Field guide · Autumn (Med)

Prickly pear

In Portugal it's figo-da-índia, and half the ones that get picked were never planted — they grow wild along stone walls and field edges across the Algarve and Alentejo, a fruit nobody quite farms on purpose. The spines are the whole problem: score the skin, don't touch it bare, and the flesh underneath is soft, seedy, a little like watermelon crossed with kiwi. Simplest thing to do with it: peel carefully, chill it, eat it plain with a squeeze of lime — it doesn't need much help.

Noted 2026-07-20