Cactus

Most botanists think that the family of plants called Cactaceae is native to the New World. Those cactus species indigenous to the southwestern United States were used for food by the original inhabitants, but only one, Opuntia ficus-indica, plays a significant role in American commerce. The fruits, also known as tunas or prickly pears, are mostly marketed to North Americans as cactus pears; they come in many colors, but the leading commercial variety, grown near Salinas, California, and harvested in fall and winter, has a greenish-red peel and red pulp. The spines are rubbed off before sale. The flesh, which contains numerous seeds, is juicy, with a mild flavor reminiscent of watermelon. The fruits are generally eaten fresh; traditionally, they were also juiced and made into a sweetened paste, called queso de tuna in Spanish. In addition, the thick, fleshy cactus pads, called nopalitos, are stripped of their spines and used as a vegetable in salads, egg and meat dishes, soup, and pickles. Since about the year 2000, growers in Florida, California, and Hawaii have established plantings of another species, Hylocereus undatus, known as pitahaya, pitaya, and dragon fruit, which has large, spineless, flaming pink fruit with white, magenta, or pink flesh and small seeds.