The cactus of patience

The prickly pear, aka sabra, is misleading. First, it looks like you can just reach out and pick the fruit – a ploy that many new immigrants and tourists fall into to this day. 

The thorns on the leaves of the cactus are visible, but those on the fruit are much less so. They are responsible for the many people walking around the country during the summer season, probing their palms, pulling out thorn after thorn.

In addition, it seems that the cactus is part of the typical Israeli landscapes, and indeed to this date it can be seen in most areas of the country (especially now, when the fruit is at it’s peak and small groups of cars are gatherednear bunches of cactusin an attempt to pick the fruit).

The cactus is not one of the seven species, שבעת המינים. It was not here in biblical times, there are no mosaics adorning broad-leaved cacti on the floors of ancient synagogues, nor will you find jewelry from the days of Jesus in the shape of sabra. Actually, this all makes sense, because it is a cactus.

Just like all it’s fellow cacti, it came from America. (Mexico takes pride in her cacti and displays the cactus on its flag.) From America it migrated to Spain, and by courtesy of the conquerors – also to the Mediterranean basin.

The cactus enjoys the Israeli climate, relatively speaking – it does get along with the amount of irrigation it receives (the origin of the name “Sabra” is in the Arabic word “tsabar”צבר- meaning patience.

The Israelis adopted the “sabra” as a symbol of the common Israeli, which is thorny and rough on the outside and rather sweet and soft on the inside (I would not necessarily describe the typical Israeli as patient, but maybe they are of a different specie). However, the climate here does not allow cacti seeds, the same seeds that creak between our teeth when eating the fruit, to germinate on their own when they meet the ground.

This is both bad news (for a cactus – because it depends onhuman assistance to reproduce, often in order to create a natural thorny barrier that is impenetrable by animals as well as humans – or at least some cactus leaves that will reproduce vegetatively.

In fact, these are not leaves but branches, but it is clear why it is easy to get confused) in terms of maintaining the specie. It is also good news – for the other growing species in our country, which are not threatened by this invasive specie, since its natural reproduction is limited.

The first to commercially grow Sabrain Israel, aka prickly pear, were the Ottomans, who used the fruit to produce a scarlet colored dye from them. Today, prickly pears are grown in agricultural farms, for local consumption as well as export –at a scale of several dozen tons a year.

In the wild, the peak of the season is just before the end of summer, but on the farm it is ripe for several months longer. The fruit is rich with vitamin C, magnesium and antioxidants.

It is considered beneficial for digestion, counteracts the development of cancer cells in the stomach and digestive system, improves the body's ability to reduce cholesterol levels and also balances sugar levels.

How do we deal with the thorns? With fire and water and a knife: hold the fruit with a pair of tongs and pass through the flame for a few seconds, soak in water and mix with a spoon (so that the fruits bump the sides of the bowl and each other causing the thorns to fall out), or simply lay on a cutting board, Hold in place with a fork, and cut both ends off with a knife.

You can then make a shallow groove in the skin and peel it off the heart of the fruit. By the way, cacti leaves can also be used, although they are not nearly as popular as the fruit: young leaves can be peeled, diced and soaked for a day or two in water to remove the mucous membranes. These can be added fresh to a salad, pickled or even cooked.

To health!

Yours,