Prickly pears the harvest period in Sicily
Prickly pears, the time of harvest has come. The fruits are ripe on the "blades" and we can't wait to taste a preview of the result of our work. In reality, nature has done everything, in fact the prickly pear is an "independent" succulent plant!
In the sense that it does not need our support to thrive and multiply. We have seen in another article how easily it reproduces. The cuttings made up of a "shovel" do not even need to be buried to take roots!
However, we have the merit of having intuited that the slopes of Etna are the ideal place for the production of this magnificent fruit. Let's not forget that the land in these areas is very rich in minerals that contribute to the color and flavor of all the fruit that is produced, from citrus to prickly pear.
Our commitment to fruit picking begins now
We let nature take its course and give us a full load of wonderful fruits. The colors range from green to red, the iron present in the volcanic ash that settles on the ground helps to color the fruits we are about to harvest with a thousand shades of red. For the uninitiated, the prickly pear plant is full of thorns and the harvesting of its fruits must be done very carefully. The quills defend the plant well so that in not too distant times, these plants were used in the perishing of the countryside. The reason for this use is easy to understand, a natural method that replaced the unsightly barbed wire.
Prickly pears, from harvest to your table.
We equip ourselves with special extensions that cut the fruit and deposit it directly in the containers. Of course we do not neglect the use of rubber gloves because caution is never too much and an oversight is enough to find a sting in the skin!
The thorns are found in the blades, but also in the fruits. For this reason these are washed with the right water pressure which will also be used for removing the thorns. The fruit is ready for the tasting test, we do it as our grandparents did in the countryside, knife and peel removal, we will explain the technique in another article ... Delicious, sweet thirst quenching and immediately recalls another.
The harvested fruits and without the thorns that made them a little hostile are packaged in cardboard boxes, protected with a film suitable for transport and ready for the table in half of Europe.
If you love these fruits of nature, do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to share our work with you.
Distefano Società Agricola a r. l.
contrada Poggio Rosso,
strada Perrieri,
95033 Biancavilla CT
Mobile: 393 892 4350 | P.iva 05353580870