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Figs Peaks of the Canary Islands

Figs green peaks of the Canary Islands
Figs green peaks of the Canary Islands

What are peak figs?

They are the sweet fruit of a type of cactus. You can find them in ravines and slopes, next to palm trees, and separated from them. You distinguish them because first an orange flower appears, then the dark green fruit, which softens, and finally the red fruit.

Canary Islands peak fig flower
Canary Islands peak fig flower

Other names for the peak fig

In the Canary Islands the fig peaks are also called; tun figs, or chumbo figs. But it must have countless other names in other countries, such as Nopal in Mexico, where they also eat cactus pulp (a typical dish there that I have eaten in Tenerife called Nopalada).

How it’s and how it’s eaten

Even if it is a fruit that abounds in the Canary Islands, and that there is even a song dedicated to the beak fig, it is not a fruit that eats too much, because you can bite when you catch them, and because it has many pipes inside its pulp.

Mature red-billed figs from the Canary Islands
Mature red-billed figs from the Canary Islands

It is eaten when the fruit is red, or yellow, but care must be taken when collecting it from the cactus. It is normal to take them with gloves, and once placed on the floor on a blanket, sweep them with a clean hatch, to remove the maximum number of their tiny skewers.

When they are clean of skewers;

Step 1; cut the tips of the beak fig

Step 1 Cut the tips of the peak fig of the Canary Islands
Step 1 Cut the tips of the peak fig of the Canary Islands

Step 2; hendir a little the knife into the elongated part, and separate the skin a little with the knife

Step 2 Cut the elongated part of the peak fig of the Canary Islands
Step 2 Cut the elongated part of the peak fig of the Canary Islands

Step 3; stick the fingers of one hand into the slit, while the fingers of the other grab the beak fig by the already cut tips, and gently separate the skin sideways, until it comes out whole

Step 3 separate the skin from the peak fig of the Canary Islands
Step 3 separate the skin from the peak fig of the Canary Islands

And to eat the beak fig, or the blender. enjoy your meal!.

Peeled Canary Islands peak fig
Peeled Canary Islands peak fig

I love to eat them as they are, without the skin, but another option is to put them in the blender to get rid of the pipes, and enjoy the liquid of their pulp.

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

Canary Islands Sweet Gofio´s Recipe

Steps and video of how to make sweet Gofio ball or lump

Sweet Gofio ball or lump made by ShopCanarias.es
Sweet Gofio ball or lump made by ShopCanarias.es

I summarize in another article the advantages of Canary Islands´s Gofio, which is made with toasted and ground cereals (if you want to know more then click on the link at the end of this post). But now I will share with you how I like to make kneaded Gofio, also named Gofio ball o Gofio lump. Below you can see the ingredients which you need, and the steps to follow. And you may also see the following video of our YouTube channel.

video of how to make sweet Gofio ball or lump

We need the following INGREDIENTS ;

  • 2 table spoons of organic raisins,
  • Enough organic milk to cover the raisins, which I usually let soak in milk overnight,
  • 2 table spoons of organic peeled almonds cut in pieces,
  • 3 organic bananas from the Canary Islands, which we are going to smash,
  • 2 table spoons of organic honey,
  • and organic gofio from the Canary Islands, made with corn and wheat in this case.

STEP by step ;

1º- mix all the ingredients except the gofio, afterwards add the gofio slowly,

2º- keep adding gofio and mixing until it is too dense, then knead while adding gofio,

3º- and finally use your fists to knead until the dough doesn´t stick neither to your hands nor to the bowl.

4º- Give it the shape desired, round or like a bread loaf, and sprinkle more gofio around it.

Ready to eat for breakfast, o for lunch with a cup of Canary Islands wine, Enjoy it!

Thank you for visiting, and see you soon !

Carnival Canary Islands

Carnival Costume
Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es, with permission and courtesy of this Carnivalero from Los Realejos, Tenerife, Canary Islands, from an original costume made of recycled materials

Nothing better to recycle than making a costume with recycled materials. But it is also worth it to wear the usual costumes, or dressing up with what we have at hand; a pajamas, an apron, a sheet, or whatever you can think of, with accessories you have at home; a bottle, a roller, chains, etc.

Carnivalrs of Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands
Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es, with permission and courtesy of these Carnivals from Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands

Carnival is a Christian tradition, to have fun before Lent. People dress up, and some of us make the costumes ourselves. People sing, dance to the sound of orchestras, walk in and out of the “coso” (parade), and some are part of “comparsas” (percussion and dance groups), and “murgas” (choral groups that make funny and critical songs).

At the end of the Carnivals, which always end on Sunday, there are different celebrations, although in all carnivalers they disguise themselves as black (mourning), and mourn the end of the Carnivals. In Tenerife, for example, in Santa Cruz you may see the burial of a sardine, where a giant cardboard sardine is burned. However, in Los Realejos, “Rascayú” is burned, who disguise him as the theme of that year’s Carnival.

Rascayú at the Los Realejos Carnivals in 2020
Rascayú at the Los Realejos Carnivals in 2020

If you want to see some of the tourist attractions of the Canary Islands, here you can see the information of the Government of the Canary Islands;

http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/turismo/fiestas/index.html

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

Calima

Calima (haze) are very small particles of suspended dust, and in the Canary Islands, it is sometimes caused once or twice a year (during spring and/or summer time), due to alms and clays that come with winds coming from Africa towards the south and southeast.

The Teide with calima
Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es. The Teide with calima.

But don’t worry, it only lasts a couple of days, or disappears sooner if it rains. But if you have asthma, then you should be alert to your symptoms.

The Teide as the calima disappears
Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es. View of the Teide, from the north of Tenerife, when the calima disappears.

Don’t forget to hydrate frequently, wear a hat and sunglasses, and put on sunscreen from time to time. And try to avoid full sun exposure between noon and 6pm, especially if you’re traveling with children. It would also be helpful to bring an umbrella in the car.

Views of El Teide
Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es. Views of El Teide.

And sometimes, when the calima disappears, the sky of the Canary Islands gets clear, and you can see the silhouettes of the rest of the islands.

Silhouette of the island of La Palma seen from Tenerife
Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es. Silhouette of the island of La Palma seen from Tenerife

For more information on the weather that we have right now in the Canary Islands, then click the following link, and hover over an area of an island to know; temperature, wind, humidity, etc.;

And to know the weather´s prediction in the Canary Islands up to six days ahead, then click the following link, and select the parameter which you want in the blue selectors on the left of the map;

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

El Teide announces winter

The first snowfall in El Teide, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, announces winter on December 11, 2019, just for the Christmas and New Year season.

The Teide for ShopCanarias.es
The snowy Teide for ShopCanarias.es

El Teide is a volcano of 3,718 meters high, and it is the highest peak in Spain. It is a National Park, and it was declared a World Heritage Site. Even on the winter season, it only snows in El Teide at times, and that is why we celebrate when we see El Teide completely snowy.

You can take a walk through El Teide, go to the visitor´s centre, ascend inside of the cable car, and then climb about 163 meters to reach the crater.

We also go up to El Teide to spend a great day with the family, and play with the snow, even on March.

Snow in El Teide in March 2016, in Tenerife, Canary Islands
Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es of snow in El Teide, in March 2016, in Tenerife, Canary Islands

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

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