Fichi d'India

"Tenacious monument of the deserts"

Living in Italy I have learned the importance of eating seasonal fruit and I have discovered a very exotic favourite! It's called Fichi d'India (family of Cactaceae) - the prickly pear in english. Specially in Sardinia I find them in every corner of the curvy roads and now is the time for the fruits to be collected. How exciting isn't that? Collecting your own fruit from the nature! But, you need to be careful while doing it. The fruits are covered with small & soft yellow spines and you need to have thick plastic gloves on to remove them from the plants. Afterwards it's important to clean them well under running water with a brush in order to get off all the spines. Trust me, they look very harmless but they do hurt a bit if you get them on your fingres!

The prickly pears are a delicious, sweet fruit and an effective natural remedy. The pulp is made up of water, sugar, vitamins and minerals. This type of fresh fruit is recommended to enrich your diet fiber. Besides containing slimming fibers the prickly pear is also rich in vitamin C, potassium and magnesium. Consumed regularly they facilitate diuresis and promote the elimination of kidney stones. In addition, they help to reduce "bad" cholesterol.

So, next time you pass by a fruit & veggie stand here in Italy during September, don't let this funny looking fruit scare you! Buy & try them cause you will fall in love!

Love,

Salla