Large products Mexico
Write: Marichuy Garduño
Photos: Bertha Herrera.@BERTHA HERRERA
With the nopal you can make many traditional dishes, which have made Mexican cuisine famous. An ingredient that is highly appreciated in the taste of Mexicans.
Historical records mention that the nopal appeared almost simultaneously with the corn and the maguey. This allowed its inclusion with indigenous mythology.
The nopal is part of Mexican culinary tradition
The Secretary of Agriculture (SAGARPA), registers that, within Mexican gastronomy, the nopal is one of the most traditional foods.
It is prepared in various forms, whether it is boiled, roasted, powdered, stews, soups, salads, juices and sweets. Likewise, its consumption is distinguished by benefiting the health of the organism, thanks to the high level of nutrients it contains.
This ingredient has served as inspiration for literature, music and poetry related to its flavor, its nutritional values and the identity it gives to the Mexican people.
This well-known cactus plant, native to Mexico, grows wild not only in our country, but practically in almost all semi-desert regions of the American continent. In Spain, where it was taken in the XNUMXth century.
Tostadas with nopales
Both its tender oval-shaped stems (stalks) bristling with thorns and its oval fruit, the prickly pear, with sweet pulp are edible. It has been part of the Mexican diet since pre-Hispanic times.
Rustic prickly pear in Europe
The historian Jesús Flores y Escalante comments that, in Spain, this food is known as prickly pear and its fruits as prickly pear.
However, in Europe its different uses and gastronomic qualities are still unknown.
In our country, Mexico, the nopal is prepared in a salad that gladly accompanies the tlacoyos, sopes or as a garnish for a good cut of meat. In stews and stuffed with cheese, it is a real feast for the palate. It is also included in juices to take advantage of its properties to reduce weight.
It is an ingredient that provides great visual beauty due to its green color. It recalls one of the three colors of the Mexican flag.
In addition, it has a pleasant flavor that makes the taste buds salivate at first contact and its great nutritional richness. It has innumerable benefits for the proper functioning of the body.
