Post on 04-Jun-2018
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San Pedro Cactus
San Pedro Preparation
From: steveb@surfcity (Steve Barton)
Abstract
Various nopale recipes from dianna kennedy's "The Art
of Mexican Cooking" are adapted to Trichocereus
Pachanoi. Implications of using this cactus as a foodstuff
are examined. The primary challenge to the cook is seen
to be mucilage and bitterness, rather than emesis orcramping.
Intro
Traditional preparations of trichocereus pachanoi
involve boiling the sliced whole cactus for long periods
of time with various admixtures. drawbacks to this are 1)
Emesis: the curandero actually seeks to make the patientvomit and if the pachanoi preparation fails to induce this
a supplemental emetic draught is administered, and 2)
Pharmaceutical complications: a datura species is
usually added to the broth. reliable dosage information
for tropane alkaloids from natural sources is very hard to
come by, the margin of error is vastly smaller than with,
say, blotter acid, and the special contributions of tropanealkaloids to an entheogenic experience may not be
sought-after. :-)
Most contemporary practice either mimics a simplified
form of the traditional broth (abandoning both the
datura, the emetics, and every shred of the set-and-
setting of traditional use) or follows well-established
chemical methods of alkaloid extraction (which is time-consuming and equipment-costly, and usually involves
toxic solvents.)
One neglected approach is to treat the cactus as a
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vegetable foodstuff, and draw upon mexican culinary
experience with nopales (opuntia cactii) as prior art. the
results of some initial explorations of this approach are
reported here.
Preparing the Cactus
t. pachanoi is a slightly tapering cylinder with a small
number of ribs (typically 6 or 7), and clusters of 1-2mm
spines running along the ridge of the rib and spaced
about 1" apart. cactus cuttings in the market range in
diameter from about 2.5"-3.5". cuttings of these
diameters range in weight from < 1.5 oz/linear inch to
3.5 oz/in.
The outermost layer is a tough, plastic-like membrane a
significant fraction of a mm thick. Directly underneath
this is a zone of green tissue less than 1/4" thick. This
shades rapidly into a zone of white tissue. at the core is a
hollow cylinder of tough fibers, from 0.5"- 1.5" dia, with
a heart of more white tissue. in younger tip-cuts the
fibers are like a loofa-sponge, or softer. In more mature
base cuts they are very woody, almost like bamboo bbqskewers.
There are conflicting statements in the popular literature
about which of these tissues contain the entheogenic
virtues. The outermost membrane is almost certainly
devoid of them (unfortunately ott's pharacotheon asserts
that this is where they reside). the green tissue is mostwidely identified as the seat of these virtues, and I
believe this to be the case. It is a logical location for a
barrier of cactophagic repellents, it proves to be sharply
more bitter than the white tissue (certainly indicating
that it is very basic, and *probably* indicating that it
therefore has the highest concentration of alkaloids), and
the obvious informal qualitative bio-assay suggests that
the white tissue is either very weak, compared to thegreen, or else entirely inactive. One experienced
respondent opined that the white tissue none-the-less
contains enough non-entheogenic psychoactives (such as
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the mescaline precursor dopamine?) to positively "color"
the experience.
There are many ways to approach peeling off the skin,
but this gave me the best results:
Nick or notch out the spine clusters. Split the cactus by
cutting from the "valleys" between the ridges inward to
the center of the core. this yields a "stick" of cactus with
a diamond-shaped cross section which gives the most
support to the green tissue during the peeling. Starting
from the corners and working along the length of the
ridge, carefully peel off the skin. Take multiple passes to
do this. It is possible to detach the skin in a single piece,
if you are patient. Avoid leaving any of the green tissueclinging to the skin. The skin is likely to tear when
lifting it away from scars and blemishes. the peel can be
re-started by picking at it with a thumbnail if this
happens.
This is rather time-consuming. Kennedy suggests
listening to music while peeling nopale paddles, so there
may be no way to speed this up. Blanching the unsplitcactus for a minute in rapidly boiling water only makes
things worse: It causes the soft tissues to begin to exude
mucilage, a whitish waxy scum boils off of the skin
(which is nauseating to even look at), and the skin still
adheres.
