I've made cactus pear jelly and a guy came by last year to gather the large pears to make wine. I never heard back on how it turned out. Out west cactus food is a popular tourist item sold in stores that offer 'western' tourist stuff.

Nopales studies for diabetic control is well documented. Thankfully I don't have that but if I did, I'd eat them several times a week. Some people have been able to get off medication by supplementing their diet with napoles. You use the immature pads usually from the big englemanni type cactus while they are tender and before they form glochids. Slice them very thin and then saute with onions and tomatoes-- its a common side to eggs for breakfast. I think the diabetes connection is why they are showing up in super markets more and more.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.naturalnews.com/021626_nopal_prickly_pear_cactus.html

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Sun, Jan 25, 15 at 1:20

Ahh, yumm, napales. I have cooked with it. Also a new/old use for the napales is experiencing a comeback as a water purifier. It was used as such in Mexico for eons and now people are trying to figure out how to do it on a village wide modern water system. How cool is that!

I have made a jam out of Agarita berries and a tea out of my evergreen sumac. I have been told to eat a Mountain ash cedar berry every day that the pollen is evident to take away allergies. I am not fond of the taste but I am not fond of my eyes itching and my head all stuffed up either. Mexican oregano is a nice spice (ergo the name , no relation to oregano) AKA Poliomentha longiflora. Mexican tarragon, ... Yucca blossoms are delish if I can get to them before the deer. I have found that the thinner napales with a few glochids last better than the O cacanapa var elision. . They have a thicker waxy skin where as the O. cochenellifera's young pads are much more tender and GREEN and crunchy. Unfortunately I am right on the hardiness line for the one. They grow better down by San Antonio. I do have a veriety of nearly thornless from NM. All opuntias are not equal when it comes to taste.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cactus goo cleans water

This post was edited by wantonamara on Mon, Feb 2, 15 at 22:06

Oh, in Mexico I ate nopales a few times. They'd fry them with the meat and stuff for their tacos on a large griddle. They can be good and taste like string beans. Although I wouldn't recommend cooking them for too long or they'll get really slimy. High heat for just a few minutes.

Thank you for sharing. I'm going to try them if I can find some young tender specimens. Awesome diabetes info!

wanton that is a great article! Many times the simpler solution is the best. Is your username a reference to the song Guantanamera? It is lovely.

Cooper thanks for the cooking tips!

The reality of what nopal can do for diabetics is considerably less than the promotional buzz, particularly of the kind NaturalNews is offering.

Most of the research comes from a single group in Mexico - and evidence to date that it is effective in diabetics for reducing blood sugar is weak, despite NN's claims that it can replace prescription medication for many diabetics. NN relentlessly hypes many different supplements (including ones that it sells or advertises), while claiming that "conventional medicine"/Big Pharma/the FDA/the Illuminati Giant Lizard Conspiracy are deliberately ignoring/suppressing them. NN is one of the worst and most ludicrously biased sources for information on whether an herbal or other supplement is worth taking.

Solid info on nopal can be found here, or you can check out the scientific literature on Pub Med.

This post was edited by eric_oh on Mon, Jan 26, 15 at 9:35

Catkin, My handle is a triple entendre or more. I used to live in Hawaii and made a killer wanton with a Thai shrimp/pork mint and hot pepper filling and my next door neighbor called it Wantonamara. I was a little heavy (or so I thought) and sometimes called it One tonne a Mara. and it does sound like the song. Not to mention my friend Juan...... that would make me a watonamara ( as in a little loose) oh well, you get the picture. I will grab at any connection for a laugh and I love ambiguity and multi layers even when they don't quite jive..

um, I always focused on the wanton aspect (as a bit of a strumpet..or even trollop myself)...but yep, have always loved words (uses and abuses)...

Daylily flowers can be battered much like squash blossoms or fresh in a salad.
I have eaten Houttuynia c. 'Chameleon' in salads. They look beautiful and have add a spicy flavour. H. c. is used in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking.