Even if I dislike shopping around touristy type shops I am often surprised to find stunningly original items in amongst the tacky kitsch. Working my through I heart Sicily post cards, every possibly shaped lava sculpture, bamboo flutes and knickknacks I saw these little babies. A series of handcrafted tools used to pick those particularly prickly Sicilian fruit the ‘fica d’india’ or prickly pear. Priceless really!
OK, now you have to explain how they work, please. I’ve never had occasion to pick prickly pear. 🙂
Yvonne
Simple, place deadly looking prickly pear fruit inside bamboo cup and snap off the fruit with a quick flick up or down. Place fruit in a bucket, dust off most of the prickles, put on your gloves peel and eat (perhaps put them in the cooler for a bit because they are best served chilled!) Easy 😉
You’ve just got me singing one of my favourite songs:
“Don’t pick the prickly pear by the paw
When you pick a pear
Try to use the claw
But you don’t need to use the claw
When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw
Have I given you a clue ?
The bare necessities of life will come to you
They’ll come to you!
😉 I love that song too! I imagine it would help if you had claws like Baloo to pick those nasty looking fruit. And to top it off once you have negotiated all those prickles the fruit is filled with hard pips! I don’t get these crazy Sicilians!!!
This makes me want to come Sicily and discover some of these ‘finds’ with you!
You are more than welcome … there are plenty of things to be discovered. I’m currently feeling frustrated with my economic situation there is still so much to see but no funding to see it!!!