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Prickly pear cactus is an important food in the diet of the people of Mexico and Central America. This type of food is increasingly popular in many places as an exotic, stylish and healthy addition to the diet. The prickly pear cactus has three edible parts: the leaves (used as a vegetable), the petals (used in salads), and the fruit (which can be considered a fruit. This plant grows wild everywhere. the southwestern United States, down to South America and up to Canada, but the type of cactus you find at the store or farmer’s market is sourced from farms.
- Prickly pear cactus leaves
- Prickly pear cactus
- Pepper, salt and other seasonings
Steps
Prickly pear cactus leaves
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Buy or cut a few prickly pear cactus leaves. See the Warnings section. This plant is known as prickly pear cactus for a reason.
- Choose leaves that are firm and bright green.
- The small and young leaves harvested in early spring are the most succulent, with a mild taste and the fewest thorns. Thicker leaves mean older. Older leaves are often fibrous and the sap is thicker, which many people don’t like. Leave the old leaves for the animals to eat through the season of food scarcity. The tender leaves are sometimes sold under the name “young leaves”.
- If harvesting your own cactus, be sure to use thick gloves or tongs. Remove leaves from the plant or at the stem. Cutting at the stem can reduce pressure on the leaves and help the plant recover faster than plucking or plucking the leaves. This method keeps the cactus healthy for the following harvest season.
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Use a paring knife to remove the spines from the cactus leaves. [1] X Research Source Do not remove gloves until they are washed and the peeled parts of the leaves are clean. Cactus leaves not only have large spines but also tiny invisible spines that cause much more itching; These spikes, also known as hook hairs , are extremely difficult to remove from the skin. You can also remove cactus spines by burning them with a small torch or by placing the leaves on a gas stove and flipping them open with tongs. See Warnings.
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Wash the cactus leaves under cool running water. Peel or cut away discolored or crushed areas.
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Cut the cactus leaves (wipe the blade after each cut, as there may be small thorns sticking to the knife) or leave the leaves whole, depending on how you prepare them.
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Processing cactus leaves. You can boil, bake or mix cactus leaves with other ingredients to make unique, delicious and healthy dishes. [2] X Research Source
- With the boiling method, you sometimes have to drain the water and boil it once or twice more, depending on the consistency of the sap. The thicker the leaves, the denser the sap.
- Boiling cactus leaves with copper coins is a popular way to thin the sap and make it easier to eat for those unfamiliar with the dish.
- The boiled cactus leaves are then drained, washed with cold water and made into a salad with thinly sliced tomatoes, onions, coriander, jalapeños, vinegar, salt and lime juice.
- With the baking method, you may want to sprinkle more salt, pepper, and other seasonings on the outside of the leaves. When the cactus leaves are soft and slightly brown, they are edible.
- Sliced grilled cactus leaves can be mixed with fresh lemon juice and a little olive oil. You can also add grilled portobello mushrooms to salads.
- Try adding cooked cactus leaves to soups, salads or omelettes, making pickles or eating on their own.
- A favorite traditional Mexican dish is “nopalitos en salsa verde”. Cactus leaves are shredded and boiled (see description above), then cooked with a traditional sauce made of tomatillos (sometimes mistaken for green tomatoes, but actually a completely different fruit), onions, garlic, coriander and jalapeño peppers (use a blender to puree the ingredients, then bring to a boil and simmer). This dish is often sandwiched in cornbread as a tacos or eaten with french fries.
Prickly pear cactus
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Buy or harvest prickly pear cactus. [3] X Research Sources
- The prickly pear cactus pods that are red-orange or purple and have a deep purple inside are said to be the sweetest, but Mexican fruits usually have a white rind.
- Store-bought prickly pear cactus is usually thornless and can sometimes be held with your bare hands. Untreated cactus fruit still has hook hairs that cause an insane itch if it gets on the skin. To be sure, you should use tongs, or at least line your hands with a plastic bag instead of gloves.
- If you harvest prickly pear cactus, remember that although the fruit of this plant is all edible, only a few are truly ripe and delicious. You should pick when the fruit is purple, just before the fruit starts to wrinkle.
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Remove spikes.