Once the cactus is peeled it should be further brokendown. I split the green layer off, then cut the fibrous
tissue off of the white tissue.
The peeled cactus can be used fresh, refrigerated for a
week or so, or dried in a home food-dryer. "cactus jerky"
can be further processed in a blender or food processor
to yield "cactus granules".
Recipes
Crudites St. Pierre
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Slice raw, peeled cactus into sticks. eat like "bitter
cucumber spears". add salt, lime-juice and chopped
cilantro to taste. this is, so far, my method of choice,
partly because it is so minimalist.
Ensalada de Nopalitos
To each 4 oz of peeled, chopped raw cactus add 2 Tbs
good-quality cider vinegar, and let stand in the
refrigerator for at least an hour. add chopped parsely to
taste. this is the second-best tasting recipe.
Nopales Asados
Fry raw, peeled cactus strips in extra-virgin olive oil
over medium- high heat, until the sharp edges brown,
and small golden-brown blisters rise up on the faces.
This ties for second best-tasting. the white tissue, in
particular, has an underlying quality of sweetness that is
brought out by frying, and the contrast of the crispness
with the now-gelatinous interior is rather nice. Serve
lightly salted.
Nopales al Vapor
To 1 2/3 C peeled, trimmed, and chopped fresh cactus
add 1 Tbs chopped scallions, a minced clove of garlic
and salt to taste. Fry in 1 Tbs olive oil, covered, over low-
medium heat for 10 min. shake the pan from time to
keep the cactus from sticking. When the juice has started
to flow, uncover the pan and cook for an additional 15
minutes, until the juice has evaporated some, the residue
has begun to resorb, and the cactus is lightly browned.
Scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking.
Yield 1/2 C.
This is the best-tasting recipe. My concern is that some
of the mescaline might stick to the pan rather than beingentirely resorbed, although perhaps it is not carried out
of the tissues in the mucilage, but remains behind in the
cells. It *does* significantly reduce the volume of the
cactus material.
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Chunky Snot Tea
Add 1 - 2 Tbs cactus granules to 1 C hot water, and let
stand for a bit. insignificant-looking granules swell to
rice-grain size, and even finely chopped and ground
fibrous tissue become noticeable "chunky-bits". the
mucilage becomes quite pronounced, dripping in strings
from the stirring spoon. Adding the juice of 1/2 lime, or
so, decreases the bitterness.
I wish that i could say that the mucilage reconstitutes as
a silky unction, reminiscent of some beloved child-hood
comfort food, but what it really reminded me of was a
bad head-cold. Tossing the reconstituted tea back intothe blender smoothes out the texture some. I can't help
thinking that this treatment has potential, but i'm darned
if i can make it manifest.
Cactus Jerky
The peeled, sliced, and dried cactus sticks can be eaten
out-of-hand. This is my second-favorite recipe. it is morework than "cactus sticks", but can be made ahead, and is
quite handy. Since the mucilage begins to reconstitute
during chewing this has the unnerving property of "the
more you chew, the more there is to chew".
Conversions and Yields
A widely-quoted figure says that t. pachanoi (wet) is0.12% mescaline. Freeze-dried unpeeled t. pachanoi is
quoted at 2%. It is my impression that fresh cactus varies
significantly in entheogenic activity, but this might be
due primarily to water content, rather than
environmental or cultural considerations. Home-drying
is probably not as complete as freeze-drying.
8 oz (226 gms) whole, unpeeled, fresh cactus = 270 mg
mescaline.
12 oz (340 gms) whole, unpeeled, fresh cactus = 400 mg
mescaline.
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2-2.5" dia fresh unpeeled ~=1.5 oz/in
3.5-4" dia fresh unpeeled ~=3.5 oz/in
3 oz. fibrous pith
16 oz. fresh cactus ~=+ 6 oz. white tissue
+ 6 oz. green tissue
+ 1 oz. skin and spines.
12 oz. fresh cactus =1 oz. dried (+ 7/8 oz. peel).
