a torch is a better idea. So many tools, so much work and effort needed this way. A simple can torch will do. Just burn the thorns and enjoy your fruit. That’s it.
In Malta we harvest prickly pears very early in the morning, the thorns will be softer, wash them a couple of times in running water and you're good to go.
Awesome! Well I’m glad you ran into the video!🤠🤝… the nopales pads and tuna fruit are sooo healthy!! Have you tried eating the nopales cactus pads yet?
OK .... did I miss the part where he mentions the month to harvest these. ?? Can you scrub them smooth in a tub of water? No needles flying around. Safe?
Hi there! So in summer is when I would harvest mine usually even though they stay good on the cactus for a long time (unless the ants or predators get to them first! So it really just depends on your climate when the best month to harvest but ideally when the true deep color shows is a great time (like if they are a burgundy color tuna… don’t harvest when green or partial green etc). The tub of water sounds like a good experiment… just not sure if the water will make removing the thorns harder or easier… and probably need two tubs… one for rinsing the dethorned tunas from the floating thorns👍… let me know how it goes if you try it😊👍
@@UnitedRanch >> Thanks for the intel. Im on the Maine coast , so I dont forsee a tuna harvest at any time soon. When I get back down south to North Florida Ill be on the lookout. Ive been digging them from ditches for years to landscape with. Cant wait to get back to my place in Old Town , Dixie County , Florida. On the Suwanee River. YeeeeHaaa.
Quick & Simple Prickly Pear Smoothie Tutorial (Healthy/All Natural/No Sugar added!) #shorts ruclips.net/user/shortsif5hcvR72GI?feature=share Here’s video on how I do the smoothie!🤠
Oh thank you so much!! A wonderful loving and loyal companion and guardian!😊... I’m actually on the west coast so I’m not sure of any good breeders in Texas I’m sorry! He’s an American bulldog... yes very similar look to the olde English!
Hey there!🤠that’s awesome congrats on the move! I live in zone 9 and they do really well here! Do you know what zone salado is in? If they are in shade in the heat of summer they tend to do really well when young unless you water them more… so the more direct sun the more water. More estsblished cactus can take more heat with less watering but the new pads planted you can baby in the first Hot season🤠👍. And in the snow and frost there’s only some of the young ones that have gotten frost burnt but usually most all mine come back to good health in spring/summer if they were affected at all by the freezing temps or non draining poor soil some are in👍God bless your move!🤝👍
And those are just some tips I’ve noticed with mine over the years! All in all they are Super easy to care for and propogate! And such good usable food!! Veggies AND Fruit in one evergreen succulent!
What causes the splits is too much water and if you get a paint brush and brush the stickers off then squirt the plant down it makes it easier to pick them and not get poked
I can see a stiff paint brush working… just don’t do it on a windy day😂👍. So you personally brush them off while connected to the pad and then hose down the fruit and pad before removal?
Great question! They both are from the opuntia cacti family known as nopales but I am unsure if the two different colors have specific names or not.🤔… the nopales cactus they grow on look the same just grow different color fruit. Maybe someone in comments knows if they have technical names attached to each color?
Dam talk about the hard way man LMAO get a fork and a knife cut top and tail slice down the side and just roll it out of the skin man drop them in ice water finished just don't drop the fruit on your cutting board I do this on a sheet of paper we harvest 100s
Depends on your desired outcome … if you freeze with skin on you just save a lot of the fruit flesh when come to to skin after frozen… if it doesn’t matter to you then it it don’t matter lol. If I’m just doing a quick snack I just grab a knife and Kevlar glove or knife and tongs and do more like how you do… but I know some of my relatives would freak if I do that to all them as I loose fruit flesh😂
You know the yellow tastes very very similar to the red... maybe a slight difference but not too much... I will need to harvest this year again and then hopefully I can remember to comment back here to let you know😊👍
Ahhh too bad I’m not local!! Eventually I desire to do online sales with succulents and farmers markets Lord willing. Have you seen any for sale in your part of Texas?… nurseries, Craigslist? And yes I think it would be ideal going to the farm when the prickly pears are getting ripe (right around this time for me) to inspect the color and pad variety👍
Glad to see less cautious methods than mine succeeding in removing the needles and tiny thorns called glochids. I set a hose trickling about 3 feet off the ground. with thick rubber gloves and goggles and a green scrubber pad I take the tuna ( prickly pear fruit) in one hand an under the trickling water scrub it with a green mesh scrubbing pad sold for dishes. After like two full minutes I set it aside and do the next one. Eventually I rinse the cleaned fruit just to be sure and put in a bowl to bring in the house. without gloves. There I cut off a bit on both ends avoiding cutting through the needle nodes to prevent possible remaining tiny needles from being carried by the knife into the flesh. Then I make one cut lengthwise through the skin and hand peel placing it in a second bowl. Seedy but quite tasty for the geeks out there I saw a measurement once of dissolved solids..."16brix" roughly 16% sugar similar to table grapes.
