How do I Harvest a Nopal Cactus?

The Gourmet Sleuth, a Web site devoted to gourmet food, explains that "nopal" refers to the prickly pear cactus, part of the genus Opuntia, which has different species of flat-stemmed cactuses with 3-inch-long thorns. Species vary in height from 1 foot to 20 feet. In summer, some prickly pear cacti produce red, purple, orange and white flowers. While it may sound unusual to harvest a cactus plant, nopal's stems (pads) are edible. Get ready to gather them any time between spring and late summer.

Things You'll Need

• Gloves
• Knife
• Vegetable peeler
• Water

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Put thick gloves on to protect your hands from the prickly thorns on the nopal cactus pads.

   • 2

     Look for cactus pads no more than 8 inches long.

   • 3

     Cut the nopal cactus pads with a knife at the point where they sprout. It's also possible to snap the pads by bending them with your hands.

   • 4

     Scrape the surface of the harvested pads with a vegetable peeler to remove all of the thorns.

   • 5

     Wash the cactus pads and prune off any blemishes. Your nopal harvest is ready to go in your recipes.