Information about the eatable cacti (Nopalitos) You can eat the young, delicate and new shoots of the fig cacti. You can find this species in North- and South America as well as in Europe. To cultivate the plant yourself is very easy: for growing a plant you have to stick one leaf of the cactus into the ground. The leaf will shoot out roots. The fig cacti are very undemanding plants, so don't be afraid if you should forget to water your cactus. The Nopalitos are tasty and very healthy. This cactus contains lots of minerals, such as iron, calcium and magnesium as well as vitamin A & B. If you eat it regularly it will have positive effects on your cholesterol- and blood sugar level. The cactus can help to loose weight and he supports the healing of a cold and illnesses of the respiratory tracts. To use all this advantages of the cactus you can simply eat it, drink it, make tea form it or even compresses. In some countries you can buy the tea and tablets, which contain the active substances, in pharmacies. Now we want to show you how easy it is to prepare it. Before you can eat the cacti you have to do the following things: first you have to cut the young sprouts, after they have reached an approximate length of 15 cm and a weight of nearly 100g. Than you have to remove all spines, especially the fine ones; you have to clean it and cut it into small pieces. You can cook the cacti pieces as follows: Boil them in water for 10 minutes. Add salt and keep boiling for another 5 minutes. Now you can use the boiled pieces to make a yummy soup for example. You just have to add the cacti pieces to vegetarian, pig or chicken stock. If you are seasoning the soup you should take care that the slightly sour taste will be preserved. All we can say is: enjoy your meal! Interested? You will find more recipes in our recipe book. You want to cook a cactus-meal but you don't want to grow the cacti? Why don't you buy cacti leaves, ready for preparation, at our shop. You want to know more about this special cactus? You can get more information by reading Dr. Werner Hoffmann's article "Nopalitos im eigenen Garten" or you just ask us.