Yes you can I just hear takes a lot of patience lol! I haven’t went through all the processes to fully attempt it yet as it’s Soo easy to propagate nopales from cuttings of pads🤠👍
Yes that’s a method I do when when I’m wearing Kevlar gloves and I’m just eating them raw as it doesn’t matter if the thorns are left on the skin or not… but when say I’m storing them in the freezer for later smoothies I like dethorning them before freezing them👍
Absolutely! The cactus pads (nopales) are so good and are actually vegetables! I can cook with them or eat raw or cut in slices and put in jar with water for cactus water (after I dethorn them haha)!🤠👍
I applaud you for not begging for money and for taking the time to show this.
Glad it could help some!🤠… here’s a short video on how I prep and eat them raw… ruclips.net/user/shortsQQ6znYo09co?feature=shared
One summer a friend and I gathered what felt like 100lbs of prickly pear fruit. We torched them in a cast iron skillet and then boiled them down, strained them and made jelly and syrup. It was great. Tastes a lot like grapes.
Even when I carefully scrape or scrub the spines off, they're still on the loose and some always transfer to my clothes and eventually to my skin. However they burn as easily as hair. I don't own a torch but I use a Zippo if I'm picking a handful or I roll them for a few seconds on a hot grill to scorch away the spines. I can process a lot that way in just a few minutes.
Nice that it works for you … the kevlar gloves did the trick for me in removing the thorns👍
When I bought tunas in the grocery store, I learned, the hard way, that I still had to watch out for the spines.
Fortunately, a friend told me to wrap my hand in bacon, to help remove the spines from my hand.
A big goat!
The neighbor down the road has a huge cactus growing in the yard. I just learned yesterday that the fruit is edible. This morning I went for my walk, bag in hand. I failed to watch an educational video on the proper harvesting techniques needed. Needless to say, now I know why it’s called prickly pear. 😂
😂 oh no!… I’m so sorry for your pain but I don’t blame you because when they are ripe they look so tempting to just grab and eat! like me I mostly learn by hands on learning as well 🤠🤝
I managed to get a few in my lip. Oh brother 🤣
"Needless" to say 😅 My wife went walking and decided to go for the superfruit. Well we've been youtubing cactus needle removal since then
I’m glad more people have found this wonderful fruit. It looks like you’re living in a semi dry area and you’ve got cattle. You know cattle love the cactus pads? You should give it to them together with hay so they digest it better. When you’re feeding you’re cattle with cactus pads, you don’t need to give them as much water. Cactus pads contains 80-85% water… and if you give them cactus pads you can give the cattle less corn since there are carbons in cactus pads. Prickly pear/cactus are the future since it’s getting dryer and dryer. I live in North Africa and if it wasn’t for the cactus/prickly pear our animals would starve to death and die from thirst. Turkeys prefer the peeling from the prickly pear fruits. Sheep and goats also love eating the cactus pads but cattle likes it more. I’ve got tonnes of experience with animals and cactus. I’m living in the second most dense cactus country in the world according to ICARDA. Don’t be dependent on the government for your watering and feeding your animals. Grow cactus and set yourself free. There are cutting machines available for cutting the pads and then you just mix it with hay. You’ll save a lot of money. Take care cowboy ;)
Wow what a great informative comment!!👍So many great things you say! Yes prickly pear and nopales cactus are amazing!! It’s so crazy how it’s a fruit and vegetable in one drought resistant plant!! Haha oh my word my goats go crazy for cactus!! I’ve tried some with cattle but because of your comment I want to experiment more with them! I have seen the grinders some use for cactus but I don’t know their names as it’s been a while. Literally my goats just eat through cactus they get a hold of even with the thorns. So do you all shred and grind up the cactus to spread over the hay easier or to loosen up the thorns for the cattle to eat? My cactuses are growing very nice since I planted them praise God👍... A storm hit a section of them last week but unlike the other plants that got messed up... the cactus I have just been replanting and dethorning and eating and also putting in water to drink. I’ve been wanting to and plan on putting up a small video of how I make prickly pear smoothies as they are so good and healthy!Thanks for your comment!
