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Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer

The fruit on the far left was the first to bloom and is perfectly ripe compared with the progressively lighter and younger prickly pears on the right.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Nowhere is this most true than with prickly pear cactus, which lures the uninitiated with its luscious, bright-red fruit. What the novice gardener, adventurous chef or wild collector may not know is that this genus, Opuntia, is unique in the cactus world. Not only does it bear wickedly sharp, inch-long spines, at the base of each spine cluster is a nest of microscopic glochids. Cactophiles detest these fine hairlike glochids more than the big spines because once they’re embedded in the skin, clothing or gloves, they’re nearly impossible to see – much less remove.

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Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer

In US and Mexican markets, prickly pear fruit is green and sold with the spines already removed.

Just as the paddle-shaped leaves bear spines and glochids, so do the large, sweet fruits, known as tunas in Mexico. When mature, these fruits are about the size of a human fist and are completely red or orange with no green left at the base. There’s just a short time before the birds start to feed on them, so aficionados must be prompt in gathering. But above all, pick carefully! And whenever possible, choose the big-leaf forms for their generously-sized fruit. Finally, remember that even if the plant is “spineless,” the fruit will still bear glochids.

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Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer

Spineless or nearly spineless prickly pear plants can still produce wickedly armed fruit.

The best way to pick prickly pear fruit safely is to arm yourself with thick gloves and long-handled barbecue tongs. If you wrap the tong tips in duct tape, the metal ends are less likely to puncture the fruit as you work it free of the plant. You’ll want the fruit to remain intact so no glochids manage to enter the edible during harvest. For the same reason, use a flat basket or container for collecting, and set the fruit side by side – but not too close together – so they won’t pick up glochids from each other.

In the kitchen, there are many methods for removing glochids. Some require crushing the fruit – skin and all – then passing it through a sieve. However, there’s no guarantee that the hairlike spikes will be completely separated out, and this method prevents you from enjoying the fruit whole or sliced.