View source for Nopal

{{distinguish|text=South Asian Himalayan country [[Nepal]]}}
{{short description|Young stem segment of the Opuntia cactus}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Prickly Pear 5half.JPG|thumb|Mature edible ''nopal'' pad]]

'''''Nopal'''''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|lang|n|oʊ|ˈ|p|ɑː|l}} {{respell|noh|PAHL}}, {{IPAc-en|-|ˈ|p|æ|l}} {{respell|-|PAL}}, {{IPAc-en|also|ˈ|n|oʊ|p|ə|l}} {{respell|NOH-pəl}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nopal |title=NOPAL Definition & Meaning |website=[[Merriam-Webster.com]] |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250624074654/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nopal |archive-date=24 June 2025 |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2025}}</ref> {{IPA|es|noˈpal|lang}} <br />{{plural form}}: '''''nopales''''', {{IPAc-en|lang|n|oʊ|ˈ|p|ɑː|l|eɪ|s}} {{respell|noh|PAHL|ayss}}, {{IPAc-en|-|ˈ|p|æ|l|-}} {{respell|-|PAL|-}}, {{IPA|es|noˈpales|lang}}; also '''nopals''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|oʊ|p|ə|l|z}} {{respell|NOH|pəlz}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=nopal |title=American Heritage Dictionary entry: nopal |website=[[American Heritage Dictionary]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins Publishers]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128061406/https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=nopal |archive-date=28 November 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2025}}</ref>}} is a common name in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for ''[[Opuntia]]'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as '''prickly pear''' or '''tender cactus'''), as well as for its pads. The name ''nopal'' derives from the [[Nahuatl]] word {{lang|nah|nohpalli}}{{efn|{{IPA|nah|noʔˈpalːi|pron}}}} for the [[Phylloclade|pads]] of the plant.

''Nopal'' fruits can be eaten raw or cooked, having numerous uses particularly in [[Mexican cuisine]].

==Description==
[[File:Fresh nopal.jpg|thumb|150px|Fresh ''nopal'' for sale at a market]]
There are about 114 known species in Mexico,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Chavez-Moreno|first=Ck|author2=Casas, A |author3=Tecante, A |title=The Opuntia (Cactaceae) and Dactylopius (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) in Mexico: a historical perspective of use, interaction and distribution|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|year=2009|volume=18|issue=13|pages=3337–3355|doi=10.1007/s10531-009-9647-x|bibcode=2009BiCon..18.3337C |s2cid=31888291}}</ref> where it is a common ingredient in numerous Mexican cuisine dishes. The ''nopal'' pads can be eaten raw or cooked, used in marmalades, soups, stews and salads, as well as being used for [[traditional medicine]] or as fodder for animals. Farmed ''nopales'' are most often of the species ''[[Opuntia ficus-indica]]'' or ''[[Opuntia matudae]]'' although the pads of almost all ''[[Opuntia]]'' species are edible. The other edible part of the ''nopal'' cactus is the fruit, called {{lang|es|tuna}} in Spanish and "prickly pear" in English.

==Culinary use==

''Nopales'' are generally sold fresh in Mexico, cleaned of spines, and sliced to the customer's wishes on the spot. They can also be found [[canning|canned]] or bottled as ''[[Nopalito|nopalitos]]'', and less often [[food drying|dried]], especially for export. Cut into slices or diced into cubes, ''nopales'' have a light, slightly tart flavor, like [[green bean]]s, and a crisp, [[mucilage|mucilaginous]] texture.  In most recipes, the mucilaginous liquid they contain is included in the cooking.  They are at their most tender and juicy in the [[spring (season)|spring]].<ref>Aliza Green, ''Field Guide to Produce'', Quirk Productions, 2004, pp. 214–215, {{ISBN|1-931686-07-6}}</ref>
[[File:Nopalsalad.jpg|thumb|A ''nopal'' salad]]
''Nopales'' are most commonly used in [[Mexican cuisine]] in dishes such as ''huevos con nopales'' "[[egg as food|eggs]] with nopal", ''carne con nopales'' "meat with nopal", ''[[taco]]s de nopales'', in salads with tomato, onion, and ''[[queso panela]]'' (panela cheese), or simply on their own as a side vegetable.  ''Nopales'' have also grown to be an important ingredient in [[New Mexican cuisine]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Daniel|first1=Frank Jack|title=Thorny Mexican food staple gains fame as folk cure|url=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|work=Reuters|date=April 16, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703032838/http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews|archive-date=July 3, 2007}}</ref> and in [[Tejano]] culture of [[Texas]].

