Description and composition of prickly pear shoots. Energy value and healing effect. What are the contraindications. Cooking applications. If prickly pear grows near the Mexican's house, the family will not die of hunger.
Useful properties of prickly pear shoot stems
Even the aroma of flowering prickly pears has a positive effect on the body. It soothes, eliminates insomnia, reduces the concentration of pathogenic microorganisms scattered in the room air.
The benefits of prickly pear shoots for the body
- Helps stabilize blood sugar levels: the pulp of the leaves of the plant contains natural insulin, which is easily absorbed by the body;
- They have strengthening properties, stop intestinal colic and diarrhea;
- Reduces blood pressure and normalizes heart rate;
- They stimulate the dissolution of the fat layer and remove harmful cholesterol from the body, prevent the development of cellulite;
- Stimulates the regeneration of the mucous membrane of the digestive organs, stomach and intestines, accelerates recovery after gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer and erosive gastritis;
- They cleanse the intestines from toxins due to the high content of fiber in the pulp;
- They have an anti-inflammatory effect in diseases of the urinary system, have a mild diuretic and antiseptic effect, help get rid of edema;
- Cleanse the liver from accumulated toxins;
- Increase immunity by replenishing the reserve of ascorbic acid in the body;
- They stop age-related changes and increase the tone of the skin.
Opuntia is especially useful for men. Fresh cactus juice and a decoction of dried leaves helps to restore reproductive function and stops the growth of adenoma.
Harm and contraindications to the use of prickly pear
The pulp of prickly pear stems has no absolute contraindications for use, but if glochidia enter the digestive tract, indigestion or volvulus may occur. Therefore, before introducing the cactus into the dish, it must be thoroughly cleaned.
Contraindications of a relative nature to the use of prickly pear shoots:
- Pregnancy and lactation - do not experiment with unfamiliar products in these conditions;
- Children under 5 years of age to avoid the development of dysbiosis;
- Constipation tendency;
- Individual intolerance.
An allergic reaction can occur to all cacti in general or to prickly pear in particular.
Recipes for dishes with prickly pear sprouts
When purchasing and collecting prickly pear, you need to pay attention to the skin. It should be elastic, smooth, and free from damage. You can even try. For culinary purposes, only soft young shoots are used.
Before cooking, the prickly pear must be cleaned by carefully removing the glochidia. To do this, put on tight gloves and rub the skin with a waffle hard towel. Then an incision is made across the entire pad on both sides - from top to bottom, removing the skin. Only then does it become safe to eat the pulp.
Cooking tips for prickly pears:
- When boiling a cactus, it is advisable to change the water 2-3 times to remove the sticky juice.
- The finished cactus should remain firm.
- After cooking, the pieces of prickly pear are washed with cold water before further cooking.
Opuntia recipes:
- Raw prickly pear … So the Mexicans prefer to use the pulp of the cactus. They simply cut the stem in half, sprinkle with lemon or lime juice, sprinkle with hot peppers and eat with a spoon. Europeans are unlikely to like this method. The pulp contains a large amount of sticky juice, which gives some sugary and slimy.
- Prickly pear jelly … Juice is squeezed out of cactus stalks, mixed with sugar. Proportions: 1 glass of juice and 1 glass of sugar. Juice is boiled over low heat to obtain the consistency of liquid jelly, add loose gelatin or pectin, pour it into molds and put it in the refrigerator to freeze.
- Homemade prickly pear wine … To prepare a drink, prickly pear juice is mixed with sugar in the proportion: 2 glasses of juice and 1 glass of sugar. The sweet mixture is poured into a bottle, the neck is closed with gauze and removed for fermentation in a dark place at room temperature. After a month, the drink is filtered, bottled, tightly corked and put on the refrigerator shelf.
- Valparaiso soup … The amount of ingredients is taken by eye. If you want a more exotic dish, take more young prickly pear stems. If the cactus is only an additive, then it is enough to prepare 200-300 g of peeled stems. First, the chicken broth is boiled in the usual way: the chicken back and breast, onion and peeled carrots are lowered into boiling water, salted and brought to readiness. The meat and vegetables are removed, a handful of rapidly boiling lentils, red or brown, are poured into the broth, the onion is peeled separately, cut into small pieces, and the carrots are grated. Preheat a frying pan, fry onions, carrots until golden brown and add pieces of cactus and tomatoes to the fry. When the tomatoes are tender, remove the pan from the heat. During this time, the lentils have probably been cooked, and the soup can be seasoned with frying. When the contents of the pot boil, you can remove from heat. In real Valparaiso soup, the lentils are completely boiled, to a mushy state, but the prickly pear crunches. In Mexico, cactus soup is usually eaten with potato or corn chips.
