Does cooking nopales with a copper coin actually neutralize the mucilage, and if so, why?
While looking around at different ways of cooking nopales and okra that dealt with the mucilage, I found a few references to cooking nopales with a copper coin. Some people seem uncertain whether it's an old wives tale or not, and I haven't found an explanation of why it would work yet, but it seems pretty wide-spread. Does it actually work? And if so, why?
Best Answer
I just came across to this website looking for an answer related to sushi rice. Then I started to look around to find out what is all this about, so I found this question about nopal cooking. It happens that I am mexican so I wanted to give some advice about it. I have never seen a person here in Mexico cooking nopal with a copper coin. It seems to me like a way to do things on those days where people had only copper and "barro" pans and the so to cook. I am not saying there are no people out there who are not using them nowdays, of course, but they might be the least. As I have not done it nor seen it, I can not say if it works. Maybe I can help by telling you the way I cook them, which is very simple actually. After the nopal has been peeled and washed, I put it directly in a hot pan just like that, let it cook for a moment at medium temperature, then turn it over to allow the other side to cook as well. That is it. No oil, salt, water, and nopal turns just mucilage free. I hope it helps.
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How do you get the slime out of nopales?
Preheat an oven to 375\xb0F. Dice your nopales and toss with a little salt, as much as you'd want just to season them (so a lot less than when you prep them raw). Arrange in one layer on a baking sheet and bake about 20 to 30 minutes. The slime will ooze out and dry up.How do you know when nopales are bad?
How to tell if nopales are bad or spoiled? The best way is to smell and look at the nopales: discard any nopales that have an off smell or appearance; if mold appears, discard the nopales.How do I cook nopales Reddit?
When boiling you add around 1 tsp of baking soda and enough salt and let it cook for about 10 minutes (or shorter, depends on how bright you want your nopales). The baking soda helps the nopales to release its mucilage but be careful as it'll start to bubble up and might overflow.HOW TO COOK NOPALES / CACTUS ( NOT SLIMY)
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