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I used to eat those when I was homeless in Arizona almost 20 years ago. Many times it was my only food source, thankfully they grew in some streets of Tucson.
@@potatobird52 When I was homeless I slept on the street but had a few friends I trusted my life to. Now I live in the house that my grandparents left me and I don’t have a single person I know that I can trust fully.
I'm so happy you had a somewhat viable food source. I didn't it made my stomache too small to eat. Bc I was homeless also. That is great you had fruit growing near you so u could have that. I hope you are doing well now, good job
we call those tunas in Mexico were have an abundance of them and they are amazing u must have had not very good ones they are very sweet and fresh the green ones are sweeter but have a different texture also you cut them wrong we make a little cut not all th way through and just peel off the skin and eat them in 2 or 3 bites they are delicious I love them
minecraft junkees nobody believes it, but the best tunas here are growing on one hill. they are ready to eat in September. we dont go to pick them these days, because we have been enslaved and are always busy cooking and cleaning for the tourists. i send you hello minecraft junkees
I've had the green ones fresh in southern Spain. People sell ~5lb bags of peeled "higo chumbos" (higo means fig) for very cheap. The people selling them have gloves or ridiculously calloused hands and peel them in under 5 seconds with 3 quick knife cuts. I loved them and did have to exercise restraint to avoid eating the entire bag and causing myself digestive problems. I'd describe the experience as being like eating watermelon (similarly refreshing and same texture and sweetness) mixed with a bit of the scent of aloe. I've had the red and green ones in the Northern US and they were boring and bland every time - I'm imagining the grocery store supply chain kills the flavor.
If memory serves, they come from the same species of cactus that is used for Nopales (which are Absolutely awesome in eggs) I had a prickly pear cactus growing up, we learned pretty quickly that while the fruit is tasty, those little fine stickers were far, far more hassle than that little bit of fruit lol
I picked one in the wild and it was really good. Pretty sweet and was Retty flavorful. But yeah, I thought I got all the spines off, but apparently I messed a few and that was not fun to get stuck in my lip. 😫
Pro Tip: If you like slivers in your fingers, hold it like he's doing in the video. Or you could just wrap it in a paper towel instead, cut the end off each end, slice the one side and easily peel it, throw away those spines. When you bite down on it, stop short of biting all the way so you don't hurt your teeth. Don't be afraid to eat these, I love them because they give me a little boost of energy, something about them makes me feel good and it's a lot like watermelon kinda, there is a good taste to them, not going to beat the best fruits, but definitely worth trying.
wow I go searching for someone to talk about prickly pear and look who I find! I have been subbed for like 5 years now and this is crazy to see this and to see where you are now you have aged like fine wine.
Prickly Pear's from the grocery store or just ok they are mild as you said, it's all about wild picked Prickly Pear's they have much more robust flavor! You do have to burn the Spines and glochids off first before you pick them, but I'm tell you man its totally worth the effort!
I might have had a very mild version of prickly pear fruit, but I love the texture of the seediness for some reason. It's like a dragon fruit and watermelon combined.
This is one of my favorite fruits! You must have got a bad one some of them have a beautifully berry sweet mango papaya flavor to them ! Try some juice or soda flavored with them
yeah it tastes like a more accessible red delicious, very very watery in flavor but not too wet or hard, the eating experience is kind of fun but its not a fruit i think i'll make common purchase of. i found one and some other cool fruits at the store the other day and thought of your channel and decided i'd watch your fruit videos while i ate each one, im happy your channel exists, thank you so much for keeping at this! you're one of the great pillars of youtube to me, like the Marque brownlee of fruit
Since I live in the Sonoran Desert, I've seen many a prickly pear and other Opuntia species. I took a couple of the fruits off the cactus I found in a vacant lot not knowing what I had in store for me. I put one in my backpack and kept one in my hand. I was messing around with it when I felt a sting much like that of a splinter in my hand. I looked closely at my hand and realized there were a few spines sticking out, very small, and finer than a pin. I never made that mistake again. It wasn't as bad as the time I got a little too close with a jumping cholla and the lobe rooted in my arm, but it still hurt. I had a spare pair of underwear as I was staying somewhere the night prior, and after the hand prick, I subsequently tossed it in the trash for the fruit had scattered spines all around my backpack. I was simply not willing to chance a d*ck prick, regardless of the amount of time it spent in the wash. Later my roommate asked me about why I threw my underwear in the bin, it made for an interesting, yet precarious situation in the moment. The flesh of the fruit is delicious. The cactus itself contains mescaline but not in any significant quantities, you could make an extract but it would take a ton of the cacti, and is more work than it's work. Coincidentally, Cholla also contains mescaline, but if I were to trip again, it would be from San Pedro, Trichocereus. But you can use underwear or something to rub most of the spines off, then use a potato peeler to be rid of the skin.
