opuntia for dinner

Created by popular request. Share what you know about man's past and present use of cacti.
bluedrinks
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opuntia for dinner

Post by bluedrinks »

how many of you have actually tried the young pads of opuntis or the prickley pears?(tunas)
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ondy
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Post by ondy »

I have. I had them one time made with eggs, nopales con huevos. A Mexican friend of mine had me try them once. He and his family eat them regularly. It was o.k., kind of a had the texture of an heavily cooked green pepper but without all that much taste really. I think it would make a good ingredient mixed in with eggs, some sausage or chorizo wrapped up in a tortilla. Yum

Andy
cactusbutt
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Post by cactusbutt »

your makin me hungry now :P
daiv
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Post by daiv »

Haven't ever tried the pads, yet. Eaten the fruit plenty of times, but always had a hard time with the glochids. Once you start cutting the juice flows and creates a sticky glochid mess. Perhaps cutting them off under running water would be best.

I think if I liked watermelon, more, I would find the tuna more appetizing. As it is, I'd much rather eat the blueberry-like fruit of Myrtillocactus geometrizans -that's good stuff!

(Sorry, I know I got a bit off topic, there.)

Daiv
monrad
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Post by monrad »

I saw a TV show once a couple of years back (which usually means almost ten years) were they showed a woman preparing the pads using a knife to scrape the face of the pad. I wish I had paid more attention to it.

I want to obtain the type of Opuntia they use as food and try it. Of course up here in Michigan I'll need to pot raise it which will limit my yield, but maybe I won't like it and it will be good not to have a lot :wink: . That is on my list of things to do. So little time!

Mark
daiv
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Post by daiv »

Mark,
I'm not sure where in Michigan you are, but if you aren't too far from an agricultural area, you will find a growing Mexican Food section in the grocery stores as more Mexican's move to those areas.

A lot of Midwest farm kids are moving off the farm when they get out of school are are going off to be city slickers of some sort. This creates a big labor opening. Many Mexican families have moved in to fill the majority of the void.

Now my father, who lives in central Minnesota, has access to a lot of the culturally specific foods that is common here in Southern California.

-Although they're still lacking in the Restaurant department and Taco John's is the only "Mexican" restaurant in town. :lol:

Sorry to go off on a tangent, but my whole point was to point out that the Nopales might be available up your way and you can grow one just as soon as eat it.

Daiv
ihc6480
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Post by ihc6480 »

Nope, never tried eating prickly pear. I've ate alot of strange stuff in my life so maybe some day I will try some. I can buy spineless / glochid free prickly pear plants at the city market. May have to buy some and try it.
Truthfully though I'm a meat an taters man though :wink:

Bill
Barefoot_Ted
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Post by Barefoot_Ted »

I am eating it all the time. Our tortoise loves it, too.

I skin it and cut it into strips. I like it with bean and cheese burritos. It's also good raw.

Best, Barefoot Ted

PS. I to like fruit of Myrtillocactus geometrizans. My chickens steal it whenever they get a chance.
One foot at a time. One sole at a time. One hell of a good time.

Barefoot Ted's Adventures
http://www.BarefootTed.com
kari
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Post by kari »

I have eaten the fruit and flower petals of many of our southwestern cacti, and have eaten the pads of prickly pear, but never cooked. Mainly as a survival technique.

What I keep in my backpack when hiking/camping is a wet washcloth in a ziploc bag (or two). These work great to remove the glochids from opuntia fruit (usually no spines) and pads (once the spines, if not spineless, are removed with a pocket knife). Just wipe the surface of the fruit/tuna several times with the washcloth to remove the glochids. Of course, it then renders the washcloth useless, but hey, it's better than rinsing it with water you might not have to spare.

Other fruits I have eaten are those of the strawberry hedgehog (Echinocereus stramineus vars.) and various fleshy-fruited Mammillarias. The latter are absolutely to die for!

gotta go!

kari
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Post by Guest »

I had a thin sirloin cooked on top of a prickly pear pad (without the pricklies) in Matamoras, Mexico many moons ago. It was served in a hot stoneware dish, kinda like how fajitas are served. It was really tasty. I wish I knew what the dish was called and the place I ate it at, but my Spanish is not so good and I was about 18 at the time and relishing the fact that I could buy and drink beer there. Muy bueno! :P
Lonestar
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Post by Lonestar »

Oops, that post above was from me. I forgot to log in.
daiv
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Post by daiv »

That makes me hungry!
Last edited by daiv on Wed Jul 13, 2005 4:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
ebaycactus
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Post by ebaycactus »

I like when it's skinned, then diced into pieces as you would do to a tomato. I've eaten a lot of Mexican food with bits of Opuntia in it.
bluedrinks
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Post by bluedrinks »

you want the young dark green pads of the opuntia pad,take a sharp knif and basicly scale it as you would a fish,that should remove the undeveloped spines,they should come off easy with little trouble.dont forget to wash tha cactus and make a close inspection of each pad before cooking.
I usually dice it up and boil the pads for about 10-15 minutes.Then I drain the Water and rinse one more time.They shoud be fine to eat.
I have seen my grandmother remove the spines of the prickly pear on the lawn,but I usually use a knife and carefully cut the skin away.I always end up with spines in my fingers.
daiv
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Post by daiv »

[quote="bluedrinks"]
I have seen my grandmother remove the spines of the prickly pear on the lawnquote]

I take it you didn't run around barefoot! :shock:
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