Hello everyone, I'm Little Fat Liang.
It is well known that the cactus is tenacious in life, and in order to protect itself, its appearance is often covered with many spikes.
Passers-by will be stabbed if they are not careful.
This plant does not need to be eaten, that is, it is a luxury to get close.
However, there is a country where their citizens not only hold the cactus as the "national flower", but also love to eat it.
This country is Mexico.
In fact, the act of "eating cacti" is not uncommon abroad.
The spikes of the cactus were in their eyes the glory of the warriors, and everyone was proud to swallow more thorns.
As for tomorrow's toilet? Harm, who cares about it, rush to finish the matter brothers.
YouTube has a blogger called "Jeffabel and Friends", who is a famous cactus eater.
I would like to call him a role model for my generation.
Because he really didn't do anything about a cactus, he swallowed it with a belt stab.
Back in Mexico, this country has been indissoluble with cacti for many years.
You can get a glimpse of it in their flag:
A Mexican eagle caught a rattlesnake and stood majestically on a cactus.
The land at the foot of the Mexican eagle is what will become Mexico City.
Thus Mexico, also known as the "country born on cacti".
As one of the birthplaces of cacti, Mexico accounts for more than 500 of the more than 1,000 kinds of cacti in the world.
The inexhaustible cactus has naturally become the "natural ingredient" of Mexicans.
Of course, Mexicans don't eat cacti with their belts like foreigners.
They remove the thorns and crusty crust from the outside of the cactus before cooking.
The prickly cactus is actually similar to our ordinary vegetables and fruits.
Mexicans deal with cacti in a variety of ways.
One of the most classics is the "charcoal-grilled cactus".
After roasting, the cactus has already lost most of its moisture, and then sprinkle chili powder on it, plus olive oil and onions and other ingredients, 3 cacti can be eaten.
Mexicans are relatively vegetarian.
So they make salads and eat them with milkshakes, which is also a regular way to eat cacti.
Clean and hygienic brothers:
Other Mexicans use it as a taco peel, topped with ingredients such as beef cheese.
Crispy and soft, it also looks quite good:
Some Chinese netizens who have lived in Mexico have also made a Chinese practice:
Stir-fry cactus + beef + chili pepper together, it is said that the taste is sour and spicy is very appetizing.
Also because cacti have a little acid, it will taste good for scrambled eggs.
Cacti are added to many Mexican dishes, whether it's fine dining or home cooking.
In addition to being made into food, cacti can even be processed into drinks.
Jugo Verde, an authentic Street Drink in Mexico, is made with cactus as the main ingredient and mixed with parsley, grapefruit, fresh orange and other accessories.
Jugo Verde is as common in Mexico as our roadside milk tea.
Summer thirst for a cup, refreshing and quenching thirst:
In addition, you can even take cacti to make soup.
Cut into small pieces and simmer over low heat, the soup has the effect of clearing heat and detoxification:
And the most eaten in our country is probably the "cactus fruit".
This fruit is also sold in some supermarkets in China, the price is beautiful, and we have done its evaluation before.
When you break it open, it looks exactly like a red meat dragon fruit, the only difference is that the seeds of the cactus fruit cannot be eaten directly.
Spitting out seeds while eating it undoubtedly greatly reduces its eating experience.
Apparently, cacti have infiltrated every aspect of the Mexican diet.
First of all, we must start with the doll: the children in the Mexican kindergarten will eat the "cartoon cactus" specially made by adults.
Among them are the "Batman Cactus":
Cacti of this shape are pressed by means of molds.
The aim is to develop the interest of Mexican children in eating cacti from an early age:
In addition to the Batman cactus, the "dinosaur cactus" is also a popular item loved by children:
The final product of the Batman Cactus is as follows, and it is also popular with children:
After talking about children, let's talk about adults.
In 2010, former Santa Cruz City Councilman Tony Madrigal led a team to plan the inaugural Cactus Festival.
Over the years, the day has evolved from a small party to a small party festival.
The special feature of the festival is a cooking competition using cactus as raw materials, which we should call the "Cactus Food Festival".
Today, cacti mean much more to Mexico than just for people to eat.
Mexican entrepreneurs Adrian Lopez and Marte Cazarez have also developed an alternative material for animal leather derived from cacti:
Desserto Leather.
This new material has all the characteristics and functions of animal leather.
It can be made into bags, leather coats, furniture, shoes and so on. It is both environmentally friendly and low cost.
And the new material is partially biodegradable, but also flexible, breathable, and has a service life of at least 10 years.
As a result, this innovative technology also won the LVMH Innovation Award 2020.
The cactus, the treasure of the desert, is sheltering the people of Mexico in its own unique way.
Who would have thought that this thorny-looking plant actually tasted different?
I guess cacti are like this, and people are pretty much like that.