Cactus in Misery

We got an e-mail from St. Louis Misery….

Hello from St. Louis
Hope you are all doing as fantastic as we are. I have a question if you have time.
I’m growing a cactus here that the folks next door (fro Mexico) tell me is good to eat.
Then they come back and say that ” yes it is edible, but, it’s not the
really good kind.  and that the good kind has a thinner skin or something.
Now mine is flat and smooth with the little nubs and rubber needles.
I  have eaten quite a bit now and it’s good. A little citric. I’ve
grilled it whole and with stir fry and scrambled eggs.
And I am now wondering, What do I have if I don’t have the good one? 

 I can’t tell the difference from the pictures.
Maybe yours has a more pronounced or noticeable spike area. Any ideas?
Thanks

My reply…

   It’s good to hear from someone in Misery. My Dear Old Pop is from Misery himself. He grew up on a farm not too far from Troy, near you.  I have a fair amount of family members in St. Louis, a cousin of mine, Freddie has a carpet cleaning business there.

   Anyways… yes, there are some four hundred species of Opuntia, and technically, they are ALL edible.. meaning they aren’t poisonous. There are also probably many thousands of varieties of Opuntia that are grown for food or forage by people in the Americas and suitable climates in other areas.  And just as any regional cuisine is much preferred by the locals… they also continue to insist that their own varieties from their homes villages is ‘the best’ nopal to eat. We have some plants here that are our favorites, yet some folks prefer some of our other verities that I feel hold less culinary promise. So to a degree it is a matter of taste and what you were raised up with.

  Some varieties of cactus that are just fine for eating only put out fresh leaves once or twice a year. This means that for a couple of months you have a very plentiful supply of cactus, but then when the leaves start to mature you have to stop harvesting them for eating as they are overmature and become pithy. Our variety Nopalea grande  will put out growth all through the year although it does slow down in the winter…. this makes it a favorite for us as we are usually able to keep up with demand all year long. Some other varieties that grow out all at once hold a bit of promise for use as semi-mature leaves for industrial uses.. fore instance the cosmetics company Aveda uses our Opuntia robusta plants for their ‘Green Science’ line of products. We are seriously stoked that they mention us in the brochures on the products labels! Other companies use our Opuntia ficus-indica variety ‘Santa Ynez’  for processed foods.  In both cases these companies use the leaves in a semi mature state, still with plenty of the gel inside (esp. in the case of the robusta for Aveda).  When it comes to providing these companies with our products, we work closely with them to ascertain their needs and then to acquaint them with the life cycle of the plants we grow. So in time we get a twice-yearly harvest for customers such as these. So what variety fills your needs, whether it be fresh foods, or processed or skin soothing properties is the variety that best serves your needs.

  Another matter to deal with is the spines. There are plenty of nopal that are edible, but have terrible and wicked spines. Now this brings it down to the rabbit and porcupine question…. porcupine makes a very fine fricassee indeed… but it is just such a bother to prepare when you’ve got a nice rabbit by the ears. There are a great many varieties of nopal that have been selectively bred by people for a great many generations.  This usually results in varieties that have a very low spine count.  I suspect your variety is one of these. And judging on your description, I think it might be the variety Nopalea grande which we sell and is indeed a very advanced nearly spine free variety.

  Take a look at our page www.rivenrock.com/ediblecactus.htm I bet the leaves look like what you’ve described. Ours also has the light citrus flavor you mention.. and this tartness is a bit elevated in the spring.