{{nutritionalvalue
|name=Raw nopal fruit
|image=
|water=94 g
|kcal=16
|protein=1.3 g
|fat=0.1 g
|carbs=3.3 g
|fiber=2.2 g
|sugars=1.2 g
|calcium_mg=164
|iron_mg=0.6
|magnesium_mg=52
|phosphorus_mg=16
|potassium_mg=257
|sodium_mg=21
|zinc_mg=0.25
|manganese_mg=0.457
|vitC_mg=9
|thiamin_mg=0.012
|riboflavin_mg=0.04
|niacin_mg=0.41
|pantothenic_mg=0.167
|vitB6_mg=0.07
|folate_ug=3
|vitA_ug=23
|vitE_mg=0
|vitK_ug=5.3
|note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/168571/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]
}}

== Nutrition ==

Raw nopal fruit is 94% water, 3% [[carbohydrate]]s, 1% [[protein (nutrient)|protein]], and contains negligible [[fat]] (table). In a reference amount of {{cvt|100|g}}, the fruit supplies 67 [[calorie]]s of [[food energy]], and is a rich source (20% or more of the [[Daily Value]], DV) of [[manganese in biology|manganese]] (20% DV), while containing moderate amounts (10-13%) of [[vitamin C]], [[calcium in biology|calcium]], and [[magnesium in biology|magnesium]] (table).

A 2011 study found that its carbohydrate, [[dietary fiber|fiber]], and calcium contents increase as the plant matures, each becoming highest at 135 days.<ref>{{Cite journal | pmid = 21655119| year = 2011| last1 = Hernández-Urbiola| first1 = M. I.| title = Chemical analysis of nutritional content of prickly pads (''Opuntia ficus indica'') at varied ages in an organic harvest| journal = International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health| volume = 8| issue = 5| pages = 1287–95| last2 = Pérez-Torrero| first2 = E| last3 = Rodríguez-García| first3 = M. E.| doi = 10.3390/ijerph8051287|pmc = 3108109| doi-access = free}}</ref> The calcium may not be biologically available, however, because it is present as [[calcium oxalate]], a non-absorbable complex in the small intestine.<ref>{{cite journal| last =  Mcconn| first = Michele |author2=Nakata, Paul |date=February 2004| 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 = https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=161211| access-date = 2006-08-10| doi = 10.1021/jf035332c| pmid =  14995148| bibcode = 2004JAFC...52.1371M | url-access = subscription}}</ref>

== Economic value ==

The ''nopal'' cactus grows extensively throughout Mexico, being especially abundant in the central Mexican arid and semi arid regions. In Mexico there are over {{convert|3,000,000|ha|acre|lk=on}} of land used to cultivate ''nopal''. There are three typical ways to cultivate ''nopal'' cacti&nbsp;— commercial plantations, family farms and gardens, or in the wild. Approximately {{convert|57,000|ha|acre}} are used to produce prickly pear fruit, {{convert|10,500|ha|acre}} for the pads production, and {{convert|100|ha|acre}} to [[cochineal]] production.{{Citation needed|date=April 2015}} In 1996 there were {{convert|10,300|ha|acre|lk=on}} prickly pear farmers, as well as around 8000 general ''nopal'' farmers, with all of the people involved in the processing industries and in cochineal production, employing a significant number of the Mexican population.{{Citation needed|date=April 2015}} ''Nopal'' is grown in eighteen of the Mexican states with 74% in the [[Mexico City]] metropolitan area, with an annual yield of {{formatnum:58000}} tons{{which|date=August 2019}} of both the ''tuna'' and the pads.<ref>{{cite journal|last= Vigueras |first= G.A.L |author2= Portillo, L. |title= Uses of Opuntia Species and the Potential Impact of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Mexico |journal= The Florida Entomologist |date= December 2001 |volume= 84 |issue= 4 |pages= 493–498 | doi= 10.2307/3496377 |url= http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/download/74993/72651 |jstor= 3496377 |doi-access= free |url-access= subscription }}</ref> The farming of ''nopal'' provides many subsistence communities with employment, food, income, and allows them to remain on their land.

Detection of the cactus-eating moth ''[[Cactoblastis cactorum]]'' in Mexico in 2006 caused anxiety among the country's [[Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures|phytosanitary]] authorities, as this insect can be potentially devastating for the cactus industry.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-cactus-idUSN1634865620070217 Cactus-eating moth threatens favorite Mexican food] (Mon Feb 19, 2007)</ref> In 1925, the same insect was successfully used in [[Australia]] to control the quickly growing population of cactus, which had become an [[invasive species]] after its introduction.<ref name="patt">Patterson, Ewen K. 1936. The World's First Insect Memorial. "The Review of the River Plate", December pp. 16–17</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Prickly Pear 2.JPG|Budding
File:Prickly pear leaf bud.JPG|Bud emerging
File:Prickly Pear 3half.JPG|Young pad growing
File:Prickly Pear 5.JPG|Spines start developing
</gallery>

== See also ==
* ''[[Nopaltilla]]''
* [[Okra]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Mexican cuisine}}

[[Category:Aztec society]]
[[Category:Mexican cuisine]]
[[Category:Natural history of Mesoamerica]]
[[Category:Cuisine of New Mexico]]
[[Category:Opuntia]]
[[Category:Stem vegetables]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine]]

[[es:Nopal]]
[[nah:Nohpalli]]