- Prickly pear salad … This dish is extremely easy to prepare. After preliminary preparation, young cactus stalks are boiled for 3-4 minutes in salted boiling water, cut into cubes. The rest of the salad ingredients: tomatoes, onions - white and red, cilantro. Season with vinegar and olive oil or any spicy Mexican sauce.
- Veal with prickly pear garnish … Vegetables are cut into thin strips: eggplant, bell pepper and zucchini. Bell peppers are fried in olive oil. A glass of red wine is poured into a saucepan, put the dishes on the fire, add a tablespoon of sugar, 2-3 peppercorns, bay leaf, bring to a boil and leave to infuse. Eggplant and zucchini are first poured into the pan, and then fried peppers. The contents of the pan are salted, peppered and, while the vegetables are fried, they are engaged in passionfruit. A core is taken out of it and laid out in a second stewpan. If the vegetables are already ready, add pieces of prickly pear, half a chili pod to them. After 2-3 minutes, remove the pan from heat. The cactus should remain firm and crunchy. Next, they are engaged in veal. Fillet is cut into portions, rubbed with salt and pepper. Pieces are fried in olive oil, sprinkled with thyme. While the veal is juicing, a chilli and cocoa breading is prepared. Already fried veal is rolled in breading, laid out on a silicone mat and put into the oven to bake. The meat is checked for readiness as usual. When pierced, clear juice should flow out of the veal. Two ingredients are already ready: cactus garnish and veal. For the dish to be really tasty, you need to cook two types of sauces. A little water and sugar are added to a stewpan with passionfruit, put on fire to boil. Add meat juice from a frying pan with veal to the second stewpan, add a little butter and add some salt, if necessary. When the sauces have thickened, you can turn them off. Veal is served in one plate with prickly pear garnish, seasoned with two types of sauces. For beauty, you can decorate with chives and fresh raspberries.
The flesh of the prickly pear is combined to taste with tomatoes, peppers of all kinds, olive oil, portobello mushrooms, stewed eggplants and zucchini. When frying, salt and a mixture of peppers are generously added to eliminate sweetness. The finished fried cactus turns brown.
Interesting! The fruits of prickly pear are often consumed raw. They are seared over a fire to remove the finest hairs from the surface, cut in half and simply eaten with a spoon. The pulp is very juicy and sweet, no need to add sugar and spices. Jam can be made from cactus fruits, as from ordinary berries, combining with sugar in a 1: 1 ratio. There is no need to add water, there is enough juice. If you add prickly pear juice in the last minutes to the meat when stewing, the dish will acquire an original strawberry flavor.
Interesting facts about prickly pear
An ancient legend is connected with prickly pear. The Aztecs wandered around the savannah for a long time and did not know where to build their capital. But they were given a sign from above - they saw an eagle sitting on a prickly pear and eating a snake. It was at this place that the sacred Indian city of Tenochtitlan began to be built, in the place of which Mexico City now stands. And the coat of arms of Mexico depicts an eagle tormenting a snake.
Another legend explains the origin of prickly pear. God turned an arrogant prince into a cactus. And a bright beautiful flower is a piece of a mantle that is periodically allowed to be shown to others.
Cacti spread throughout the world thanks to seeds that got stuck in the folds of merchants' clothes, and then fell to the ground and sprouted. Fertile soil is not required for the plant. Thanks to Arab merchants in Europe, the plant has already taken root in the 16th century.
In dry years, prickly pear itself reduces water loss due to evaporation. The plant anticipates drought in advance and throws out small cylindrical leaves, covered with a thin whitish waxy coating, instead of large bulky pads.
The main difference between prickly pears and other types of cacti is the soft spines of glochidia. They are more like fluff, almost do not prick, but are harmless only in appearance. Contact with the skin causes itching and irritation, which is difficult to get rid of even with the use of modern anti-allergic drugs.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Australians made the cactus the main forage crop for cattle. The cows ate the juicy pulp with pleasure, milk yield increased, but not for long. A massive loss of livestock began: the bristles accumulated in the intestines, causing obstruction in the animals.
Breeding the plant turned out to be an almost impossible task: it was cut down, corroded with chemicals, but the prickly pear quickly filled the wasteland. They managed to escape only with the help of a moth butterfly, the pest was brought from Mexico. Subsequently, the Australians erected a monument to the fire fire.
Currently, the plant is also used as a fodder crop, but it is pretreated. Until now, cactus is used as a natural dye for fabrics, the resulting color is characterized as "carmine". The trunk and leaves of the plant are now harvested as biofuel.
Anyone who grows prickly pears at home protects himself from electromagnetic radiation. Scientists recommend placing a flowerpot with a plant closer to the monitor.
Watch a video about prickly pear:
Homemade prickly pear will be a pleasant addition to the diet. However, make sure the cactus is edible before cooking. And you shouldn't overeat. The pulp is unusual for the European stomach, and intestinal upset can be provoked.
