Five Ways to Use the Prickly Pear Cactus

Growing up in the desert Southwest I was fascinated by the many plants that were around me. They didn't look like the plants on TV or in books but they are still beautiful. The most common is the prickly pear and it's relatives, the genus Opuntia. The prickly pear is a jointed cactus with each element being a pad between ½" and 2" thick and of varying shape, from round to oval to an elongated triangle. The cacti have been exceptionally important for native peoples living in the desert regions.

Warnings about Prickly Pear

These cactus have very tiny "glochid" spines that get stuck in skin and clothing easily. These small spines are usually protected by long, strong spines that are very capable of drawing blood. Handle prickly pear with pliers or tongs and heavy gloves. Keep children and pets away. Dogs, horses and cattle often stick their noses right into a cactus and may need medical care. Pull large spines out of animal or human with pliers or strong tweezers. The micro-spines are more easily removed with Scotch tape or duct tape.

Prickly pear pads are very edible and tasty. However, care must be taken as your digestive system may need to adjust to the new food. It is said that too much fruit may give constipation, while too much of the pad may give diarrhea. Adventure with this food in small steps.

Nopalitos - Eating Prickly Pear Pads

You'll want the young pads from the ends of the branches of the prickly pear. These will be more tender and tasty. Hold the pad with tongs and cut it off at the joint with the next pad. Holding the pad with tongs, carefully burn off the spines and glochids. A gas stove burner, a propane camp stove or a campfire all work. Use a knife to remove any spine buds that didn't burn away. Wash the pads thoroughly and check for any spines that are stuck to the surface.

Slice the pads into thin strips, green bean-sized, and drop into boiling water. You now have nopalitos. Wash these to remove the foam that will bubble up and some of the slippery juice. You can now use these as you would green beans, chopped in salads, or "as-is."

Fried Nopalitos

Put in a quart-size bag: 1/3 cup wheat flour, 2/3 cup cornmeal, 1 teaspoon chile powder, salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1 cup or nopalitos prepared as above. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a small skillet. Fry the coated strips until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Serve warm.

Prickly Pear Fruit

The prickly pear fruit is very sweet and the seeds it contains are highly nutritious. Collect the fruit when it is fully ripe. Burn off the glochids, then peel the skin off. You can eat the fruit raw or add it to salads or juices. The strained juice can be used to make jelly using a standard jelly recipe with pectin.

Prickly Pear Dyes

Red, magenta dyes can be made from the prickly pear fruits. Sort red and purple fruits. Use cold-water fermentation method, cooking destroys the color. Use alum or chrome mordant. Tan dyes can be made by cooking the fruit and using no mordant. In any color, prickly pear dye is not strongly lightfast or washfast.

Prickly Pear Windbreaks and Hedges

While it may take a prickly pear hedge or windbreak a while to get established, it will need little to no care and will be very long lasting. The worst part of maintenance may be getting litter out of the hedge without losing some skin. Animals larger than a cat are unlikely to make it through the hedge and learn that "cutting through" the yard is a very painful experience. A nice hedge of prickly pear can be very pretty as well as functional.

Prickly Pear as Livestock Feed

In drought and times of hardship, ranchers have used a weedburner or other flame thrower to burn the spines and glochids from large clumps of prickly pear. This works as a stop-gap for starving livestock. It is not a good idea to rely too much on this as prickly pear contains oxalic acid and may poison cattle if nothing else is fed to them.

Prickly pear plants are an integral part of the American Southwest deserts and the people who live in touch with that environment. Besides the above uses, prickly pear has been used as medicine, fiber, leather. Familiarity with the prickly pear made life easier for natives and makes it more interesting for moderns.

Tull, Delena. A Practical Guide to Edible and Useful Plants. Texas Monthly Press, Austin, TX 1987.