@@UnitedRanch Hahaha I know the goats go crazy on the pads. They love it and it’s nutritious for them. If you’re unsure about the cattle or if you’re not sure about buying a shredder then you can harvest the pads and cut them by hand in smaller pieces and mix them with hay and try it on the cattle. I bought a shredder locally for about 300 dollars. Ive seen Chinese made ones for cheaper. In the US i would guess they cost maximum of 1000 dollars. It’s just a normal shredder for agriculture. Nothing special. Same shredder as for barley and with different net sizes for smaller or bigger pieces. Just make sure it’s corrosion free because the pads contains a lot of water, otherwise your shredder will have corrode. So make sure it’s made of stainless steel. We mix it half shredded pads and we shred the hay to. Here in Tunisia we even mix the shredded pads with shredded straw. I know you don’t give you’re animals straw but here we do it. Straw from barley or wheat. The hay or straw is for making the pads more fibrous because the pads alone don’t have so much fibres. Hay is better since it contains more proteins but as I said here straw works fine since that is what is available most of the time. I’ve been making prickly pear seed oil from the seeds inside the prickly pear fruit. The seeds contains 12-16% proteins and vegetable oil. You maybe understand it if you ever eaten 6-8 prickly pear fruits on an empty stomach. You feel full. After we press the seeds, we’ll give the leftovers to the animals. They just go threw it. It’s the seeds that contains the protein and the juices contains carbons.
Another god advice if you want to eat prickly pear off season. Is to pick the fruits before they flower. What will happen? They will grow back but during off season so you’ll be able to eat the fruits during November, December and January. With that I don’t have so much experience but my grandfather is doing it all the time and my neighbours are also doing it. Instead of only eating them during August to September.
I see that your opuntia indica is spineless so you don’t need to worry about the animals when you cut it by hand. I know there are still some spines but they are few and small so they don’t effect the animals. If you get a shredder then it will shred the spines. Here we have mostly three verities. All of them opuntia but one is with lots and big spines. One that has no spines, like yours and the last one we call it “camel tongue”, because the pads looks like a camel tongue. The one that has lots and big thorn, we just shred it in the shredder and the cattle loves it. With your spineless pads they would like it. Just give them some time to get used to it. You can just check on RUclips and you’ll get some ideas about how to feed your cattle with opuntia indica.
Another thing you also could do with your opuntia is to make biogas from it. I’ve not done it but I know they are doing it in Mexico. From biogas you can make electricity.
If you’re going to plant some new opuntias then do it on a poor soil. You can plant it in a good soil but it’s a waste. Just give it some cow manure and water it in the beginning. When it’s established then you don’t need to water it. Just put some manure and leave it to God. It will flourish. No need for chemical fertilisers. Just a waste of money. Cow manure or whatever animal manure you have.
Welcome to the world of opuntia/cactus.
