Nopal

Nopal
A nopal salad

Nopales (from the Nahuatl word nōpalli for the pads) are a vegetable made from the young cladode (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, where the plant is eaten commonly and regularly forms part of a variety of Mexican cuisine dishes. 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 in Mexico. In more recent years bottled, or canned versions are available mostly for export. Less often dried versions are available. 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 included in the cooking. They are at their most tender and juicy in the spring.[1]

Though Nopales are most commonly used in Mexican cuisine in dishes such as huevos con nopales (eggs with nopal), "carne con nopales" (meat with nopal), "tacos de nopales", or simply on their own or in salads with Panela Cheese. Nopales have also grown to be an important ingredient in New Mexican cuisine[2] and in Tejano culture (Texas).


Contents

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

References

  1. ^ Aliza Green, Field Guide to Produce, Quirk Productions, 2004, p 214-215, ISBN 1-931686-07-6
  2. ^ Thorny Mexican food staple gains fame as folk cure by Frank Jack Daniel, Reuters (Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:34 AM ET)
  3. ^ Mcconn, Michele; Nakata, Paul (February 2004). "Oxalate Reduces Calcium Availability in the Pads of the Prickly Pear Cactus Through Formation of Calcium Oxalate Crystals". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52 (5): 1371–1374. doi:10.1021/jf035332c. PMID 14995148. http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=161211. Retrieved 2006-08-10. 
  4. ^ M Bacardi-Gascon, D Duenas-Mena and A Jimenez-Cruz (May 2007). "Lowering effect on postprandial glycemic response of nopales added to Mexican breakfasts". Diabetes Care 30 (5): 1264–1265. doi:10.2337/dc06-2506. PMID 17325260. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/extract/30/5/1264. 
  5. ^ Use Of The Latin Food Staple Nopales: The Prickly Pear Cactus
  6. ^ Cactus-eating moth threatens favorite Mexican food (Mon Feb 19, 2007)

External sources

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Recipes


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • nopal — nopal …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • nopal — NOPÁL s.m. Plantă erbacee originară din America, cu frunze cărnoase şi flori roşii, cultivată şi la noi ca plantă ornamentală (Opuntia coccinelifera). – Din. fr., it. nopal. Trimis de baron, 31.01.2003. Sursa: DEX 98  nopál s. m. Trimis de… …   Dicționar Român

  • nopal — [ nɔpal ] n. m. • 1587; mot esp., de l aztèque nopalli ♦ Cactus à rameaux aplatis (raquettes), et à fruits comestibles (figues de Barbarie). « nulle végétation que celle des nopals ces paradoxales raquettes vertes, couvertes de piquants venimeux… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • NOPAL — steht für genopptes Aluminium oder Stahlblech. Das Akronym NOPAL setzt sich zusammen aus geNOPptes ALuminium; analog dazu NOSTAL für geNOppten STAhL. Es zeichnet sich aus durch eine speziell eingeprägte Makrostruktur in Blechen aus Aluminium und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nopal — steht für: eine Kurzforn für Nopalea eine Umformtechnik für Bleche, siehe NOPAL Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • nopal — s. m. Cato vulgarmente conhecido por figueira da índia ou figueira da barbária.   ‣ Etimologia: espanhol nopal …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • nopal — (Del nahua nopalli). m. Planta de la familia de las Cactáceas, de unos tres metros de altura, con tallos aplastados, carnosos, formados por una serie de paletas ovales de tres a cuatro decímetros de longitud y dos de anchura, erizadas de espinas… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Nopal — No pal, n. [Mexican nopalli.] (Bot.) A cactaceous plant ({Nopalea cochinellifera}), originally Mexican, on which the cochineal insect feeds, and from which it is collected. The name is sometimes given to other species of {Cactace[ae]}. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Nopal — Nopal, eine Cactusart; vgl. Cacteae …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • nopal — (n.) Mexican cactus, from American Spanish, from Nahuatl nopalli …   Etymology dictionary

  • nopal — nòpāl m <G nopála> DEFINICIJA bot. 1. kaktus iz roda Napolea 2. plod toga kaktusa nalik bodljikavoj kruški; na njemu živi štitasta uš košenila ETIMOLOGIJA meks.šp. ← nahuatl: nahpalli …   Hrvatski jezični portal

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