Best season to travel to San Francisco

Cactus Pear

The spiky peel of the cactus pear covers surpeisingly tasty melon-like juicy pulp

Best time: May–June

Cactus Pear
Cactus Pear
Cactus Pear

San Francisco is famous for the Opuntia cactus and its exclusive fruit, which has many names, including cactus pear, prickly pear, Indian fig, and Spanish tuna. The fruit is distinguished by thick spiny skin, and its colors range from green to red and even purple. Its pulp tastes like a melon. Before consumption every single tiny prickle of the cactus fruit is to be carefully peeled, but watch out not to hurt your fingers, as the spines are really irritating. In addition to the spiny cover, the fruit is full of hard seeds inside. The cactus pear is mainly used for making juice and other drinks, but also in jelly and candies. It is on the market within a short time from May through June.

Last updated: by Eleonora Provozin