1 oz. dried cactus = 2 slightly heaping Tbs cactus
granules
4 oz. fresh cactus = 5/8 C chopped.
Palatability
The discarding of the skin is probably an essential stepto reducing the nausea induced by any cactus preparation
(with the exception of a proper chemical extraction.) Just
looking at the waxy scum that boils off of it in just a
minute of blanching is enough to turn my stomach. This
stuff was not evolved to be digested, it was evolved to be
abrasion-resistant and water-proof. it makes cucumber
peel look burpless.
Generally, the addition of lime-juice or vinegar improves
palatability by neutralizing the bitterness, which is
particularly intense in the green tissue (see "chemical
considerations" below). Mature tissue from the base of a
column seems to have a sandy, crunchy texture, although
storage in a dark closet for some weeks may reduce this,
as well as possibly intensifying the alkaloidal content(one cactacean informs me that t. pachanoi moved into
the shade increases its alkaloidal content, although it
grows fastest in direct sun.) the bitterness compares to a
bitter espresso, but in volume can become daunting.
I've only had one mild episode of stomach cramping. as
noted an authority as shulgin says that that can almost be
counted upon even with pure synthesized mescaline. Idon't know if the mucilage actually soothes stomach
tissues, or if an inveterate espresso-drinker such as
myself has such a cast-iron stomach that mescaline can't
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get its attention, or if I just haven't yet eaten enough,
often enough. nor have I yet suffered emesis, although
sometimes those last few mouthfuls of bitter green tissue
or the last gulps of mucus tea will start my gorge rising.
Any kind of heating, as well as exposure to food acids,
starts the flow of mucilage. Some cacti species have
such pronounced mucilage that they are used to repair
pottery. dry-heat treatments such as pan-frying act
against this trend, but diced t. pachanoi salad stored in
the refrigerator can become quite slimy (although after
an hour or so, the volume of drawn juice reaches
equilibrium). Reconstituted dried cactus (as in "tea",
above) can become quite unpleasantly slimy.
I would discard the fibrous tissues, unless i was doing an
extraction. It's just too hard to make it seem like food.
The best-tasting recipes do taste better than simple raw
cactus, and also shrink the volume of cactus to be
consumed, but they don't taste a lot better.
Chemical Considerations
Presumably the addition of lime juice or vinegar
converts various free-base alkaloids into their respective
citrate or acetate. I don't know if this has any
implications for absorption. i would expect stomach acid
to convert free-base to the chloride, so except for any
alkaloids absorbed sub-lingually the body won't ever be
dealing with eaten cactus alkaloids as their free-base.
According to mcgee "On Food and Cooking", heat-
induced browning reactions in food occur from about
130C - 210C, so i'd expect the surface of frying (not
scorching) cactus would not exceed that, nor the moist
interior to exceed 100C. A kind respondent assures me
that mescaline has a boiling-point of 320C @ 1 atm, andthat offhand he sees no reason to think that it will
decompose before it boils (although he suggests that I
ask a Real Chemist (tm) to be sure. can any of you speak
to this?).
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It is not clear to me whether the break-down of cell walls
and other plant structures (and possibly break-down of
mucilage) in the process of cooking contribute to speed
and efficiency of mescaline absorption. I am assuming,
but do not know for a fact, that mescaline from well-
chewed raw cactus tissue in healthy stomach acid is
subject to an absorption practically as as complete and
fast as that from a boiled-down sludge or hot-water
extract.
Future Work
Two approaches for further exploration suggest
themselves. The first is to see if 30-60 minutes ofpressure-cooking will reduce raw cactus (perhaps with a
bit of lime-juice) to a porridge with a more-uniform
texture, possibly with reduced slime. Chilled, this might
work as a gazpacho, or hot, as a vegetable consume' or
chowder.
The second is to see if the mucilaginous quality can be
capitalized upon and exploited as a virtue. I look forwardto corresponding with any gumbo-cooks who might have
thoughts along these lines.
eric@d0ibm2.umd.edu () writes:
Here is a way to prepare the stuff that I have found
effective:
1.Take a length of cactus, six inches per person,
and carefully cut away the spine areoles.