I used to travel through Mexico a lot I was taught to eat the tunas, as they are called, from nopal cactus as medicine to settle my stomach from the bad water.
Just tried one here in the UK. It was orange in colour. With the variety I found, the flavour was mild, sweet, and very juicy. Taste wise, it was a cross between a clementine, pomegranate, and honeydew watermellon. The seeds were hard, but the flavour was good. I would recommend you try them if you find the orange coloured ones. Also, I got spiked when folding the skin back on itself.😅
Where I live, prickly pears (higos de tuna, where "higos" means figs) are sometimes comercially available in summer. They're always green (sometimes with a redish or purplish hue on the skin, but always green inside), sweet, juicy and easy to peel. I love them! Cold prickly pears, just like melon, are a delicious, refreshing treat on hot summer days. Nowadays they come de-spined, but that was not always the case. I remember seeing my parents carefully handling and peeling them with knives and forks and then I picked one with my hands... -"NO!", they both screamed. -"What?" -"It has spines" -"No, it doesn't" -"Yes, it does. They´re tiny, you don't feel them now but they will sting later" (that didn't happen). Also remember seeing an old lady covering her hands with a lot of bags to very carefully pick them at a supermarket. The HORROR on her face when she saw me choose and pick them bare handed... :P
@@freakfreak786 I can crush a cherry stone between my teeth. I haven't done that on purpose ever, but it happens from time to time. So yeah, I have strong chompers...for now. Like I said, I don't make a habit of breaking cherry stones between my teeth.
I would say they taste between honey melon and pomegranate with a hint of cantaloupe but very mild of all of them flavors. Like you said not an explosion of flavor, but I say still very good, mine was refrigerated so I thought refreshing as there also sweet but not too sweet. oh, and also a bit of a watermelon taste.
Make juice out of it! I did yesterday, I used one of those electric juice presses, that spin as you press on it. I used a sieve to strain the juice from the seeds, then I mixed the juice with simple syrup and lime juice (freshly pressed). It came out great!
I have so many things to say. haha. These are my favourite fruit. A good way to get the glochids out of your hands is to rub your hands in your hair. I've been covered in them. Also, I don't know how common impaction is, I've eaten a dozen of these at one time many times before. Generally the green ones in the markets here in the U.S. are better. They are like melons, they range from no flavor and sweetness to extremely sweet. I remember getting them brought in by family from Mexico and they are all so much better. In the area my family is from there are many varieties. There is also one variety used to make a candy called Queso de Tuna.
I love to try new fruits. It can be a bit hard to get them in the Midwest though. My niece is also a huge fruit fan so she begged me to share with her when I try new ones. I brought over cherimoya, prickly pear, and kiwano today for them to try. My nephew loves sugary things, so I expected his favorite to be the cherimoya. We all agreed it tasted exactly like fruit loops. He actually said his new favorite fruit of all time is the prickly pear! I love them. I agree that the proper description is refreshing. They're very refreshing. My niece decided her absolute favorite fruit she's ever had is the same as mine: kiwano. Once there's a lot of give, they taste a lot like kiwi, but more complex.
Sounds like you've had a nice fruit exploration yourselves. If you live near any asian supermarkets take a look there, you'll find many more interesting fruits. Happy hunting
I've yet to try them, but my local store brings in weird fruits around this time (dragonfruit, pomegranate my favorite fruit, kiwano, plantains, and of course prickly pears)
Just tried one for the first time and my first thought was I better find the Weird Explorer and see if I should have eaten all of them seeds. Other than the seeds there good.
