Welcome to this article that will be talking about whether a cactus plant is a fruit or a vegetable. The fact of the matter is that it’s both actually. This might sound confusing but let us explain.
The pads that will be growing on a cactus are labeled and categorized as a vegetable. But from the pads there can grow something called prickly pear. These are instead labeled as fruit. The cactus plant is a very diverse variety that can be used for many purposes.
Follow along and we will dive deeper into this topic and what the cactus can be used for. For us, this is one of the most fascinating plants to start growing at home.
Is Cactus A Fruit Or Vegetable
Just like we said at the beginning of this article here, the cactus is labeled and categorized as both a vegetable and a fruit. It’s one of the only plants on the earth that has this happen to it.
The pads on the cactus will grow green and can be used as a vegetable. But the flavor of them might not be the tastiest. The wild ones tend to have a very acidic flavor to them. They need a lot of work to become edible at first even. For us, it’s definitely not a favorite like this.
But if you grow it yourself and can keep the water content a little bit higher it will slightly dull the acidity of the cactus. It will now be easier to get more green vegetable flavor from the cactus. It will start with both asparagus and green bell peppers.
The prickly pear on the cactus plant is what is labeled as a fruit. These will grow slightly pink or red and come out from the pads. They are quite commonly used actually.
These prickly pears will have a lot more fruity flavor and a sweet note too. They fit very well for making jam or even marmalade. This is in our opinion the most flavorful part of the cactus and the one we have been using the most at home.
Would you like to start growing cactus plants without any thrones at home? In this article, we are discussing precisely this topic, Cactus Without Thorns.
What Is Cactus Classified As
The cactus plant is classified as a division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Caryophyllales, and the family of Cactaceae. Try and remember all of these ones, no but in all seriousness the cactus plant is a really fascinating one to both grow and harvest from.
The plant is like what we were talking about above here both a vegetable and a fruit. The pads of the cactus plant are what is being used as a vegetable. They are quite green and will have an acidic flavor if grown in the wild.
But the commercially grown ones are sweeter and taste like asparagus and green bell pepper. It carries quite a lot of benefits with it. It has even been proven that it will lower sugar levels but also cholesterol levels.
This makes cactus actually one of the best things you can introduce to your diet. But be aware that with most things you can always have too much of it. Since the plant is quite acidic this can turn your stomach upside down if you’re not careful.
Is your cactus plant starting to turn yellow? In this article, we are discussing the solutions to this problem, Cactus Turning Yellow.
What Type Of Food Is Cactus
The cactus is, like we said above, both a vegetable and a fruit. They have plenty of flavor in them. The pads are what are referred to as vegetables and what will often be used in a diet.
The prickly pears, and the pink fruit growing from the pads are exactly that, the fruit of the cactus. These are sweeter and will often be used for marmalade and even jam.