Wow you have a wealth of knowledge and experience!! I’m glad you reached out! As I get time I would like to pick your brain on some things! My father is the one who got me into nopales and tuna and I screenshotted your comments and sent to him. He lives in the city but his yard is filled with so many cactus and herbs and fruit!! I’ll try to respond when I get the time!👍. How do you get the oil from the tuna seeds?? I dry mine after I strain them out for smoothies and then Blend them reel fine to almost a flour. Do you have like a special press?? That’s awesome ... so your cattle diet is about half grinded cactus and half barley or wheat straw? That’s cool. I’ve never heard of the flower trick! My dad and I just dethorn and freeze them for future tuna smoothies! I probably still have a few hundred in my freezer! And yes the variety I have have smaller thorns than some of the huge variety! They still have thorns on the tuna and pad but not freakishly looking😂
@@UnitedRanch Here in Tunisia it is common knowledge about the picking of the fruits so you can eat them off season. Even city people that don’t know anything about agriculture knows it. Because during season 20kg (around 40 pounds) of prickly pear fruits cost 2-5 dollars depending on from where you buy it. During off season it costs five to ten times more. So the city people know why it costs more when they want to buy/eat prickly pear off season because the prickly pear that is picked off season is more labour intensive. You need to pick it twice and the supply is less during off season and the demand is still high. I just have a couple of cows. Nothing fancy. My neighbours have more. Here in Tunisia it’s most sheep and goats. Me and my father own some sheep that give lamb and that we eat from and sell. It’s most my father who loves the sheep. It makes him remember the old good days. Our thing is sheep just as your thing (US) is cattle and beef. The cattle i give 60-70% pads with hay/straw and the rest is barley and leftover from the barley/wheat shells that are leftover from the flour industry. I don’t know what it’s called in English. During the prickly pear season they get the peelings from my prickly pear seed production, juice mixed with straw/hay and of course the prickly pear kernel from the pressing. The sheep also gets that.
The prickly pear we pick when they are over mature. They get super red when they are over mature and the oil content is more in over mature prickly pears seeds. Its not me picking them, I buy them from nearby farmers and women that work for the farmers. It’s veeeeeery labour intensive and I need around 800kg of prickly pear fruits to make 36-38kg of seeds that make me 1litre of prickly pear seed oil. It’s not for eating, you can eat it but there are cheaper alternatives. It’s for skincare. Everything goes on export to Europe. You can imagine how much leftovers I have when I need 800kg of prickly pear for 1litre of prickly pear oil…. I even give leftovers to my neighbours who also have animals and the juice I give some to a guy who makes vinegar with it. In this moment I have around 1100kg of seeds that I’ve stored and that I can press on demand. I use a KK40 press from Germany for the pressing. It’s super strong and have a special built screw for hard kernels. You can’t press the prickly pear with a normal screw for sunflower or almonds. The screw will break.
The over mature prickly pear are super cheap since they are not so nice to eat and they are easier to pick because the women that picks them don’t need to choose nice ones. They just pick what’s infront of them. 20kg cost me around 1 dollar and that’s with transportation included. The prickly pear get super redd when they are over mature.
Tunisia have 600’000 hectares of prickly pears/cactus according to ICARDA. Second most country in the world after Mexico. Tunisia is maybe as big as Florida. You can drive from north to south in 7-8 hours. Its a small country.
It’s not like we are planting it nicely in rows and taking care of them. It’s God who is taking care of them. We use it as fencing and pick the pads for our animals and for eating them during late summer. But priority nr 1 is for fencing. Here in Tunisia, if you don’t fence your land, then your neighbour will take it. I’m serious! It’s veeeery difficult to register your land and most of the landowners have land that they owned for generations but that they can’t register it. It costs lots of money to register land and it takes several years to do it. I even have a property that I build and where I can’t register it. This is Tunisia and the third world. Don’t ask my why. It’s just like that. So if you want to keep your neighbour from tanking your land then the only solution is to grow opuntia with large spines as fencing.
You should check the scientific papers that ICARDA has made on prickly pear, opuntia and agriculture. They write in English so that’s no problem for you. I’ve seen a research from them where they gave milking Holstein cows 60% of shredded pads, 20 % hay and 20 % soy without any effect on their milk production. So there are huge potential.
Take care !
Great exchange of ideas. By the way, my girlfriend spent several hours last night trying to remove tuna spinners from her hands. I will show her this video for next time.😊
Duuuuuuuuuude This video Rocks, Great Job. Thank You. Beautiful Harvest
Thank you so much brother!!🤠🤜🤛🔥
I love Prickly Pears whenever I can buy them. Endured all those fine thorns in my fingers! Thanks for info on tongs, gloves and scrubber. No more thorns! You might try cutting them lengthwise in four quarters to eat right aways. Peeling them if juicing makes so much sense. Big thanks!
