View source for Nopal

[[Image:Nopal_cacti_in_Merced.JPG|thumb|right|320px|A nopales merchant at his stand in the Merced market of [[Mexico City]]]]
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'''Nopales''' are a [[vegetable]] made from the young [[plant stem|stem]] segments of [[prickly pear]], carefully peeled to remove the [[spine (biology)|spine]]s.  They are particularly common in their native [[Mexico]].  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 or [[canning|canned]], less often [[drying (food)|dried]] to prepare [[nopalitos]]. They have a light, slightly tart flavor, and a crisp, [[mucilage|mucilaginous]] texture.

Nopales are commonly used in [[Mexican cuisine]] in dishes such as ''huevos con nopales'' ([[egg (food)|egg]]s with nopal), or "[[taco]]s de nopales". Nopales are also an important ingredient in [[New Mexican cuisine]], but are gaining popularity, especially in the [[United States]].<ref>[http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=2007-04-16T133330Z_01_N13231155_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEXICO-CACTUS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22 Thorny Mexican food staple gains fame as folk cure] by Frank Jack Daniel, Reuters (Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:34 AM ET)</ref>

==Health benefits==

Nopales are very rich in insoluble and especially soluble [[dietary fiber]].  They are also rich in [[vitamin]]s (especially [[vitamin A]], [[vitamin C]], and [[vitamin K]], but also [[riboflavin]] and [[vitamin B6]]) and [[dietary mineral|mineral]]s (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.<ref>{{cite journal| last =  Mcconn| first = Michele | coauthors = Nakata, Paul| year = 2004 | month = February| title = Oxalate Reduces Calcium Availability in the Pads of the Prickly Pear Cactus Through Formation of Calcium Oxalate Crystals| journal = Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry | volume = 52| issue = 5| pages = 1371-1374| url = http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=161211| accessdate = 2006-08-10}}</ref>

Addition of nopales also reduces the [[glycemic index|glycemic effect]] of a mixed meal.<ref>{{cite journal | author =M Bacardi-Gascon, D Duenas-Mena and A Jimenez-Cruz | title =Lowering effect on postprandial glycemic response of nopales added to Mexican breakfasts | journal =Diabetes Care | volume =30 | issue =5 | pages =1264-1265 | date = May 2007 | url = http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/extract/30/5/1264 | id = PMID 17325260}}</ref>

==Economic value==

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.<ref>
[http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?storyID=2007-02-19T140749Z_01_N2G283241_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEXICO-CACTUS.xml   Cactus-eating moth threatens favorite Mexican food] (Mon Feb 19, 2007)</ref>

==References==
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*http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-416.html#Cactus%20Pear


==External sources==
Recipes
*[http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/nopalitos.htm GourmetSleuth - Nopalitos (Nopales)]
*[http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/nopalitos_list.htm GourmetSleuth - Nopalitos Recipe List]
*[http://www.rivenrock.com/recipes.html Rivenrock Gardens Cactus Recipe Page]

[[Category:Stem vegetables]]
[[Category:Natural history of Mesoamerica]]
[[Category:Mesoamerican cuisine]]
[[Category:Aztec society]]