Prickly pears

Near the end of the season, which is about late December to March. They're on sale on the side of the road in the Albany District, stacked in piles and measured out in 5 litre paint tins. We usually buy them on the Port Alfred road, just this side of Blaauwkrantz, and a couple of km on the other side up to Half Way House. They're picked from infestations of the cactus in the local bush and both Sandy and myself have been buying them in this area since we were kids. They don't seem as prevalent in other parts of the country, but perhaps I've never noticed because they're seasonal and only on sale at the side of the road or in farm stalls. We've bought a few in Midrand many years ago at a farm stall when it was still Halfway House, and eaten a purple skinned variety with bright red flesh  that grew on our friend Raymond's farm out on the Garsfontein Road near Tierpoort to the east of Pretoria before they got wiped out by cochineal.

These particular specimens were bought on the Cradock Road turnoff into the Grahamstown industrial area, near the Bible Monument, about two minutes out of town.

It's a bring your own plastic bag sort of transaction, and we've often seen them on sale this time of the year, but had nothing to store them in so had to pass by due to my lack of enthusiasm for fine thorns getting spread all over the boot of the car.

This time there were a few bags handy in the car, so Sandy bought two paint tins worth at R20 each. One paint tin seems to half fill a normal plastic shopping bag.

Once they're purchased, further processing is essential, unless you're an ungulate with cast iron tongue and throat. Peeling them without getting too many hair like thorns into your fingers is a fine art, and everyone has their own technique. Basically you cut the end off, then cut a lengthwise slit through the skin, at which stage you can sort of unroll the fruit from inside the skin. Avoiding contact with bristle clusters in the final stage isn't always possible, which is where individual technique counts. Mine involves tongs and a fork stuck in the end to act as a handle while they're cut and unrolled. Some people just use a knife and put up with the miriad thorns.

The end result, after a few have been peeled, and a few eaten. They're delicious, and should ideally be chilled in a fridge before eating.

They might be somewhat of an acquired taste if you have problems with pips, because the fruit is nothing but a dense conglomeration of seeds embedded in a sweetish pulp.

Note that if you eat too many you'll end up constipated...

In Afrikaans they're known as turksvye, or turkish figs, which makes as much sense as prickly pear. They taste nothing like pears or figs.

Update 2016/02/29:

Ate the last ones from the second bag today - ration to two or three per helping. No digestive impact!