Thank you very much🤠! Yes if I’m eating them fresh I cut both ends off and then lengthways with Kevlar gloves and peel them too👍… I made a short video on my simple process! They sure are good🤝
Thank you for the excellent presentation! Prickly pears grow wild in a beach access area where I live in Melbourne Beach, FL. I have harvested some. The fruit and the juice are excellent. I now have in pots 21 seedlings that I have been growing (from the seeds of one fruit) the past few months. I have also pruned some of the wild bushes, of which my son has planted some clippings in pots in his back yard in Orlando. They are showing signs of growth, showing me that they are very easy to grow. I have enjoyed the prickly pear leaves prepared by chefs at resorts in MX. Everyone should be growing fruits and vegetables of all sorts!
I have never heard of planting seeds. We just cut of pads and stick one end in the ground. Hardly even water them.
Thank you for the encouragement brother! Yesss nopales cactus are sooo easy to propogate!! Cut off the pads from the mother… plant a section in ground or even lay it on the ground they grow roots very easy👍… yes many dishes with both the cactus and the fruit that would be great if more people grew this gem👍 I have yet to have the patience to grow from seed but that would be a cool experiment! Have you seen any growth from your seedlings yet??
so glad you say no need for extra sugar.
Yes they are so delicious and sweet by themselves!🤝👍
Hermano.. if it wasn't for your accent i would believe you were Hispanic.. i am amazed .the knowledge you have about the cactus and its benefits. Keep it up
Ah muchas gracias mi hermano!! My very close friends growing up were Hispanic and I so much appreciate their culture!! I’ve learned a lot from them and my dad and research! I appreciate your words mi hermano!😊👍👍
When I lived in Florida. I had them growing all around the outside edge of my house. Especially around my windows. So trust me intruders didn't won't to try and climb through a window.
And I would harvest the succulent fruit in the summer and I had several ways of trying to get all the spines off. (And yes use a very good glove with handleing this fruit.) And they all have sharp hair fibers. Almost too small to see, but you will definitely feel them if you get them on your hands or clothes. So the only best way to remove them was with a small torch.
My wife actually made homemade jelly from them that was absolutely delicious.
And I decided to try them with a mix of blackberries and made some very tasty "make your momma happy" wine.
Haven't thought of it. Because that was some time back. And I lost my wife to cancer. I live near Atlanta now. But I think this next spring I'll plant some around my home here.
That’s great you’ve experienced their goodness!! I’m so sorry for your loss. That sounds like a great plan to plant more! That jam sounds delicious!! Do you remember the recipe??
Great video brother happy great dog
Thank you brother!!🤜🤛👍😊
I wash them, do a light scrub, boil them down and strain the through a few cheesecloth layers. Then put in ice cube tray and pull out as needed.
Man I just found a nice cactus plant down the street with a ton of these, but they are still green. I cant wait to try them
Oh how exciting!! Yes mine are still green and not plump too! Now the waiting/dreaming game🤠🤝
I appreciate the video and the proper name of the nopales and tunas
Awesome brother🤜🤛👍
Prickly pear is great as a drawing salve and natural antibacterial ointment.
Awesome! Thanks for the info and tip! This stuff is great!🤝🙏
That's very useful to me. I always have splinters and need a drawing salve.
I usually twist them off when ripe. If you use a metal collander and cold water, you can rinse under cold water while swishing the Tunas around, the bump up against each other in the collander, and will rub the glochids off natrually.
Very nice… do you still need gloves or it completely removes them?
@@UnitedRanch I use welders gloves and tongs when I pick. Then when using the colander method I use black rubber mechanics gloves. I also use a blue Jean apron so as not to transfer them to my clothing.
They grow wild and are very invasive here in Sardinia. But the locals love them. They convert a piece of bamboo into a grabber and shake them around together in a wicker basket, and they remove the thorns by rubbing against eachother in the basket.
Very interesting!
