Hello friends! I have news of the memories of my childhood that always bring me nostalgia for my pretty town where I also spent my adolescence, running in the spring in the green fields, with many flowers of wild plants, butterflies flying happy, bees looking for their nectar in different flowers and birds singing free and happy, what a great feeling and what peace, what harmony!
Bueno, pasando la primavera y llegando el verano, allá en mi pueblo de origen, en Grecia, salen las frutas de la planta que les quiero presentar, se trata de la tuna (nombre científico: opuntia ficus-indica), una planta salvaje con hojas grandes y carnosas, cuyos frutos al ponerse anaranjados se convierten en un manjar, aunque yo las como verdes también.
Well, when spring passes and summer comes, back in my hometown, in Greece, the fruits of the plant that I want to present to you come out, it is the prickly pear (scientific name: opuntia ficus-indica), a wild plant with large, fleshy leaves, the fruits of which turn orange and become a delicacy, although I eat them green too.
Aquí se van a reír cuando les cuente que mi mamá cada mañana las recogía, las limpiaba con una escoba o paja para quitar las espinas y yo comía como unas ¡10 piezas!, pero eso sí, antes según mi mamá, tenía que comer un pedazo de pan para evitar el estreñimiento. Es que son tan ricas y refrescantes que yo no podía parar de comerlas.
Here you are going to laugh when I tell you that my mother collected them every morning, cleaned them with a broom or straw to remove the thorns, and I ate about 10 pieces! But before, according to my mother, I had to eat a piece of bread to avoid constipation. They are so delicious and refreshing that I couldn't stop eating them.
Esta planta de la familia de los cactus crece en América, Europa y otros lugares. Aquí en Venezuela pocas personas conocen y consumen esta fruta que se da en zonas áridas del país como Falcón, Lara o Zulia.
This plant that is part of the cactus family grows in America, Europe and other places. Here in Venezuela few people know and consume this fruit that grows in arid areas of the country such as Falcón, Lara or Zulia.
Donde vivo no las consigo por ahí así que siempre estoy pendiente de un supermercado que a veces trae y de unos productores que los fines de semana vienen a vender sus cosechas y de vez en cuando traen tunas también.
Where I live I don't get them out there so I'm always looking out for a supermarket that sometimes brings and some producers who come to sell their crops on weekends and occasionally bring prickly pears too.
Si tienen la suerte de conseguirlas gratis, las frutas se recolectan con cuidado porque tienen muchas espinas chiquitas e invisibles y se clavan fácilmente en las manos. Una manera es con guantes si la planta es alcanzable y la otra es con un gancho largo si están más lejos.
If you are lucky enough to get them for free, you have to pick the fruits carefully because they have many small, invisible thorns and they stick easily into your hands. One way is with gloves if the plant is reachable and the other is with a long hook if they are farther away.
Se limpian con paja fresca y se lavan bien para que no quede ninguna espina, luego se pelan haciendo un corte en los dos extremos, otro a lo largo no profundo para halar la concha y listo. Al comprarlas en un mercado hay que tener cuidado también porque quizás aún tengan espinas.
They are cleaned with fresh straw and washed well so that there are no thorns left, then you peel them making a cut at both ends, another cut lengthwise but not deep to pull the skin and that's it. When buying them in a market, you must also be careful because they may still have thorns.
No sólo es deliciosa, tiene vitaminas como C y E y minerales como potasio, calcio, fósforo y magnesio. También aporta fibra y según varios estudios ayuda a reducir el colesterol malo.
Not only is delicious, it has vitamins like C and E and minerals like potassium, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium. It also provides fiber and according to several studies helps reduce bad cholesterol.
Leí que sus propiedades ya eran conocidas por antiguas civilizaciones como por ejemplo los aztecas, en México, quienes la usaban para cicatrizar sus heridas y cuando tenían fiebre la bajaban bebiendo su jugo.
I read that its properties were already known by ancient civilizations such as the Aztecs, in Mexico, who used it to heal their wounds and when they had a fever they lowered it by drinking its juice.
Aquí les presento algunos de los usos de la tuna que yo conozco:
Here are some of the uses of prickly pear that I know:
Para hacer el jarabe que sirve para frenar la diarrea y combatir la tos, se pelan las frutas, se cortan en rodajas, se ponen en un recipiente y se cubren con azúcar. Se dejan así reposando toda la noche y al día siguiente tendremos un jarabe más o menos espeso, lo colamos separando las semillas porque tiene muchas y hay personas que no les gustan, lo calentamos y tomamos un vaso una vez al día.
To make the syrup that serves to stop diarrhea and fight cough, the fruits are peeled, cut into slices, put in a container and covered with sugar. They are left resting like this all night and the next day we will have a syrup more or less thick, we strain it separating the seeds because it has many and there are people who don't like them, we heat it and have a glass once a day.
Aparte de sus ricas frutas también se utilizan las hojas o pencas, las cuales tienen propiedades astringentes y emolientes.
Apart from its delicious fruits, the leaves are also used, which have astringent and emollient properties.
Para uso externo se usan las pencas (hojas) en cataplasma para dolores musculares producidos por inflamaciones, calentadas primero en el horno y después abiertas por la mitad se colocan donde el cuerpo necesite calor húmedo para aliviar el dolor.
For external use, the leaves are used in poultice for muscular pain caused by inflammations, heated first in the oven and then opened in half, they are placed where the body needs moist heat to relieve pain.
Bueno amigos, espero prueben la tuna si no lo han hecho, es una fruta que quiero comer a cada rato, otro gran regalo que la madre naturaleza nos mandó.
Well friends, I hope you try the prickly pear if you haven't, it is a fruit that I want to eat every now and then, another great gift that Mother Nature sent us.
Todas las fotos fueron hechas por mis hijas / All photos were made by my daughters
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I love theeeeeeeeeeeeeem haha FRAGKOSYKA is a Greek word and I am from here , the fuchsia ones also are beautiful
Hehehe, yes I'm greek too, but I live in Venezuela since many years. All the photos in this post were taken in Greece, thanks for stopping by! :)
haha wow , yup Greece has lots of prickly pears everywhere , Venezuela seems to be preeeetty nice and hotter actually .
Yes, Venezuela is a beautiful country, we live in an eternal summer hehehe
yes that’s what I thought haha , eternal summer is beautiful
Qué pena. Justo hace unas semanas, el dueño de la casa donde vivimos trajo una tuna -la penca con un fruto-. Mi esposo me dijo "Mira, una tuna. Esa se come." pero como yo no la conocía, ni la miré. La dejé allí hasta que murió jajajajaj ahora leo esto y me lamento.
Me encantaría probarla, la describes como lo más rico del mundo!
Apoyamos tu contenido sobre #meditación, #mindfulness, #espiritualidad y #yoga.
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Ay... no debiste ignorar a la pobre tuna... pero lo bueno es que ya sabes jejeje y la próxima vez que la veas, la probarás :)
I heard that if you dehydrate the nopals, you can rehydrate them. Because it has some of the same properties as aloe vera, you can use it as a first aid ointment for burns and things - but aloe vera doesn't dehydrate well, so this prickly pear has an added benefit. Did you know that in Australia, they nearly took over one state - it was an invasion and it was a huge pest and problem!! Love your pictures - it's a fabulous post, thanks for sharing.
¡Hi! I didn't know that! Nor that they invaded an entire state in Australia... definitely have great power hehehe, thanks a lot for your comment and support!
Oh yes, it took ages to eradicate them!!!! I have some near me, but I make my husband pick them haha. My Dad used to pick them as a kid.
Good! Hehehe this way you avoid the spines, they are very annoying if they enter the fingers :)