nopal

A nopal salad.

Nopales (from the Nahuatl word nōpalli for the pads, or nostle, from the Nahuatl word nōchtli for the fruit) are a vegetable made from the young cladophyll (pad) segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines. These fleshy pads are flat and about hand-sized. They can be purple or green. They are particularly common in their native Mexico. Farmed nopales are most often of the species Opuntia ficus-indica, although the pads of almost all Opuntia species are edible.

Nopales are generally sold fresh, bottled, or canned, less often dried. Used to prepare nopalitos, they have a light, slightly tart flavor, like green beans, and a crisp, mucilaginous texture. In most recipes the mucilaginous liquid they contain is cooked out. They are at their most tender and juicy in the spring.^[1]

Nopales are commonly used in Mexican cuisine in dishes such as huevos con nopales (eggs with nopal), "carne con nopales" (meat with nopal) or "tacos de nopales." Nopales are also an important ingredient in New Mexican cuisine, and are gaining popularity elsewhere in the United States.^[2]

Health benefits

Nopales are very rich in insoluble and especially soluble dietary fiber. They are also rich in vitamins (especially vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin K, but also riboflavin and vitamin B6) and minerals (especially magnesium, potassium, and manganese, but also iron and copper). Nopales have a high calcium content, but the nutrient is not biologically available because it is present as calcium oxalate, which is neither highly soluble nor easily absorbed through the intestinal wall.^[3] Addition of nopales also reduces the glycemic effect of a mixed meal.^[4] Nopales are low carbohydrate and may help in the treatment of diabetes.^[5]

Economic value

A nopales merchant at his stand in the Merced market of Mexico City

According to Reuters, some 10,000 farmers cultivate nopal in Mexico, producing around $150 million worth of it each year. Detection of the cactus-eating moth Cactoblastis cactorum in Mexico in 2006 caused anxiety among the country's phytosanitary authorities, as this insect can be potentially devastating for the cactus industry.^[6]

Lifecycle

Edible Leaf Cycle

Bud Appears	Bud Grows	Bud Continues to Grow	Baby Leaf Grows
Continues to grow, but some people prefer to eat them at this stage	"Adult Leaf", These leaves are ready to be eaten	Spines Start Developing, but some people prefer to eat them at this stage

References

• http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-416.html#Cactus%20Pear
• http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1323115520070416 "Thorny Mexican food staple gains fame as folk cure" (Mon Apr 16, 2007)

External sources

Videos

• Compulsivetraveler.tv: Mexican celebrity chef Zarela Martinez cooks Nopales

Recipes

• GourmetSleuth - Nopalitos (Nopales)
• GourmetSleuth - Nopalitos Recipe List
• Rivenrock Gardens Cactus Recipe Page