How to Harvest and Cook Arizona’s Prickly Pear

A region’s soul is etched in its history, spoken through its culture, and shared through its flavors.

Does the available food in a region shape its culture, or is it the other way around? If you've ever had curry, cabbage rolls, lutefisk, or escargot, you've had a dish that was created and formed around the available ingredients in a particular region. There's a good chance that people who grew up eating it regularly love it.

Stuffed cabbage rolls were created from a region's available ingredients. | Canva

Arizona is no different. The unique flavors and ingredients in our area may be as close as your back door. If you've ever had nopales or prickly pear flavored anything, you understand.

You may have these cactus growing in your backyard! | Created with Canva

What Can You Use Prickly Pear to Make?

Arizona has a delicacy that you're unlikely to find anywhere else. If you've ever had prickly pear candy or jam, or any of the myriad other foods inspired by this humble succulent, you know what I'm talking about. You won't find this unique ingredient in Chicago, but it may already be flourishing in your backyard if you live in Arizona.

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Prickly pear, also known as nopal, tuna, or paddle cactus, offers both edible paddles, known as nopales, and vibrant fruit, called tunas. Both are packed with flavor and nutrients.

Always use thick gloves and tongs to harvest prickly pear. | Created with Canva

How to Harvest Prickly Pear Paddles and Fruit Safely

Prickly pear paddles can be made into a variety of dishes, and you can harvest them yourself. Look for young, bright green ones in spring or early summer.

You'll need thick gloves so you don't get the needles or glochids embedded in your hands. | Created with Canva

This is important: use tongs and thick gloves when harvesting. Never try to do this barehanded because those tiny glochids, or hair-like spines, are sneaky and they can be hard to spot.

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If you're planning to harvest the fruit, wait until late summer when they turn deep red or purple. Again, twist them off gently with tongs; don't try to harvest them bare-handed!

Fruit of the prickly pear is called tunas. | Created with Canva

How to Remove Prickly Pear Needles

To remove the needles, you’ve got options. For paddles, scrape them with a knife or veggie peeler while holding them with tongs.

To remove the needles from the fruit, rinse them under water, again, using tongs, and scrub with a stiff vegetable brush.

There is another alternative: you can go full desert pro and singe the glochids off with an open flame. Watch as YouTube User Matt Federoff shares a quick, easy way to remove needles with heat:

TIP: Those prickly pear needles can be invisible and sneaky. If you get some in your skin, use duct tape or white glue to pull out those pesky glochids.

Once cleaned, the possibilities are endless. Dice nopales into tacos or scramble them with eggs.

Nopales can be used in a variety of dishes. | Created with Canva

Prickly pear fruit is delicious and sweet. You can blend it into juice, make syrup, jelly, or use it as a barbecue glaze, and even flavor margaritas. It tastes like watermelon with a hint of bubblegum.

So next time you pass a prickly pear, don’t just admire it, harvest it (safely), prep it (carefully), and enjoy it (enthusiastically). Just remember: gloves first, recipes second.

Sources: My Cactus Garden | Wikipedia | WikiHow | YouTube