This is awesome soooo underrated
Wow thank you very much for the encouraging comment!!😊👍
If you haven’t already try making agua fresca out of the tunas. By far the best I’ve ever had
Sounds like it would taste great!🤠
When I lived in Houston, Texas, tunas were available in the grocery stores. I think that they are delicious.
Awesome! Yes they are delicious and healthy🤠👍
They also are used as natural fences around the house. If you see them growing, don't be afraid to stop and ask. They are always happy to share and will even give you recipes. You will never see a Mexican home in the country without them. Just look around. They are there. Mexicans are some of the friendliest, most giving people on earth. They even gave me cuttings to plant at home.
Yes natural fences that produces delicious edible fruit and vegetable…Win win! 🤠 Authentic Mexican culture is sooo giving with great hospitality! 👍👍
I saw a video of a Sicilian man putting them in a water bucket and rubbing them with fig leaves! The fig leaves have strong, coarse, fuzzy hairs that will take off the spines! Then pour the water with thorns onto the cacti ;) repurposing
Oh how awesome!👍those are some strong fig leaves💪!!
Great video! I just started propagating a couple different varieties i found locally, begginer at gardening but well see how it goes
Thank you!🤠 that is awesome you’re starting! Such an amazing useful and healthy plant!!
found them on my holiday trip to greece, couldnt help myself and just bit into the sweet, raw, unprepared fresh of the cactus fruit xD, Lips are healing nicely tho
😂well that’s sure one way to eat them!! I hope you’re healing up nice! I don’t blame you for the urgency to just bite into the sweet goodness though!🤠🤝
Just twist no need to cut. I have harvested tunas for years, just twist an put in bucket, I take them home and put a hose in the bucket turn the water on and stir. When clear liquid flows I decant water and take tunas cut them in half and put in a steam juicer. Nothing but clear clean juice. Freezes well, I make jelly and syrup all winter.
So the spines don't embed in them from the stirring process in the bucket?
@@truthseeker-heyoka No they stay on the outside or peel.
That’s great… yes I twist some but others I knife to get more of a cleaner separation depending how ripe they are👍. What do you mean when you refer to clear liquid?
When he said tuna and nopales you know this guy is for real
🤠👍🤝
A cheap bakers handheld propane torch will eliminate glochids from your environment while this method just relocates them. I've carefully processed thousands and glochids always seem to show up at some point on me or my family until using some form of fire to eradicate them.
Ah no I’m sorry! I usually do my prepping of the tunas away from my deck or “hang out” areas. I do not have problems of them relocating and affecting me later.
Thank you #savesoil #Consciousplanet
You’re very welcome!🤝
A pretty cowboy with a tortilla hat taught me about not being hurt by the fearful cactus....In the Mediterranean the locals use a little steel cylinder on a stick (just a bit wider than the fruit)..Place over the fruit and snap...No tongs, no glasses, no tweezers...No complications....
EASILY Harvest Prickly Pears (Tunas)!🤠🌵
ruclips.net/user/shortsQQ6znYo09co?feature=share
To get the needles off, I roll the prickly pears around in tall grass.
Oh awesome!👍
I have a bunch in my yard I just harvest some last night. I didn't wear gloves and it feels like splinters in my fingers. I used the cactus plant for my skin and hair instead of aloe. I don't have those tools😮
Oh no I’m so sorry! Yes if they get in your skin they can be annoying to get out… tweezers and good lighting👍! That’s so cool you use the cactus pad on your hair and skin!! 🤠🤝God bless you☺️
Let me tell you, a torch is a better idea. So many tools, so much work and effort needed this way. A simple can torch will do. Just burn the thorns and enjoy your fruit. That’s it.
In Malta we harvest prickly pears very early in the morning, the thorns will be softer, wash them a couple of times in running water and you're good to go.
I use tongs after I burn off the stickers with a small bottle torch
That’s another option👍
Thanks never new and have two plants growing in my yard and I’m Hispanic lol
Awesome! Well I’m glad you ran into the video!🤠🤝… the nopales pads and tuna fruit are sooo healthy!! Have you tried eating the nopales cactus pads yet?
Idk why I never knew prickly pear was a cactus fruit 😂😂😂 I really went to try this
You’ve gotta try it🤠🤜🤛!
