Can you eat any opuntia?

Created by popular request. Share what you know about man's past and present use of cacti.
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Cactus_523
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Can you eat any opuntia?

Post by Cactus_523 »

Can you eat any opuntia or can you only eat certian ones? :?: also can you eat the fruit off any opuntia too? :?:
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daiv
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Post by daiv »

Yes, you can eat any of them. Definitely the fruit.

The main reason why certain types are more popular - such as O. ficus-indica is the lack of spines. Also, many of the stems develop a woody interior as they age which is not good for eating. So you'll want to collect only fresh new pads.

The fruit on some can be practically pure hard seeds, which is no good either.

In short, none of them are poisonous so they are all technically edible, but some you just wouldn't want to eat.

Edit: I've eaten the fruits on Opuntia from North Dakota and it is as good as any. Just got to get the glochids off!
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Cactus_523
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Post by Cactus_523 »

Can you eat them raw or do you have to cook the pads?
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daiv
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Post by daiv »

You can eat them raw, certainly. The fruits are typically eaten raw or made into jelly. I don't know about eating the pads raw in terms of taste. I think you want to put them in a dish, not eat them plain. Sort of like beets or potatoes.
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Peterthecactusguy
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Post by Peterthecactusguy »

here is a site I found for the Opuntia fruit jam I am going to make when they are ripe, which is soon!
http://www.succulent-plant.com/crecipe.html It has several recipes for Opuntia pads(nopals in Spanish)
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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Post by Loph »

ya careful chomping into the fruits, darn those seeds can be hard!!!

never heard of anyone getting poisoned by opuntia, but i highly doubt the majority have actually been tested for their makeup. for the most part i honestly wouldnt want to eat many of them for the reasons daiv said, unless i was starving in the wilderness ;)

of the kinds i have tried ficus-indica and cochenillifera are the only ones i found ok, at least not unpleasant.
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ilex
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Post by ilex »

Probably, but some are very acid.

Best nopalitos taste like green beans (most people wont' be able to tell the difference once cooked).
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Peterthecactusguy
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Post by Peterthecactusguy »

One thing that I noted in another thread before is that there were certain Opuntia that had different chemicals in them that actually made it so that you couldn't eat them raw. I would have to re-research that as I don't have a clue what ones they were. I do remember that O. engelmannii and O. phaeacantha were both ok to eat raw or cook.

As for the fruits I pick them when they are ripe and make them into jam. It's some of the best tasting jam I have ever tasted. I will put the recipe up soon.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
dlmcgrw
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Post by dlmcgrw »

Hi, I am new to this forum but not to cactus. We eat Opuntia (nopalitos) on a regular basis. I harvest tender young pads of ficus-indica, robusta, santa rita and a couple that I don't remember the species right off hand.

The string bean comparison is fair but I think they are more like okra. Especially when eaten raw. They are also good when flavored with a marinade and dried in a dehumidifier.

There is a fairly good sized market for the fruit (tunas) grown commercially here in the USA. The varities selected for commercial growth are very sweet and flavorful with seeds that are much less intrusive.

Of course in Mexico the growing of both Noples and Tunas is a really big industry. I know one US grower that markets under the name "Andy Boy".
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daiv
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Post by daiv »

Great info. We did an easy frozen pizza for dinner tonight and I always have to "doctor" mine with mushrooms, olives, onions, etc., but now I also like to add nopalitos on it. Very good!
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martenfisher
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Post by martenfisher »

My favorite hands down is Opuntia stricta. It taste very tart and fruity to me. My second favorite is ficus indica and is kinda like a mild green pepper. Ellisiana is good if you eat the young pads. Humifusa is almost tasteless nonexistant flavor. IMO
I have some others I will be taste testing.
My perfect cactus would be spineless and taste like stricta. So if I can I am going to cross my stricta with my Consolea rubescens.
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jdo3
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Post by jdo3 »

I have eaten ficus indica,cochenillifera,and especially subarmata pads. So far subarmata is my favorite. Next time on my pizza. I knew eating pizza was good for you.
nullzero
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Post by nullzero »

jdo3 wrote:I have eaten ficus indica,cochenillifera,and especially subarmata pads. So far subarmata is my favorite. Next time on my pizza. I knew eating pizza was good for you.
jdo3,

Do you have any pads of subarmata up for trade?
faslimy
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Post by faslimy »

A nursery/garden in Victoria, Australia makes a cactus & carrot cake with opuntia pads. The recipe is secret though (tastes pretty good).
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