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Poll closed Poll
Question: Have you eaten Prickly Pear fruit
*** This poll has now closed ***


yes    
  3 (42.9%)
no    
  4 (57.1%)




Total votes: 7
« Created by: John Smith on: May 27th, 2020 at 1:51pm »

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Prickly Pear (Read 2323 times)
John Smith
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Prickly Pear
May 27th, 2020 at 1:51pm
 
Saw this story and it made me curious .. has anyone here ever eaten prickly pear?


Quote:
Prickly pear potential use for health products explored as research looks at its benefits

Some types of prickly pear are considered a weed, but a researcher, who is also a farmer, believes there are potential health benefits from the plant that need to be explored.

In Australia, the prickly pear is often used as stock feed and other species are regarded as a pest, but the potential use of the prickly pear for medicinal purposes is now being researched by Natalie Alexopolous.

Dr Alexopolous moved to a remote property in Wedderburn in Victoria to start up her own olive grove.

What she did not expect to find was hundreds of planted opuntia ficus-indica — or prickly pear — on the farm, a species of cactus that many in Australia would consider a pest.

Prickly pear research

"I knew that there had to be some value in them but to be honest I didn't really think too much about it for a few years," Ms Alexopolous said.

As the [olive] business started evolving and we wanted to make some new products and diversify, that's when I started to think about what these plants be useful for — that's where my research background kicked in."

After a little digging, she discovered the plant had been used for medicinal purposes for centuries around the world.

So, for the past three years, she has been collaborating with the University of Canberra to further identify the benefits of the prickly pear cactus.

"The cactus we are growing is the edible prickly pear fruits, there are other prickly pear species that are considered pests and have caused trouble in places like New South Wales and Queensland — so there is a negative connotation to the pear," she said.

But she said as time went on people were starting to realise there were health benefits associated with this plant.
Health benefits

"The pads and the fruit are very high in fibre and have been shown to lower cholesterol," she said.

"We've also just started some clinical trials to see what it does to blood sugar and sugar levels for an athlete's recovery time.

"I'm also in my own venture, have produced a skincare range with the fruit that is very good for the skin."

University of Canberra Associate Professor Food Science and Human Nutrition Nenad Naumovski has been collaborating with Dr Alexopolous and is also looking at how to extend the lifetime of the plant.

"One of the aspects of my research is we are looking at are better ways to extend the shelf life of commercially grown prickly pear and their leaves on-farm," Mr Naumovski said.
Improving shelf life

"Most of the problems farmers are facing is that this type or food production is easily degradable, and we are looking for different opportunities and easy to use technology to extend the shelf life."

He said the prickly pear contained a lot of water and when harvested it broke down easily and then could not reach its full potential.

    "So we are looking for new ways to juicing or drying different types of food product on-site — like fruit leathers, like a fruit roll-up," he said.

"There are so many benefits if we can preserve the plant, like potentially protective effects against type two diabetes, reduction of dramatic pain and improvements in things like asthma."

European fruit

He said growing up in Croatia, his family would walk home from the beach and pick the fruit from the prickly pear tree.

"The very large cacti plants, in summer, were packed with fruit and we used put them in towels and bring it home and mum would serve it with ice-cream," he said.

    "When I arrived in Australia it was interesting to find out this product is not consumed in general by humans.

"A majority of it is oriented towards stock feed for farmers."

The pair have just started clinical trials and hope to further provide case studies in Australia for the benefits of the fruit.

"It's largely underutilised here in Australia, what we'd like to achieve is to further look at the benefits of consumption of this type of food and it's health effects," Dr Alexopolous said.




I have, love it. If you can avoid the thorns. I grew up eating it as we had it growing in the garden.




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Our esteemed leader:
I hope that bitch who was running their brothels for them gets raped with a cactus.
 
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John Smith
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #1 - May 27th, 2020 at 1:51pm
 
Poll added
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Our esteemed leader:
I hope that bitch who was running their brothels for them gets raped with a cactus.
 