OK .... did I miss the part where he mentions the month to harvest these. ??
Can you scrub them smooth in a tub of water? No needles flying around. Safe?
Hi there! So in summer is when I would harvest mine usually even though they stay good on the cactus for a long time (unless the ants or predators get to them first! So it really just depends on your climate when the best month to harvest but ideally when the true deep color shows is a great time (like if they are a burgundy color tuna… don’t harvest when green or partial green etc). The tub of water sounds like a good experiment… just not sure if the water will make removing the thorns harder or easier… and probably need two tubs… one for rinsing the dethorned tunas from the floating thorns👍… let me know how it goes if you try it😊👍
@@UnitedRanch >> Thanks for the intel. Im on the Maine coast , so I dont forsee a tuna harvest at any time soon.
When I get back down south to North Florida Ill be on the lookout. Ive been digging them from ditches for years to landscape with. Cant wait to get back to my place in Old Town , Dixie County , Florida. On the Suwanee River. YeeeeHaaa.
Sounds like a good plan!! Yeehaw🤠🤠… enjoy!!
They are great, and otherwise it's a great video.
Tongs. Knife. Scrubber good idea, if you rinse under water they all disappear. So quick.
Thank you🤠! Oh must be another variety or something as mine do not just rinse off under water!
Do you peel the tuna before freezing or do you blend the skin too when making the smoothie?
Quick & Simple Prickly Pear Smoothie Tutorial (Healthy/All Natural/No Sugar added!) #shorts
ruclips.net/user/shortsif5hcvR72GI?feature=share
Here’s video on how I do the smoothie!🤠
Can you plant the seeds to grow more...
Dude!
Get to it!
🤠🤜🤛
Thank you for the presentation I would love to eat this juicy tuna
You’re very welcome!🤠… yes they are sooo good!🤠🤝
Can you eat the tunas off any type of opuntia cactus? I have some Santa Rita opuntias in my yard and have always wondered.
From what I hear you can eat that variety🤠👍
your bulldog is gorgeous! Olde English? You in Texas? You know a good breeder?
Oh thank you so much!! A wonderful loving and loyal companion and guardian!😊... I’m actually on the west coast so I’m not sure of any good breeders in Texas I’m sorry! He’s an American bulldog... yes very similar look to the olde English!
Where do you grow your prickly pears? I’m moving to salado tx in a few weeks. Can I grow them there?
Hey there!🤠that’s awesome congrats on the move! I live in zone 9 and they do really well here! Do you know what zone salado is in? If they are in shade in the heat of summer they tend to do really well when young unless you water them more… so the more direct sun the more water. More estsblished cactus can take more heat with less watering but the new pads planted you can baby in the first Hot season🤠👍. And in the snow and frost there’s only some of the young ones that have gotten frost burnt but usually most all mine come back to good health in spring/summer if they were affected at all by the freezing temps or non draining poor soil some are in👍God bless your move!🤝👍
And those are just some tips I’ve noticed with mine over the years! All in all they are Super easy to care for and propogate! And such good usable food!! Veggies AND Fruit in one evergreen succulent!
What causes the splits is too much water and if you get a paint brush and brush the stickers off then squirt the plant down it makes it easier to pick them and not get poked
I can see a stiff paint brush working… just don’t do it on a windy day😂👍. So you personally brush them off while connected to the pad and then hose down the fruit and pad before removal?
Wow.....You can really see the thorns or spines in that close-up of the group of prickly pears. I'm sure glad there's a way to remove them!
Haha I know!! I try not to fall on them😂😂
We have them growing in our complex and I foolishly picked one with my bare hands, ouch and still hurting....
AstroTurf green rug???
That should do it👍
@@UnitedRanch 👍
Man that’s a lot of work
What species is the orange and what species is the pink?
Great question! They both are from the opuntia cacti family known as nopales but I am unsure if the two different colors have specific names or not.🤔… the nopales cactus they grow on look the same just grow different color fruit. Maybe someone in comments knows if they have technical names attached to each color?
They are a native here.