I live in the southwest & grow these at my work, pro tip on getting ride os the small splines take a heat source & burn them off it won’t affect the fruits so much as you just go a few passes. I recommend smoking these for about 30-hour then juicing them & have cocktails or desserts. Adios!
I hope you try them again, come to Cyprus and try some here, they taste sweet and refreshing cold. they grow wild and in the fields I pick them by the bucket and eat till I'm stuffed, but I'm fine didn't explode or anything.
I have foraged these from time to time... Those fine spines are NO JOKE, but they can be removed by a good rub all the way around on clean concrete. They make a magnificent addition to lemonade, for indeed, juicing eliminates those seeds. Refrigeration destroys some of the flavor... You want them sun-kissed and dangerous... tame those spines and enjoy the richer flavor...
2:10 damn, i just finished eating a whole pack of 6 of those and seeing this part of the video...well i hope ill survive. anyways, ive noticed the green/greenish yellow ones taste 100x better instead of mushy they get super juicy and extremy sweet, id say an 8, if 10 is a sugar cube. and it tastes like if a melon had a baby with a rly sweet green pear. The seeds are annoying tho. Dream come true would be to see new variaties of seedless ones. Cheers
Sounds very disappointing, and am kind of shocked. since the ones I eat are as sweet as persimmons. A solid 9 out of 10. I pick them of the cactus only when fully ripen though, and the cactus is well watered and cared for.
2:08 You haven't heard about Mexico? It's a country where people speak Spanish and eat TONS of prickly pears, even the country's flag has those fruits...... and no, the seeds are actually used to cure digestive problems. It is packed with fiber so yeah, if you don't drink water maybe you will have some problems, as whit almost any high-fiber fruit. Sorry for my tone but that was a classic gringo's way to approach to anything that is not gringo related. Hola from Mexico City.
When I saw you did a commentary on these I had to see what you thought. I had a few friends whose dad managed land in south Texas and we (meaning I, because I was the one who always had a knife) used to cut these straight off the cactus. My thoughts on the flavor was that they were kind watermelon-ish.
Are dragonfruits sweeter? This has almost no flavor or sweetness to me and I hate the seeds. But then again watermelon tastes like water to me so if you like such fruits then you will love it! Mexicans love this. I can't be bothered
I'm sure you know this... 8 years later but 1-you picked probably the worst of the commonly available tunas (at least where I live) and 2- that's not really how you eat them... Lots of comments talking about the green ones (they're called white in Mexican markets) but the best and sweetest ones are the orange kind, IMO
I used to eat those when I was homeless in Arizona almost 20 years ago. Many times it was my only food source, thankfully they grew in some streets of Tucson.
How are you doing now?
@@potatobird52 When I was homeless I slept on the street but had a few friends I trusted my life to. Now I live in the house that my grandparents left me and I don’t have a single person I know that I can trust fully.
commenter78
I’m proud of you for making it. Keep pushing forwards, I’m sure you’ll find someone eventually :)
Wish you well!
I'm so happy you had a somewhat viable food source. I didn't it made my stomache too small to eat. Bc I was homeless also. That is great you had fruit growing near you so u could have that. I hope you are doing well now, good job
we call those tunas in Mexico were have an abundance of them and they are amazing
u must have had not very good ones
they are very sweet and fresh
the green ones are sweeter but have a different texture also you cut them wrong we make a little cut not all th way through and just peel off the skin and eat them in 2 or 3 bites
they are delicious I love them
minecraft junkees
nobody believes it, but the best tunas here are growing on one hill.
they are ready to eat in September.
we dont go to pick them these days, because we have been enslaved and are always busy
cooking and cleaning for the tourists.
i send you hello
minecraft junkees
"we have been enslaved" dude, that's called working lmao
Live in Arizona, USA. His description matched ours, would love to try one from Mexico.
I've had the green ones fresh in southern Spain. People sell ~5lb bags of peeled "higo chumbos" (higo means fig) for very cheap. The people selling them have gloves or ridiculously calloused hands and peel them in under 5 seconds with 3 quick knife cuts. I loved them and did have to exercise restraint to avoid eating the entire bag and causing myself digestive problems. I'd describe the experience as being like eating watermelon (similarly refreshing and same texture and sweetness) mixed with a bit of the scent of aloe. I've had the red and green ones in the Northern US and they were boring and bland every time - I'm imagining the grocery store supply chain kills the flavor.
