John Myers
Have you always wanted to try prickly pears and are wondering whether you can eat the numerous small seeds in the pulp?
Are the seeds poisonous?
No, the black seeds are neither poisonous nor inedible. You can safely eat the seeds of prickly pears. The seeds are simply digested as with the kiwi. Many people therefore simply eat the fruit raw.
Tip: If the hard seeds bother you, you can also process the fruit into mush.
You can not only eat the seeds of prickly pears, but they are also super healthy. Prickly pear seed oil can be made from the seeds. The oil can be used for cooking, and baking but also for personal hygiene. Due to the rich ingredients, it is particularly valuable and expensive.
Eat prickly pears
It is best to wear gloves to protect yourself from injury from the spikes. Even if the fruit in the supermarket no longer has any thorns, there can still be some on the fig. Alternatively, you can also:
- Spear the fruit with a fork
- Scrub off spines with a stiff brush
The easiest way to eat the prickly pear raw is to cut it in half like a kiwi and scoop out the flesh. If you want to process the fruit further, you can carefully peel it. You can use a sharp kitchen knife for this.
The prickly pear is not only good as a snack in between but also tastes good as jam, sauce, or puree.
You can find more information on the subject in our instructions for eating prickly pears.
The Prickly Pear
Prickly skin – softcore describes the exotic fruit very well. The prickly pear originally comes from Mexico and South America. It grows from the yellow flowers of the prickly pear cactus and weighs about 200g.
Tip: It is best to buy reddish, soft fruits. If the fig is green and hard, it is not yet ripe and therefore has little aroma.
When the fruits are ripe, they have a sweet and sour aroma and are very refreshing. While the skin is very hard and prickly, the flesh is soft and sweet.
The fruit has many advantages:
- Less fat
- low calorie
- High vitamin C content
- Antioxidant effect
- Lots of fiber
