All Fruits Ripe
Photo cred: here
If you are a fan of the tropics, and you’ve visited anywhere in the Caribbean or south of the Caribbean Sea, then you understand why many people obsess over the sweet and succulent fruits that come from some of these destinations. The fruit culture in this part of the world is like nothing you’ve ever seen. Fruits on this side of the world are plentiful and sweet — filled with sunshine and love. You can often find them right on the side of the road, where vendors display their treasures by the basketful. Our relatively new concept of the “farmer's market” is the modus operandi in these treasure islands, and it takes place all day everyday.
“You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things.” — Nate Berkus
This week, we want to take you to Mexico to tell you about one of her most interesting fruits — one that you’ve probably never seen or heard of before. It’s none other than Prickly Pear, or Tuna as the locals call it. Prickly Pear grows on the nopales cactus (cacti with beaver tail-like paddles) across Mexico. It is a very interesting and striking plant. It comes in several varieties and colors. The actual fruit can be purple, green, or even orange and yellow. It has small, light prickles on the outside, so you have to be careful when handling it. You will need to peel it before eating. Its flesh is sweet and melon-like. Some even say it tastes like bubble gum, if you can imagine that! In Mexico, you can often find Prickly Pear on the side of the street in vendor stalls. In the US, you can find it at some Mexican markets, or at a “farmer’s markets.” You may even be able to find it at a natural food supermarket.
What we love most about this fruit is how versatile it is. You can eat it plain as you would any other fruit. But you can also juice it and add it to a fruity frosting for cake, or cook it down to make a nice fruity sauce for fruit salad. Our favorite ways to use this fruit, however, are with cocktails (big surprise *wink), sorbets and vinaigrettes.
So as we enter the season of adventure, we say take a little adventure to the market and experiment with some exotic fruits. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Happy adventuring!
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xoxo,
SS
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