I think the green tunas are definitely my favorite, do you cut the ends off before peeling the skin? because I do.
Stomp is such a great song, glad to see you useig it in your video here, the big fun version is my favorite.
Love this fruit, though I'd suggest eating it chilled.
Cool ill try that
If memory serves, they come from the same species of cactus that is used for Nopales (which are Absolutely awesome in eggs) I had a prickly pear cactus growing up, we learned pretty quickly that while the fruit is tasty, those little fine stickers were far, far more hassle than that little bit of fruit lol
I picked one in the wild and it was really good. Pretty sweet and was Retty flavorful. But yeah, I thought I got all the spines off, but apparently I messed a few and that was not fun to get stuck in my lip. 😫
Pro Tip: If you like slivers in your fingers, hold it like he's doing in the video. Or you could just wrap it in a paper towel instead, cut the end off each end, slice the one side and easily peel it, throw away those spines. When you bite down on it, stop short of biting all the way so you don't hurt your teeth. Don't be afraid to eat these, I love them because they give me a little boost of energy, something about them makes me feel good and it's a lot like watermelon kinda, there is a good taste to them, not going to beat the best fruits, but definitely worth trying.
wow I go searching for someone to talk about prickly pear and look who I find! I have been subbed for like 5 years now and this is crazy to see this and to see where you are now you have aged like fine wine.
Prickly Pear's from the grocery store or just ok they are mild as you said, it's all about wild picked Prickly Pear's they have much more robust flavor! You do have to burn the Spines and glochids off first before you pick them, but I'm tell you man its totally worth the effort!
I'm going to give prickly pears another shot :)
I might have had a very mild version of prickly pear fruit, but I love the texture of the seediness for some reason. It's like a dragon fruit and watermelon combined.
This is one of my favorite fruits! You must have got a bad one some of them have a beautifully berry sweet mango papaya flavor to them ! Try some juice or soda flavored with them
So, so, so good! Every year we harvest, burn off the glochids and make prickly pear jelly and syrup. Reminds me a bit of boysenberry!
yeah it tastes like a more accessible red delicious, very very watery in flavor but not too wet or hard, the eating experience is kind of fun but its not a fruit i think i'll make common purchase of. i found one and some other cool fruits at the store the other day and thought of your channel and decided i'd watch your fruit videos while i ate each one, im happy your channel exists, thank you so much for keeping at this! you're one of the great pillars of youtube to me, like the Marque brownlee of fruit
Since I live in the Sonoran Desert, I've seen many a prickly pear and other Opuntia species. I took a couple of the fruits off the cactus I found in a vacant lot not knowing what I had in store for me. I put one in my backpack and kept one in my hand. I was messing around with it when I felt a sting much like that of a splinter in my hand. I looked closely at my hand and realized there were a few spines sticking out, very small, and finer than a pin. I never made that mistake again. It wasn't as bad as the time I got a little too close with a jumping cholla and the lobe rooted in my arm, but it still hurt. I had a spare pair of underwear as I was staying somewhere the night prior, and after the hand prick, I subsequently tossed it in the trash for the fruit had scattered spines all around my backpack. I was simply not willing to chance a d*ck prick, regardless of the amount of time it spent in the wash. Later my roommate asked me about why I threw my underwear in the bin, it made for an interesting, yet precarious situation in the moment. The flesh of the fruit is delicious. The cactus itself contains mescaline but not in any significant quantities, you could make an extract but it would take a ton of the cacti, and is more work than it's work. Coincidentally, Cholla also contains mescaline, but if I were to trip again, it would be from San Pedro, Trichocereus.
But you can use underwear or something to rub most of the spines off, then use a potato peeler to be rid of the skin.
I foraged for those when I was visiting in California, and got a sticker in my mouth, it was in the for months.
I had an unripe prickly pear and it tasted a lot like cucumber. Wasn't as good as when I eventually had it ripe, but it was still pretty good.
you should also try prickly pear jam it is QUITE good!!!
love the intro. stomp by the johnson brothers
I used to travel through Mexico a lot I was taught to eat the tunas, as they are called, from nopal cactus as medicine to settle my stomach from the bad water.
