Chinese grocery stores were a weekly ritual for me as a child growing up in a mixed race household. Exploring the wide array of fruits, vegetables, meats, and even canned goods that were so different than what you would normally find in a Caucasian supermarket was mind blowing. I have been extremely privileged enough to explore and taste many of these anomalies that you find in these stores. My reason for choosing to go back to a Chinese super market and explore their fruit section, was because I knew I would find something out of the ordinary that I had still not experimented with to this day! CACTUS FRUIT! I finally stumbled upon something that I had not come into contact with previously and decided to pick it up and bring it home. The colour of the fruit and the title definitely lured me in; I hadn't heard of a Cactus Fruit and it really intrigued me to give it a try. Doing some background research into this new fruit enabled me to discover a common name for the fruit, the "Prickly Pear". The Cactus Fruit is high in several essential nutrients and brings forward many benefits with regards to Dietary Fibres, Vitamin C, and Dietary Minerals! This intrigued me even further because I love a food that not only taste delicious, but brings forward a healthy benefit. This fruit flourishes in growth throughout several parts of Europe due to the suitable climate conditions, and can be found in places such as the South of France and Malta specifically. Due to further research I also discovered the fact that the skin of the cactus fruit can be dangerous and indigestible if eaten!!! With careful precision I peeled the cactus fruit only to reveal an extremely bright red/magenta colour that made my eyes pop! The fruit had no scent what so ever and resembled a kiwi in a sense, just with different colouring. My first bite let off an extremely sugary and sweet taste that was almost too much to handle. The fruit had little to no flavour, but exuded an extreme sweetness. There was absolutely no bitter or sour taste to this fruit, however this could just be a result of the fruit being fully ripe! It reminded me in a sense of a well known fruit in Asian cultures as well, called the Dragon Fruit. Dragon Fruit have little to no taste as well, but let off an extreme level of sweetness. The two fruit also had similar feeling when chewed; the seeds inside are supposed to be consumed for optimal health benefits, and let off a sort of chalky, yet tolerable, feeling within my mouth! Overall, I must say that although the first bite was almost intolerable to my intake of sweetness, as I delved into more fruit it became less and less over powering. It just had a sweet after taste that became somewhat enjoyable. If I were to enjoy this fruit again assisted by a cooking method, I think that I would have to do a spin off of a caramelization. I think this fruit could definitely use some sort of citrus or acidic flavourings to accompany it and to further it to another level. The caramelization with the citrus and acidity would also neutralize the original flavour palate of the Cactus Fruit and amplify it in several ways! I didn't choose a particular recipe for this, because I think that it can be done in so many ways and is extremely versatile! The amount of sugar added or amount of citrus squeezed in is completely up to the recipient and foodie! Overall, I learnt that my palate is quite intolerant to high sweet levels when it comes to food! I find the sweetness over powering and sometimes feel like it's in competition with tasting the natural flavour of the item. I did enjoy this fruit and will definitely invest in eating some more "Prickly Pears" because of all the added health benefits that come with them! The taste is definitely something that must be acquired and getting used to, and I find that not everyone will enjoy this fruit! I think that people need to step out of their boundaries when it comes to trying fruit, and food, in general! There are many things that can come out of trying new things and experimenting at the grocery store! Whether it be extremely good health benefits or finding a new favourite food, there's something for everyone when it comes to food! |