Refrigerating Opuntia?

[Jillian Fricke]

I am planning on growing some opuntia, but in the meantime, I have purchased some opuntia pads from Whole Foods. The store keeps them in an open refrigerator, as most grocery stores do with veggies. Should I continue refrigerating them at my house or just leave them out on the counter?

I hope no one minds all of the questions I ask on here! I am very specific when it comes to petcare.

 

[naturalman91]

i've alway's kept them in a cool dark place but not the fridge it makes them kinda mushy to me

 

[wellington]

Leave them in a cool dark place. Out of sun and heat but not cold. If you have a lot of them, too many to use up. I have blended them and froze them. You can also dry them. If you want, cut a little of the root end off and plant them. Then pull one out when you want to feed it.

 

[Jillian Fricke]

As a side question, has anyone tried eating them personally? For store bought ones, should I just peel of the skin of the pad and eat the inside? So glad my tort and I can share food. ;P

 

[wellington]

I haven't. But look them up. Many authentic Mexican restaurants use them. It will be listed as Nopales on a Mexican menu or recipe.

 

[naturalman91]

i haven't tried to eat them but i know people who do they're used in Mexican dish's

 

[Tom]

They don't need cold and heat does not bother them at all. What they need is ventilation. Stack them up in a plastic box and they will turn to mush in a week or two. Lay them out on a table or shelf outside in the shade and they will literally last a whole year. My summers get 100+ and I've had pads sitting there for months with no issue. Put a pad in the fridge and it goes black and mushy in a few days.

I eat it from time to time. I just had nopales con carne tacos last Saturday at a party. SOOOOOOOO delicious. I don't think you have to cut the skin off. They just chop it and cook it up. I love authentic Mexican food, especially in Mexico. Mexicans know how to cook, that is for sure.

 

[Gopherus Guy]

I keep mine refrigerated. However picking them when they are small pads seems best. But Clifford likes
them both ways. Yummy!

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

However picking them when they are small pads seems best.

What has lead you to make this determination?

 

[Gopherus Guy]

What has lead you to make this determination?

Thorns haven't developed, and they seem crisper too! Clifford lives them. .

 

[Yvonne G]

We had a thread not too long ago where we learned that the older pads are more nutritious/healthy.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Thorns haven't developed, and they seem crisper too! Clifford lives them. .

Yeah those spines can be painful. Many ways to avoid them. Older pads are somewhat better for nutrient content. I guess you got to pick your battles.

https://www.facebook.com/KapidoloFarms/ for low temp dried Cactus Chips. No spines, refrigerate-able if you want, cupboard shelf life to date is over a year. Pound for pound on dry weight bases about the same as fresh pads (depends on the source of the fresh) in cost.

 

[Robber]

What has lead you to make this determination?

My redfoot doesn't care for the more mature pads, but will eat the smaller,lighter green ones. The leopards will eat them at any stage.

 

[Speedy-1]

I am so glad I planted some , I just whack off a paddle clean the stickers off and give it to him !

 

[BrianWI]

You can pickle them to. For you, probably not the tortoise.

 

[Tom]

I am so glad I planted some , I just whack off a paddle clean the stickers off and give it to him !

Back when I had fewer tortoises and smaller tortoises to feed, I used to painstakingly sit there and remove every little spine from every pad before feeding them out. Then I saw video of wild radiata eating fully spined opuntia that the Madagascan farmers use to encircle their crops to keep the local wildlife out. That tortoise just sat their taking bite after bite eating full spines and all. Seen lots of footage of CA desert tortoises doing it too. About two years ago, I just started hacking the pads off and feeding them as is. I feed out 3-6 five gallon buckets worth of spineless opuntia pads a week to about 15 adults and 10 juveniles, and I haven't seen a problem yet.

 

[Speedy-1]

Back when I had fewer tortoises and smaller tortoises to feed, I used to painstakingly sit there and remove every little spine from every pad before feeding them out. Then I saw video of wild radiata eating fully spined opuntia that the Madagascan farmers use to encircle their crops to keep the local wildlife out. That tortoise just sat their taking bite after bite eating full spines and all. Seen lots of footage of CA desert tortoises doing it too. About two years ago, I just started hacking the pads off and feeding them as is. I feed out 3-6 five gallon buckets worth of spineless opuntia pads a week to about 15 adults and 10 juveniles, and I haven't seen a problem yet.

Wow ,that would be great ! The plant I have has those fuzzy little prickers which I just sort of scrape off with the flat edge of a knife. So given Speedy's age and size ( 2 years , 9 inches) it would be OK ?

 

[Tom]

Wow ,that would be great ! The plant I have has those fuzzy little prickers which I just sort of scrape off with the flat edge of a knife. So given Speedy's age and size ( 2 years , 9 inches) it would be OK ?

Some of my opuntias still grow tiny little 1/4 to 1/2 inch spines, as well as the glochids. All of my torts of all sizes have been eating them intact for years now, including juveniles and babies. I don't despine any of them anymore.

Yes. I think it would be okay to just cut off a pad and feed it to him without removing anything.

 

[Speedy-1]

Some of my opuntias still grow tiny little 1/4 to 1/2 inch spines, as well as the glochids. All of my torts of all sizes have been eating them intact for years now, including juveniles and babies. I don't despine any of them anymore.

Yes. I think it would be okay to just cut off a pad and feed it to him without removing anything.

Thanks Tom , I am sure Speedy will appreciate it the most as he will be eating it more often ! Due to my natural laziness !

 

[NataliaTG]

Well... I'm Mexican so yeah, I've eaten them... they're really good I do keep them in the fridge, whether they are for human consuption or the tortoises lol
I've never tried them raw, I always cook them. Just make sure to cook them on high heat, since when cooked they produce a slimey substance (which isn't toxic) but I just HATE IT. And If you cook them on high heat the slimey thing will evaporate.

You can chop them however you feel like chopping them and just cook them with some onion and a little oil. I blend a tomato with a little water and add it to the <<nopales>>. Then I just wait for everything to be cooked... add some salt, and that's it.

I don't peel the skin, but if they have spines, you do want to get rid of them!

You can also make a salad by just cooking your nopales, let them cool a little, and then add chopped tomatoes and onion, and a little cilantro.
((Like this----->>http://www.ultra.com.mx/noticias/imagenes/notas/realizan-muestra-gastronomica-del-nopal_98a8b.JPG )

Hope it helped lol