Cactus fruit: description of the species and their benefits and harms

In some countries, the cactus fruit is perceived as an ordinary fruit. Because almost all parts of edible cacti can be eaten. These plants are not poisonous, therefore they do not pose a danger to human health. Only needle-like thorns can harm the body, so you need to know how to properly cleanse the fetus.

Popular types of edible cacti

Often people think that cacti have only an attractive shell, but not practical. In fact, this is not the case, since the fruits of this plant can be eaten and made into medicinal drugs. However, only certain types of cacti are suitable for this.

Fruit cactus

Mammillaria

Many will be surprised, but ordinary mammillaria can also bear fruit. Moreover, this action begins with flowering.

The berries of the cactus are shiny and smooth. A cactus with red fruits, when the berries ripen, releases thorns to the surface.

Mammillaria

Schlumberger

The representative of epiphytic cacti - Schlumberger - has a different name among the people - "Christmas tree". The plant is native to South America.

The fruits are quite fleshy and juicy, no larger than an apricot.

Schlumberger

Prickly pear

One of the most common types of edible cacti is prickly pear. Even the stems can be eaten.

During growth, they are green, and when ripe, they acquire a burgundy red hue. At the same time, they are completely covered with small needles and cannot be taken with bare hands - for this, forceps or a spoon are used.

Other

Even in Russia, you can find cactus fruits, but they are called fruits in stores. Pitaya or dragon fruit is harvested from the Hilocereus cactus. This plant grows in Vietnam. Differs in the presence of large flowers. Pitahaya is pink with green scales, white inside with a lot of black seeds.

Prickly pear fruits

The prickly pear fruit has a hard surface with many small needles. The color can vary from green to red. Recently, you can even find these fruits in some Russian stores, but you should know in advance exactly how to eat an edible cactus.

Taste qualities

The cactus fruit has a sweet taste with a slight sourness. Depending on the variety, the sweetness may be more or less pronounced.

To many, the fruit of the cactus resembles the taste of persimmon, others say that it looks like a strawberry or fig. More bland varieties have a sour coniferous flavor.

How to draw out the needles

You should not try to pull out the needles one by one, as this lesson will take a long time. It is recommended to rinse the fruits under running water.

For safety reasons, it is required to wear rubber gloves and rub the fruit thoroughly, since even one thorn can harm the body if it enters the esophagus further. In order for all the needles to be cleaned off the prickly pear, it is worth using a soft metal brush, which is used for washing dishes.

The fruit can be eaten with the peel, although it is quite thick. Another option is to cut the fruit in half and spoon out the pulp. Eat with or without seeds - it depends on the taste preferences of each person.

Prickly pear

How to eat fruit

Cactus fruits can be consumed both raw and cooked. They are used for cooking:

• desserts,
• salads,
• aromatic additives in syrups and cocktails.

The most common dish made from this fruit is jam.

For cooking, you need to peel the fruits, select seeds from there. If you leave them, then later the product will come out less tasty. Next, you need to fill the fruit with sugar in a 1: 1 ratio, wait for the juice to release. Then it is worth bringing the mass to a boil on the stove and cook until it thickens.

You can use the fruits of prickly pears as an appetizer to alcoholic beverages. To do this, you need to cut the fruit into even slices, string on skewers and dip in chocolate. Sweet prickly pear will help complement bitter cocktails.

Fruit seeds can be used alone. They are used to add to baking flour. In this role, the seeds will not be strongly felt in the dish, however, they will saturate the human body with a large amount of nutrients. It is recommended to first dry and then grind the seeds into a powder so that they do not feel in the flour.

Prickly pear jam

Benefits and harm to the body

The edible fruits of the cactus have a lot of useful components. First of all, they have a rather watery composition, which is why they are compared to a watermelon or cucumber. This means that fruits are low in calories, but they are high in vitamins. They can help with disturbed metabolism, kidney disease, hypertension.

These products contain a large number of alkaloids, so they can be used to treat bacterial, viral and infectious diseases. For these purposes, a medicinal decoction is made from the fruit. Compresses can also be made to relieve irritation and heal wounds. The fruits of prickly pear and hilocereus are used to reduce fever, improve sputum discharge, and lower blood sugar levels.

They have a large number of thorns that disguise themselves as fluff. It is rather difficult to clear the product from the needles, which makes it likely that they can enter the esophagus. This is fraught with the occurrence of erosion of the digestive tract. First, pain appears, then the inflammatory process begins to develop. The thorn is removed by surgery.

You should not abuse the fruits of prickly pear, because in this case, constipation may appear, which is quite difficult to get rid of. Sweet berries can provoke the appearance of intestinal stenosis, since the rate of peristalsis is greatly reduced.

The fruit cactus is mostly found in Mexico, Vietnam, Africa and South America. In Tunisia, these plants are used as a reliable hedge from which to harvest fruit. If you want to eat a cactus fruit, you should thoroughly clean it so that the thorns do not enter the body.