Just tried one here in the UK. It was orange in colour. With the variety I found, the flavour was mild, sweet, and very juicy. Taste wise, it was a cross between a clementine, pomegranate, and honeydew watermellon.
The seeds were hard, but the flavour was good.
I would recommend you try them if you find the orange coloured ones.
Also, I got spiked when folding the skin back on itself.😅
Where I live, prickly pears (higos de tuna, where "higos" means figs) are sometimes comercially available in summer. They're always green (sometimes with a redish or purplish hue on the skin, but always green inside), sweet, juicy and easy to peel. I love them! Cold prickly pears, just like melon, are a delicious, refreshing treat on hot summer days. Nowadays they come de-spined, but that was not always the case. I remember seeing my parents carefully handling and peeling them with knives and forks and then I picked one with my hands... -"NO!", they both screamed. -"What?" -"It has spines" -"No, it doesn't" -"Yes, it does. They´re tiny, you don't feel them now but they will sting later" (that didn't happen). Also remember seeing an old lady covering her hands with a lot of bags to very carefully pick them at a supermarket. The HORROR on her face when she saw me choose and pick them bare handed... :P
I used to eat these all the time.
The red ones remind me of Watermelon.
As far as the seeds go, I would just bite through them.
either you had a variety i never tried, or you never ate those
the seeds are rock hard and break your teeth
@@freakfreak786 I can crush a cherry stone between my teeth.
I haven't done that on purpose ever, but it happens from time to time.
So yeah, I have strong chompers...for now.
Like I said, I don't make a habit of breaking cherry stones between my teeth.
I've found when foraging these that wild ones are less bland than store bought. Maybe they are harvested too early for transport to stores?
I would say they taste between honey melon and pomegranate with a hint of cantaloupe but very mild of all of them flavors. Like you said not an explosion of flavor, but I say still very good, mine was refrigerated so I thought refreshing as there also sweet but not too sweet. oh, and also a bit of a watermelon taste.
Make juice out of it! I did yesterday, I used one of those electric juice presses, that spin as you press on it. I used a sieve to strain the juice from the seeds, then I mixed the juice with simple syrup and lime juice (freshly pressed). It came out great!
I have so many things to say. haha. These are my favourite fruit. A good way to get the glochids out of your hands is to rub your hands in your hair. I've been covered in them. Also, I don't know how common impaction is, I've eaten a dozen of these at one time many times before. Generally the green ones in the markets here in the U.S. are better. They are like melons, they range from no flavor and sweetness to extremely sweet. I remember getting them brought in by family from Mexico and they are all so much better. In the area my family is from there are many varieties. There is also one variety used to make a candy called Queso de Tuna.
Thanks for all the info! I'm in South America now. I'm going to give them another try :)
When I tried cactus fruit, the variety we got tasted distinctly like bubblegum, even if the flavor was subtle as you say.
I love to try new fruits. It can be a bit hard to get them in the Midwest though. My niece is also a huge fruit fan so she begged me to share with her when I try new ones. I brought over cherimoya, prickly pear, and kiwano today for them to try. My nephew loves sugary things, so I expected his favorite to be the cherimoya. We all agreed it tasted exactly like fruit loops. He actually said his new favorite fruit of all time is the prickly pear! I love them. I agree that the proper description is refreshing. They're very refreshing. My niece decided her absolute favorite fruit she's ever had is the same as mine: kiwano. Once there's a lot of give, they taste a lot like kiwi, but more complex.
Sounds like you've had a nice fruit exploration yourselves. If you live near any asian supermarkets take a look there, you'll find many more interesting fruits. Happy hunting
I think these taste very floral and like white dragon fruit but very band
I've yet to try them, but my local store brings in weird fruits around this time (dragonfruit, pomegranate my favorite fruit, kiwano, plantains, and of course prickly pears)
Glochids are actually the name of the barbs, the protuberances where they grow are named areoles.
I remember as a child I used to get lollipops from the trading post near my house that were flavored with prickly pears.
Just tried one for the first time and my first thought was I better find the Weird Explorer and see if I should have eaten all of them seeds. Other than the seeds there good.
He refers to himself as "Weird Fruit Explorer" here, I think this is why so many people remember his channel name as such!
There are many varieties, and some taste much better than others.
