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The Etna prickly pear (DOP) is an Italian fruit and vegetable product with a protected designation of origin. It is the fruit of the prickly pear from Etna and is therefore native to areas with lava soil. In Sicily, the prickly pear was introduced by the Spanish in the sixteenth century and its cultivation began immediately. It is said that Christopher Columbus tasted the fruit during his trip to the Americas, but thinking he was in India he called it prickly pear. It is a plant that grows everywhere, in every type of location, it belongs to the genus of cacti with a delicate and full-bodied taste. Thrives in rocky and arid soil. Being a very tenacious species, it established itself very easily in the Sicilian countryside where it soon began to spread. It does not need massive water resources to survive, it has a great ability to survive the Sicilian summer heat and temperatures above 40 degrees, It is a plant that can reach six or seven meters in height (a beautiful arborescent specimen is found in the garden of S. Giovanni degli Eremiti in Palermo). Today there are as many as 300 species, of which six or seven are edible. In fact, in recent decades, with new technologies this plant offers the possibility of creating a biodegradable plastic from the cladodes. It is a juicy, sweet and seeded fruit. Perhaps a miracle, or the different climate, transplanted to the island it acclimatised and began to bear healthy and sweet fruits. Naturally it is a fruit to be enjoyed in moderation so as not to create digestion problems.