- Wash each 5 or 6 fruits in the basket under cold running water, swirl around the basket for 3-4 minutes, remember to be gentle to avoid bruising. This way you can remove the yellow hair on the fruit for a comfortable grip.
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Peel the cactus fruit. [4] X Research Sources
- Once you have removed the hairs on the pods, cut the thicker skins at the ends (top and bottom). You need to try it a few times to see how thick it should be. In general, you need to cut the skin so that it doesn’t damage the seed-filled flesh inside.
- Cut the fruit in half lengthwise from top to bottom through the skin, then pry open the skin with the tip of a knife and peel it off.
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Cut the cactus into slices, or stick a fork or skewer into the fruit to eat.
- The flesh of prickly pear cactus fruit can be used to make jam, jelly, ice cream, wine, and “cactus candy.”
- You can eat the seeds whole (but be careful not to bite into them as they are quite hard) or release the seeds.
- Some people add prickly pear cactus seeds to soups or dry them, then grind them into a powder.
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Completed.
Advice
- The taste of prickly pear cactus fruit is almost like kiwi fruit, but not as sour.
- Do not use tweezers if you have a small spike in your skin. Apply milk glue (Elmer’s glue) to the puncture site. Wait for the glue to dry into a “skin” on your hand, then peel it off. The spines will be peeled off with the glue without causing pain. The hook bristles will pierce the skin if you are not careful. If milk glue is not available, you can use fabric or strong paper tape to remove the crochet hair.
- Processed cactus leaves have a green bean-like flavor and texture similar to okra.
- If grilled over a fire, the cactus spines will burn out. You can also feed cattle with prickly pear cactus leaves for a short time.
- Prickly pear cactus fruit is not only popular in the US and Mexico, but also in the Mediterranean region and European countries, people also eat prickly pear cactus. In Italy, this fruit is usually served in a bowl of cold water; In Malta, it is customary to chill the fruit for a few hours in the refrigerator before eating.
- To learn more about the nutritional benefits and value of prickly pear cactus, check out the links below.
- If you want to store cactus leaves in the refrigerator, you need to make sure the leaves are fresh and not wrinkled. Seal in plastic wrap, and you’ll keep for up to 2 weeks.
- If you’ve been in contact with succulents regularly, you may have noticed that the cactus’ hairs are a minor annoyance and only cause occasional itching. However, the hook hairs of some Opuntia cacti are larger than the spines of others. The hook feathers and spines of Opuntia Engelmanii v. Texensis can be very painful. You should use gloves when working with cacti.
- Initially, you should buy the leaves, not pick them yourself. That way you’ll know what to look for.
- In some cases, you can easily remove a cactus’s hook hair by rubbing it on a thick, deprecated cloth. And this article says that Native Americans rubbed cactus leaves into the sand to remove hook hairs, but it wasn’t really “sand” but rather the dense sandy soil of the American Southwest.
- You should harvest in the late afternoon when the sap is at its lowest or early in the morning.
- You can buy cactus leaves about 20 cm long (classified as small leaves) or fruits about 10 cm long (classified as medium ). Larger leaves and fruits are more difficult to process.
Warning
- If you are harvesting prickly pear cactus yourself, you should always wear gloves. [5] X Research Sources
- Some prickly pear cacti have no spines, but all have hook hairs.
- Be careful when removing thorns from cactus, or buy cactus leaves and berries that have been de-thorned.
- Unless using very thick gloves, it’s best to use tongs or “remote” tools to handle the cactus leaves.
- Note that cactus spines can pierce the skin and be very painful.
X
wikiHow is a “wiki” site, which means that many of the articles here are written by multiple authors. To create this article, 60 people, some of whom are anonymous, have edited and improved the article over time.
There are 7 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 15,590 times.
Prickly pear cactus is an important food in the diet of the people of Mexico and Central America. This type of food is increasingly popular in many places as an exotic, stylish and healthy addition to the diet. The prickly pear cactus has three edible parts: the leaves (used as a vegetable), the petals (used in salads), and the fruit (which can be considered a fruit. This plant grows wild everywhere. the southwestern United States, down to South America and up to Canada, but the type of cactus you find at the store or farmer’s market is sourced from farms.
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