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Brian Ross
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #2 - May 27th, 2020 at 2:11pm
 
I have eaten various Mexican cacti.  It was interesting and quite good.  I'd be game to try Prickly Pear if it was presented right.   Cool
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Someone said we could not judge a person's Aboriginality on their skin colour.  Why isn't that applied in the matter of Pascoe?  Tsk, tsk, tsk...   Roll Eyes Roll Eyes
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John Smith
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #3 - May 27th, 2020 at 4:08pm
 
Brian Ross wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 2:11pm:
I have eaten various Mexican cacti.  It was interesting and quite good.  I'd be game to try Prickly Pear if it was presented right.   Cool



I haven't tried any other form of cactus ... I'd be game to try it.
i recall back when i was in high school, a classmate told me about his sister who  had a habit of feeling all the fruit at the fruit shop even though she had no intention of buying it. One day, not realising what prickly pear was, she ignored the tongs and leather gloves provided for customers and grabbed them with both her hands ...  Grin Grin Grin Grin

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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #4 - May 27th, 2020 at 4:28pm
 
John Smith wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 1:51pm:
"The pads and the fruit are very high in fibre and have been shown to lower cholesterol,"


Yes we grew up on tussock grass and bark of the stringy-bark tree.
They give strong teeth, firm bowel motions, spiky hair and excellent neck muscles from grazing. 




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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #5 - May 27th, 2020 at 5:33pm
 
I used to eat them occasionally as a kid. It was very delicate operation, involving sticks to bust them open. They had large numbers of very fine spikes on them. No matter how careful you were, you always ended up with a few stuck in your fingers. They must have tasted good to justify the effort and pain, but I can't remember now.

Now I have dragon fruit. Seems to be pretty much the same thing, but sweeter and not painful.
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #6 - May 27th, 2020 at 5:51pm
 
Brian Ross wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 2:11pm:
I have eaten various Mexican cacti.  It was interesting and quite good.  I'd be game to try Prickly Pear if it was presented right.   Cool


??


https://thethirdwave.co/psychedelics-autism/
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #7 - May 27th, 2020 at 6:01pm
 
i like mine with a garnishing of 24 D/ grazon extra / diesel
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John Smith
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #8 - May 27th, 2020 at 6:30pm
 
freediver wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 5:33pm:
I used to eat them occasionally as a kid. It was very delicate operation, involving sticks to bust them open. They had large numbers of very fine spikes on them. No matter how careful you were, you always ended up with a few stuck in your fingers. They must have tasted good to justify the effort and pain, but I can't remember now.

Now I have dragon fruit. Seems to be pretty much the same thing, but sweeter and not painful.



you get used to handling them. A small sharp knife to cut through the skin, working your way around the spikes and then you can peel the skin off.

I had an uncle in Italy climb a prickly pear cactus to get the fruit up top ... he was wearing shorts, a singlet and his bare hands. I hurt just watching him but he was so used to them, and his skin so leathery, that he didn't feel a thing. Just brushed himself off when he got down and continued with his day
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #9 - May 27th, 2020 at 6:37pm
 
Perhaps it was something about the local wild variety. We could avoid the leaf spines easily enough, but there were so many on the fruit, and they were so fine, that they always got you. We tried every trick in the book.
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #10 - May 27th, 2020 at 6:40pm
 
freediver wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 6:37pm:
Perhaps it was something about the local wild variety. We could avoid the leaf spines easily enough, but there were so many on the fruit, and they were so fine, that they always got you. We tried every trick in the book.



leather riggers gloves work a treat
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #11 - May 27th, 2020 at 6:44pm
 
With an abundance of normal food.

Why bother?
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I HAVE A DREAM
A WONDERFUL, PEACEFUL, BEAUTIFUL DREAM.
A DREAM OF A WORLD THAT HAS NEVER KNOWN ISLAM
A DREAM OF A WORLD FREE FROM THE HORRORS OF ISLAM.

SUCH A WONDERFUL DREAM
O HOW I WISH IT WERE TRU
 
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #12 - May 27th, 2020 at 6:45pm
 
John Smith wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 6:40pm:
freediver wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 6:37pm:
Perhaps it was something about the local wild variety. We could avoid the leaf spines easily enough, but there were so many on the fruit, and they were so fine, that they always got you. We tried every trick in the book.



leather riggers gloves work a treat


So long as you don't mind discarding them afterwards.
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John Smith
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #13 - May 27th, 2020 at 6:46pm
 
freediver wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 6:45pm:
John Smith wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 6:40pm:
freediver wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 6:37pm:
Perhaps it was something about the local wild variety. We could avoid the leaf spines easily enough, but there were so many on the fruit, and they were so fine, that they always got you. We tried every trick in the book.



leather riggers gloves work a treat


So long as you don't mind discarding them afterwards.


we used to keep a pair just for the prickly pear
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John Smith
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Re: Prickly Pear
Reply #14 - May 27th, 2020 at 6:46pm
 
Valkie wrote on May 27th, 2020 at 6:44pm:
With an abundance of normal food.

Why bother?



whats 'normal' food? meat pies?  Cheesy Cheesy
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