Skin them, mash them, strain the seeds, sugar, add water and bam… Mexican Gatorade
I live in the southwest & grow these at my work, pro tip on getting ride os the small splines take a heat source & burn them off it won’t affect the fruits so much as you just go a few passes. I recommend smoking these for about 30-hour then juicing them & have cocktails or desserts. Adios!
I hope you try them again, come to Cyprus and try some here, they taste sweet and refreshing cold. they grow wild and in the fields I pick them by the bucket and eat till I'm stuffed, but I'm fine didn't explode or anything.
I had them again in Bolivia and they were great, nyc prickly pears leave a lot to be desired haha
I have foraged these from time to time... Those fine spines are NO JOKE, but they can be removed by a good rub all the way around on clean concrete. They make a magnificent addition to lemonade, for indeed, juicing eliminates those seeds. Refrigeration destroys some of the flavor... You want them sun-kissed and dangerous... tame those spines and enjoy the richer flavor...
2:10 damn, i just finished eating a whole pack of 6 of those and seeing this part of the video...well i hope ill survive.
anyways, ive noticed the green/greenish yellow ones taste 100x better
instead of mushy they get super juicy and extremy sweet, id say an 8, if 10 is a sugar cube. and it tastes like if a melon had a baby with a rly sweet green pear.
The seeds are annoying tho. Dream come true would be to see new variaties of seedless ones.
Cheers
I find prickly pears to be intensely flavorful each time I've had them...I love them
Sounds very disappointing, and am kind of shocked. since the ones I eat are as sweet as persimmons. A solid 9 out of 10. I pick them of the cactus only when fully ripen though, and the cactus is well watered and cared for.
Love that song, Stomp by brothers Johnson
I’m pretty sure if you were in the dessert with no food that would taste damned good
2:08 You haven't heard about Mexico? It's a country where people speak Spanish and eat TONS of prickly pears, even the country's flag has those fruits...... and no, the seeds are actually used to cure digestive problems. It is packed with fiber so yeah, if you don't drink water maybe you will have some problems, as whit almost any high-fiber fruit. Sorry for my tone but that was a classic gringo's way to approach to anything that is not gringo related. Hola from Mexico City.
When I saw you did a commentary on these I had to see what you thought. I had a few friends whose dad managed land in south Texas and we (meaning I, because I was the one who always had a knife) used to cut these straight off the cactus. My thoughts on the flavor was that they were kind watermelon-ish.
just did a video reviewing this fruit. I agree with your assesment.
I have the plant with thorns visible and bear small red fruits.
I like the sound of all the seeds
I love prickly pears. They are really delicious.
Are dragonfruits sweeter? This has almost no flavor or sweetness to me and I hate the seeds. But then again watermelon tastes like water to me so if you like such fruits then you will love it! Mexicans love this. I can't be bothered
Wild ones are much more tasty than store bought
I'm sure you know this... 8 years later but 1-you picked probably the worst of the commonly available tunas (at least where I live) and 2- that's not really how you eat them...
Lots of comments talking about the green ones (they're called white in Mexican markets) but the best and sweetest ones are the orange kind, IMO
So many of these allover the beach by me in nj
Asbestos prickles?
I fear for your safety sir.
which is better prickly pear or peruvian apple? I want to buy the one of those cactus but I'm looking for the best flavour fruit.
Or you can just put the fruit in a bag and shake it... I love these!
The inside reminds me of a red dragonfruit
You didn’t get a good one. A mature, ripe tuna tastes like bubblegum and watermelon it’s one the best tasting fruits out there
green ones are waaaaaaay better than red ones
i bought one of these the other day and was like wtf thank you
I’m very curious of what part of America you’re from/ grew up in
You’ve try Every fruit In the whole world 🌎
working on it :)
This is from the Opuntia spp
I thought it tasted like watermelon!
Wow, early Jared used 70's porn music for his intro..... interesting.
This is why people think your channel is called "weird fruit explorer"
They're Also Called Opuntia????????
👍
I make a bomb BBQ sauce out of these.
It's like dragon fruit
A little bit, they're both cactus fruits and pretty mild
Tuna
You can tell just looking at that it's a superfood. (seeds aside).
Algorithm comment
they taste like nothing apples but okay.