Very nice👍
Dam talk about the hard way man LMAO get a fork and a knife cut top and tail slice down the side and just roll it out of the skin man drop them in ice water finished just don't drop the fruit on your cutting board I do this on a sheet of paper we harvest 100s
Depends on your desired outcome … if you freeze with skin on you just save a lot of the fruit flesh when come to to skin after frozen… if it doesn’t matter to you then it it don’t matter lol. If I’m just doing a quick snack I just grab a knife and Kevlar glove or knife and tongs and do more like how you do… but I know some of my relatives would freak if I do that to all them as I loose fruit flesh😂
Does that yellow variety taste different than the red.?
You know the yellow tastes very very similar to the red... maybe a slight difference but not too much... I will need to harvest this year again and then hopefully I can remember to comment back here to let you know😊👍
I tried the orange one tastes so much better than red with less spine. I would go for the orange one if you can find it.
Hi. Thanks for the video. May I buy a pad or two from you please.
You’re very welcome! I would love to share some but haven’t set up a way to sell anything yet… I’m sorry!! Where abouts do you reside?
@@UnitedRanch I live in East Texas in Longview and Tyler area
@@UnitedRanch, if you are local, I would drive to pick up, if you don't mind.
@@UnitedRanch by local, I don't mind a couple of hours drive. This way I know the variety I am getting from your property.
Ahhh too bad I’m not local!! Eventually I desire to do online sales with succulents and farmers markets Lord willing. Have you seen any for sale in your part of Texas?… nurseries, Craigslist?
And yes I think it would be ideal going to the farm when the prickly pears are getting ripe (right around this time for me) to inspect the color and pad variety👍
Glad to see less cautious methods than mine succeeding in removing the needles and tiny thorns called glochids. I set a hose trickling about 3 feet off the ground. with thick rubber gloves and goggles and a green scrubber pad I take the tuna ( prickly pear fruit) in one hand an under the trickling water scrub it with a green mesh scrubbing pad sold for dishes.
After like two full minutes I set it aside and do the next one.
Eventually I rinse the cleaned fruit just to be sure and put in a bowl to bring in the house. without gloves.
There I cut off a bit on both ends avoiding cutting through the needle nodes to prevent possible remaining tiny needles from being carried by the knife into the flesh.
Then I make one cut lengthwise through the skin and hand peel placing it in a second bowl.
Seedy but quite tasty for the geeks out there I saw a measurement once of dissolved solids..."16brix" roughly 16% sugar similar to table grapes.
Wow! Very thorough! Thank you for sharing all the specific info😊👍. It is so interesting all the different ways people dethorn tunas!😃
So it could be used very well for making some type of fermentation/wine?
@@truthseeker-heyoka Don't know if wine is an option. or if it would be good.
Google might.
Can you grow Nopales from seeds?
Yes you can I just hear takes a lot of patience lol! I haven’t went through all the processes to fully attempt it yet as it’s Soo easy to propagate nopales from cuttings of pads🤠👍
Easier method, cut both ends off. Cut slit lengthwise and fillet like fish.
Yes that’s a method I do when when I’m wearing Kevlar gloves and I’m just eating them raw as it doesn’t matter if the thorns are left on the skin or not… but when say I’m storing them in the freezer for later smoothies I like dethorning them before freezing them👍
@@UnitedRanch I like to peel them and then use a handheld blender to liquefy it and then mix with water and sugar then add creamer
@@aperson-re4ku sounds like a delicious desert!😃👍
@@aperson-re4ku is that icecream?
@@truthseeker-heyoka agua fresca with cream added in
i never seen this kind of fruit in my country Indonesia
You should get them start🤠🤝!
Do you eat the leaves?
Absolutely! The cactus pads (nopales) are so good and are actually vegetables! I can cook with them or eat raw or cut in slices and put in jar with water for cactus water (after I dethorn them haha)!🤠👍
Do you draw your beard on ?
Nope just try to keep it trimmed👍
Sir🌹 prickly pear variety name please tell me sir
Hello Sir! it’s the nopales prickly pear👍
@@UnitedRanch ,,,, thanks sir 🌹
No problem👍
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I hope you dont use thoughs cowboy gunsaftey rules you know there trigger disapline was crap
Oh yea! Don’t worry… unloaded and hammer not cocked back when spinning the single action rev.👍😊