In fact, they are quite nutritious as you can find out at http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/3030/2.
The nopales are the flattened paddle-like stems of the cacti. The leaves of these plants are actually modified into spines for protection. You can see the fruit or tunas on top of the nopales.
The nopales contain large amounts of fiber and vitamins and have a very low glycemic index. A food with a low glycemic index causes blood sugar to rise slowly and does not shock pancreas cells to produce insulin abruptly. The tunas have similar nutritional characteristics.
Gloves must be worn when harvesting both the nopales and tunas. The nopales are easy to snap off or cut off with a knife. The tricky part is removing both the large thorns and hairlike bristles. Special gadgets are made for this, but many people use knives or peelers to cut out the thorns.
Of course you can do as I do...buy them in the store with the thorns removed.
Of course you can do as I do...buy them in the store with the thorns removed.
These pictures were taken behind my home where prickly pears are common in the brush land. One day I will be ambitious and harvest them, but for now I will buy them in the store without the thorns.
The tunas are full of seeds that are difficult to remove because the fruity flesh adheres to them. Maybe that is why jams and juices are often made from them. The tuna can be smashed and strained preserving much of the "goodness."
The tunas are full of seeds that are difficult to remove because the fruity flesh adheres to them. Maybe that is why jams and juices are often made from them. The tuna can be smashed and strained preserving much of the "goodness."
A friend of mine who grew up in West Texas remembers picking the tunas with his friends as a boy. The boys would peel them and eat the luscious fruit. They would then spit the seeds at each other, kind of like we used to do with watermelon seeds. It was quite a fun game evidently!
The tunas taste a bit like a mild watermelon to me. They are quite pleasant, and for boys in a small town in West Texas, they must have been delightful!
The tunas taste a bit like a mild watermelon to me. They are quite pleasant, and for boys in a small town in West Texas, they must have been delightful!
Prickly pears are in the genus Opuntia, which is quite a diverse group. Some are about 2 inches tall, and others are tree like and can reach 100 feet in height. The ones in central Texas tend to be around 3 to 4 feet tall on average.
I will describe my adventure in cooking nopales in my next post.
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