Have you ever tried eating a cactus? Sounds like you might end up with a mouthful of spines, doesn’t it? But people from cultures all around the world eat cacti, and you should give this drought tolerant edible a chance too!
Know it:
Cacti are a source of food all over the globe, especially arid climates, where the fruits and vegetables they provide may be the only ones available.
Have you ever tried a dragonfruit? Then you’ve eaten cactus too!
Don’t believe me? Here’s a picture of a row of dragonfruit cacti I took in deep south Texas.
However, Dragonfruit is an article for another day.
The type of cactus I’m focusing on is the nopal cactus, also known as prickly pear cactus in many parts of the southwestern US. It’s also sometimes called Indian fig cactus or it’s referred to by the genus it belongs to, Opuntia.
All of these names can cause a lot of confusion!
Personally, I just find it quicker and easier to call this plant by its Spanish name, nopal. A bit of etymology for you: the word nopal derives from the Nauhuatl word “Nohpalli.” Nauhuatl is the language that the Aztecs spoke.
If you don’t remember too much from your 8th grade Spanish class, to make the plural of nopal you add “es” to get nopales. The diminutive form of the word is nopalito, which just means “little nopal”. I refer to the big plant as “nopal cactus” and the vegetable “nopalito”, but that’s just what I do to keep it all straight. Maybe my terminology will catch on, who knows?
This cactus looks like a bunch of spiny paddles stuck together. In the spring, the new growth of pads, the nopalitos, are picked when young and tender, and can be used in a wide range of dishes.
See the little nopalitos? Cute, right?
But watch out! The entire plant, including the fruits, is covered with spines, which are a type of modified leaf. The spines don’t photosynthesize; that’s done by the stems. The cactus has two types of spines: big scary looking ones, and smaller hair-like ones called glochids or, if you want to be really fancy, “glochidia.” (have you caught on to the fact that I’m a word-nerd yet?)
Trust me, those tiny glochidia are far worse than the bigger, scarier-looking spines. They’re like little hairs from Hell, and they can get everywhere before you even realize it, including getting stuck in your clothes. They can be really small and hard to find when you’re trying to pick them out of your skin and can cause you a good deal of agony before you do.
But don’t get scared! If you’re smart and know how to harvest and process this cactus properly then you don’t have to worry about these, I’ll show you how later on.
Some varieties of this cactus have actually been bred to not have the bigger spines, as you can see here
The fleshy pads of the nopal cactus are actually a type of highly modified stem. The older the pads get the tougher they become, with the oldest pads turning woody and trunk-like to bear the weight of the growth above. A mature nopal cactus can grow as large as small to medium sized tree.
Later on, the cactus puts on a show of big beautiful flowers that can be anywhere from deep red, to pink, to bright yellow. The flower petals are also edible, and can be used in salads or as garnishes to add some bright colors to whatever you’re plating.
The flowers give way to reddish/purplish fruit. The fruits are sold throughout Mexico, where they are known as “tunas”. The genus, Opuntia, actually contains over 100 species, and some of the species grown in Mexico produce refreshing, watermelon like fruits with small hard seeds. Sadly, where I live in Texas most of the native prickly pears have fruits that taste, well, just gross.
These cacti are native to Mexico and the southwestern United States, but are now common throughout areas with warm climates. They are also among the most cold-hardy of cactus, surviving in pretty much every U.S. state, including Alaska.
Find it
You can usually find fresh de-spined pads, nopalitos, and the fruits, which are called tunas, in many grocery stores or Hispanic markets. The fruits are usually imported from Mexico, and are from plants that produce good tasting fruit (most often from the species Opuntia Ficus-Indica). Where I live you can find them in the supermarket for a reasonable prize and they’re especially refreshing on a hot day. They remind me of a watermelon with hard guava-like seeds. Even still, I wouldn’t put the tuna fruit on any top ten favorite fruit list.
As for the pads, they’re usually not too expensive so, if you want to try them but are nervous about the spines, this is a good way to see if you like them. If you can’t find fresh, they also come jarred, canned, and even frozen, although I have no experience with anything other than the fresh pads.
Where I live in Texas, these cacti are abundant so you probably won’t catch me spending money on these. They only produce new pads seasonally so I only eat them when they’re available.
One of the things modern people have lost is the concept of eating with the seasons. These days you can walk into the grocery store and buy “fresh” produce shipped from halfway around the world.
Modern supermarkets are great in a lot of ways, and also not so great in many ways as well. Being able to buy whatever food you want whenever you want seems great on the surface, but think about what you’re missing out on. People today are totally out of touch with the concept of eating with the seasons. When you eat fresh, locally grown food you experience ingredients the way they’re supposed to be!
Flavor and nutrition are sacrificed when fruits and vegetables are picked thousands of miles away, and shipped. When you eat locally you reduce all the emissions required to ship foods for such a long distance. Living in nature’s rhythm is healthier for you and for the planet.
Grow it
I’ve seen prickly pears grow in pure caliche, gravel, and even on the crotches of large oak tree branches, where seeds were dropped by birds. They pretty much never need to be watered, but soggy soil is their enemy.
If you live in a hot dry climate, you’ll have no problem growing Opuntia cacti. You may even have them growing wild. If you live in a cooler or wetter climate you may have to place them in a warm and sunny location with well-draining soil. Southern and western exposures are your friend.
This plant is easy to propagate. All I do is lay a “branch” of pads or even just a single pad on the ground and leave it there. It will make roots wherever it is in contact with the ground. No watering or baby-sitting required – My kind of plant! In fact, avoid watering the cutting as this could cause it to rot.
After a while, new growth will start to sprout up from the cutting, which will eventually grow into full sized pads. Don’t give up on them just because they start to get dingy looking, they might need a while to sprout.
This cactus has been used to form a natural fence on property lines or even to keep livestock from wandering off. Some people even plant these spiny plants under windows to make potential burglars think twice before trying to break in.
I hope I’ve convinced you to give this free food source a chance! Next time I’ll show you how to pick and prepare the nopalitos — spine free!
