Nopal The cultivated nopals (leaf-like cladode) are most often Opuntia ficus-indica, although many other related species are also used for the thickened pads, all of which are edible. The red, white, and green flag of Mexico is emblazoned with an emblem that depicts an eagle perched atop a nopal cactus and devouring a serpent. In Aztec mythology, the gods of the Aztec people sent the eagle as a sign to build their empire, Tenochtitlan (what is modern day Mexico City) on this site. Furthermore, the name Tenochtitlan means “Place of the Nopal Cactus” in Náhuatl, the language of the Aztec people. The vegetable common in Mexican cuisine are the thickened pods. The pads have thorns that have to be removed, usually by scraping with knife, the pads are then cut to the desired shape and either boiled or fried to allow the mucilaginous liquid to separate – this slime is called “baba” in Spanish. Mucilage is a thick, gooey substance that allows the plant to store water, but it can also be used to clean and filter water. Once de-spined and de-slimed, they are similar to crunchy, tart, lemony green beans and are used also to stuff tamales and mix with eggs Nopales are good pickled, dried and reconstituted for soups and stews, grilled, added to salsas, etc. If you cross-hatch a nopal, just scoring the skin, not actually cutting through the paddle, and grill it, the “babas” will seep out and evaporate over the fire. Nopal grow extensively in Mexico and are well adapted to arid and semi-arid regions throughout the tropics. Every household in Mexico has a nopal plant for family use and often for secondary income. This plant is also known as the prickly pear, and is also considered a noxious weed. Nopal has been introduced to many other areas of the world which have dry, hot arid climates, but does not seem to have been used as a vegetable outside of Mexico. Prickly pear species are found in abundance in Mexico, especially in the central and western regions, and in the Caribbean. Prickly pears are native to many areas of the arid, semiarid, and drought-prone Western and South Central United States. The prickly pear cactus also produces fruit, called “tuna” which can be eaten or used to make fruit juice. The color of the juice is vibrant due to the same pigments that are in beets, betalins. The prickly pear was introduced into the arid regions of Australia as a natural fence and also to establish a cocchineal dye industry, but quickly spread and became a nightmarish noxious weed. The ‘Prickly Pear Hell’ was finally controlled biologically by an imported moth Cactoblastis cactorum from South America, whose larvae eat prickly pear. This moth is not, however, very desirable in Mexico.

The “Tuna” closely related to one of my favorite fruits, the Pitaya, Hylocereus costaricensis, also in the Cactus family; it is native to most of central America in which there is a hot dry season. This is the night blooming cactus with huge flowers. The pigment is also betalin.