Prickly Pear/Nopal: How To Harvest, Prepare and Eat The Medicinal Food (Opuntia)
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2021
- Have you ever eaten prickly pear fruit or nopales cactus? It is a great food for health and can potentially be used medicinally according to research. Getting to know it will broaden your tastebuds, and help you discover a wild edible food that is in 46 states in the US. There are some things to know about harvesting and cooking so that you don't wind up with splinters in places you never imagined.
You can also boil them, (chopped) and make a salad, add tomato, onion, cilantro, salt, lime juice.
I used to live near a street called tuna canyon and I wondered why it was called that because it was a dry desert canyon with no fish in sight. I eventually learned that these cactuses are called tuna, so the canyon and street must have been named after the tuna cactus which grows abundantly there. Thank you for the video and the tips of using fire.
Thanks for the info! 👍
We have these on the farm and it's ended quite badly at times. Little pricklys in the fingers for days. The burning technique is great! Definitely will be harvesting these over the next year and testing out there properties. Interesting how we haven't done it before? So many things around us to help us. God is good!!! 🌱
Very informative! I love the scientific research to support the fact that prickly pear are a great plant food to incorporate into the diet 😊
You can also add to scrambled eggs, boil your Nopales first. Also raw in smoothies.
I love them. picked them in Mexico. I eat them a lot. It’s my favorite fruit
They really are nice. I'm home in the North. Bought some and enjoyed them.
I use a stainless steel scrubber it looks like a ball of coiled-up stainless steel ribbon to scrub off the needles. It is easier than setting up the Bernzomatic.
My dad has cactus that have grown into basically a large wall. The fruit usually gets ripe around thanksgiving. I cut off the prickly skin, grind in a blender, then push it through a sieve. I have noticed that there is a very sweet part and a sludgy green part of the juice. And if I freeze it, and let it defrost over a sieve the sweet stuff melts off first and the green sludge stays in the sieve. It tastes better strained but I wonder what what sort of nutrients are in the green sludge.
Thanks! I’ve been wanting to try these, yet had no idea how to Tackle the glochids
I’ve enjoyed these for years. One thing I’ve wondered as I’ve viewed cactus is how do you know which cactus is edible and are there any poisonous cactus? Is there a sure way to tell which is safe to go after? Also, do you harvest only the smaller pads assuming they will be the most tender?
There are multiple types of prickly pear, do you know any recommendations for someone growing one of the smaller cold hardy varieties for knowing when is the best time to harvest for best flavor in the nopales? When ever I have harvested from my plant it tastes a little bitter and no where near the lovely flavor of the pads I get from the local Hispanic market.