anyone eat cactus?

psy-ops

psy-ops

Joined
Sep 27, 1999
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I was in the mexican section of our grocery store and there was a nopales cactus pad. I remembered an old american survival magazine article on desert survival which had some edibles, one of which was the nopales cactus pads.

well I tried it out, sauteed in butter with an onion a few boiled potatoes and 3 eggs, it was awful :barf: :barf:

now I realize in a survival situation I would no doubt eat it up.

does anyone have any good recipes?

also do you skin the whole this or just take out the spikes?
 
Hmm, never eaten cactus, but David Alloway's "Desert Survival Skills" has a huge section on which cacti are edible (and which parts). And whether you tramp through the desert or not, this is one of the best survival books I've read so far. And Alloway has a sense of humor! Highly recommended.

Take care,
Chad
 
Nopales (Prickly Pear in English) are very strong flavored, so they are usually boiled (sometimes more than once) to soften the flavor. Some people like them unboiled. Cut into strips you can use them like green beans, although they have heartier flavor than the beans. Super delicious in eggs!

If you want a good introduction to nopales, don't buy a fresh pad. Go to the Mexican Food section of the store and get them in a can or jar. They are processed to get rid of the bitterness. If you like them, then start experimenting with them.

Cactus candy is also delicious. Basically it is chunks of cactus 'meat' with sugar boiled into it until it is hard. It's made from bisnaga (barrell cactus?). And while you're looking for cactus recipies, look into tunas (prickly pear fruit) and also pitallas (I don't know the English name - maybe an internet search would show it up?).

I have prepared tunas and nopales, and it's not really that hard. The others I have not prepared myself.
 
I've eaten one raw prickly pear fruit (tuna). It was ok, but didn't do much for me.
I've heard that the pads (nopales) can be fried. They're better when they're "young" pads - less stringiness, etc. Also my sources warned that eating too much cactus in one day could lead to diarrhea.
Also third world countries are using prickly pear cactus juice as an insect repellent. I can buy it over here in stores now.
 
The nopal pads are best when harvested while the spines are still tender and have not straightened out. Shave them off with a knife, then proceed with your recipe. It is a slimy food, but since it is often mixed with other foods it's not too noticeable. Luckily, my wife is willing to go along with my 'foreign' food habits, so we get to enjoy nopales semi-regularly. :)

Of course, for survival you would be eating the pads at whatever stage you find them in.

I did a search for 'pitallas' and did not find any English name for it, but there is a Latin name. It only grows in one region, so an English name has never been applied. I guess it's not a major concern for N. American survival studies.

I was caught outside in a sudden thunderstorm one time, so I ran over to a pitalla and stood under its extended arms. It provided good shelter while I waited for the rain to pass, then I walked back to the village.
 
slimy is correct:barf:

but I guess if you are stuck in a desert and that is all you got, no complaining.
 
Sorry to keep coming back to pitalla cactus when you wanted to discuss nopales, but some friends and I were discussing (wishing for) pitalla fruit today, and they told me that they heard the pitalla called "organ pipe cactus" in English and that they grow in the SW United States. So I guess that if you want to extend your repetoir of cactus recipes you might look into organ pipe. I don't know if it's endangered or not. Maybe it would be a valuable resource if you were lost in the southwestern US. Just thought I would add this on since I had said before that I couldn't find the English name...

cv
 
Originally posted by coyotlviejo
Nopales (Prickly Pear in English) are very strong flavored, so they are usually boiled (sometimes more than once) to soften the flavor.
Click to expand...

Perfect of desert survival. First find a lot of water. Then look for a cactus.
 
My mother in law will make chilli verde with prickly pear pads as one of the ingredients. Burn off the spines, remove the skin, and slice or cube up the flesh. Throw it in the mix... Turns out quite well. If nothing else, you can stretch the food budget since it's a free.
 
I had a cactus salad when I was in Mexico (about 45K from Cancun) last year. The cactus strips tasted like dill pickle to me. I don't recall what kind of cactus it was supposed to be or if the menu even said anything other than "cactus salad".

Chris
 
I'm a complete wuss when it comes to odd-tasting food. BUT, I've had nopales many times, prepared by my wife's (Mexican) family. The taste isn't strong, and it's good. On the culinary machismo index, I don't put it any higher than beets. I haven't noticed it being too slimey, though it's usually mixed with other food (not always though).

Okay, I don't have any help for you on how to prepare it, other than to assure you that once you get it right, it's good!

Actually, if you want, I'll ask my mother-in-law how she prepares nopales.

Joe
 
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