One of Aaron’s favorite things to do is find something that appears to be useless and find it a use. This week, he set out to find a use for all the stinking cactus we have growing around here. Normally, we have an amount that is tolerable, but I think this year since it was so hot and dry they flourished.
This is what they look like out west:
But ours are smaller.
Aaron decided to make cactus juice. Seriously, he made cactus juice.
First you harvest the little red balls off the tips of the cactus. That is the fruit they make, but be careful because they have stickers in them too. After you get all the stickers off and cut them in half you boil them for about 10 minutes.
They have a slimy consistency to the inside of them like boiled okra, so be prepared. After boiling you strain the seeds and chunks of fruit through cheese cloth and chill the juice.
Ok, it doesn’t taste bad, but it doesn’t really taste awesome either.
A lot of different websites brag about how great the juice is for your body and I have been drinking a cup of it every day just to see. One of the best things I read was that it would bind with fat in your food and not allow your small intestine to absorb the fat molecules, now that, my friend, would be wonderful and I would drink it every day for the rest of my life. Who knows, but I don’t think we will be making another batch for a while 🙂
What do you think?