Prickly Pear Syrup: A Step-by-Step Guide

How To Safely Harvest Prickly Pears

…because that is an important thing to know. The first time I called myself “harvesting” prickly pears, my city-girl hands were in for a rude awakening. You cannot just “grab it between the spines” as I thought. Prickly pear skins are dotted with small sharp pins (which I saw) and microscopic hairs called glochids (which I didn’t). I would later feel these glochids stabbing me while I washed my hands, dried my hands, and cried over my hands.

You can see in the image above that they range in color from bright green to a blush pink to deep magenta as they ripen. The prickly pears are ready to harvest when they turn a deep purple color.

To safely harvest prickly pears, you should wear heavy gardening gloves. Put on work boots or closed-toed shoes, and eye protection for added safety. The glochids can get picked up by the wind, and the next thing you know, you’re picking them out of your big toe– ask me how I know. Never mind that I’m not wearing gloves in the picture. Clearly, I’m a glutton for punishment.

Use a pair of long tongs to grip the bulbous top of the fruit. Using a very sharp, serrated paring knife, cut the fruit from the cactus paddle right above the tuft of spines at its base. I like to carefully place the fruit in a metal bowl, since metal doesn’t have ridges or crevices that can hide the glochids as plastic or wooden bowls do. You can also put them into a paper bag. Harvest all the ripe prickly pears your cactus has.

Oh, there’s also some leaf-footed bugs you may encounter while harvesting the fruit. Just flick them off with your tongs.