2.Freeze the de-spined cactus. This helps breakdown cell walls to make extraction of the good
stuff easier.
3.Thaw it in a bowl or watertight container. Don't
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lose the goo that drips out!
4.Using a carrot peeler or a small knife, peel the
green skin off. Try to remove as little of the flesh
as possible.
5.Cut the peeled cactus into small chunks
6.Using a blender or a food processor, chop the
chunks into mush
7.Squeeze the mush through cheesecloth, to get
the liquid out, and discard the contents of the
cheesecloth.
8.Mix the goo from step 3 with the liquid from
step 7.
9.Add milk (about a pint per person) to the
mixture. Blend.
10.Serve.
11.Fasten your seatbelts, extinguish all smoking
materials, put your seat backs and tray tables in
their full upright and locked position, and enjoy
your flight.
San Pedro cactus tastes like the bitterest cucumber on
God's good green earth. It's difficult to get down -- but
once it's down, it stays down. One helpful variation is touse storebought eggnog rather than straight milk.
Another variation is to add a scoop or two of icecream
per person to the milk to make a mescaline milkshake.
-- Alan Bostick
abostick@netcom.com
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Here is a table of
some of the primary
citations on
Trichocereus
potency
species %age fresh %age dry citation
peyote ? 1 - 6% (rarely >1%) XXX
pachanoi 0.12% 2% CF
peruvianus 0.05%* 0.82% P&M
peruvianus >0.0005% >0.01%* Ag
pachanoi 0.02%* 0.331% C&M
pachanoi 0.02%* 0.357% T&H
pachanoi 0.006%* - 0.14%* 0.1 - 2.375% H&B
* estimated, calculated assuming constant 94% water in fresh material.provided simply for convenience in comparing different studies. most
give figures only based on dry material, while Ag gives only fresh.
As you can see, pachanoi varies by 20X. This is not likely to be
experimental error; H&B using consistent methodology came up with
figures that nicely bracket all other citations. The strongest pachanoi
measured is 3X the strongest peruvianus measured, and while it is less
than half the strength of the strongest peyote on record it is more than
twice the strength of peyote you are likely to get your hands on. The
strongest T. peruvianus reported is not quite as powerful as the "usual"peyote.
The "maximum safe dose" of mescaline, according to Ott, is 1000 mg.
Assume the worst (best) about your cactus, that it is H&B's 2.375%
(dry), the most powerful pachanoi known to science. You would
therefore not want to take more than 714 gms (fresh), or about 1 1/2
lbs. The threshold dose is about 150 mg, so you'd need at least 107 gms
(nearly 4 oz.) to get any effect in the best (worst) case. If you got the
wimpy stuff you will need to eat at least 2.5kg to get the least effect.
To get the maximum safe dose from the wimpy stuff you need to eat~17kg; probably about one-fifth your own body weight.
Q: I got the wimpy stuff, now what do I do?
A: Let the rest of it callous off, root it out, plant it, and join the rest of
us in discovering what this organism wants from life. It may or may
not be weak because of lack of genetic potential; nobody really knows.
This is not Safeway, this is a living organism we are approaching and
attempting to enlist. Negotiations may be in order. If nothing else, the
flowers are gorgeous. Join your local cactus society, or a net mailing-
list and expand your horizons.
I've yet to try the wimpy stuff, BTW, although as a plant-collector I
buy many more specimens than will ever make it into my kitchen;
there might be some wimpy ones in my back-yard unbeknownst to me.
But perhaps it is not very common; only representing very unhappy
plants that have been living in a shopping-mall or similar unnatural
locale. 400 gms of any I've tried seems like an "entheogenic all-day
lollipop" to me.
If I could get 1000 pachanoi branches blooming in my garden I'd be a
very happy gardener, regardless of their alkaloidal content.
Q: Maybe there's some super-secret powerful tricho that nobody talks
about.
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A: That would be Trichocereus bum-fumble you are referring to, but if
the alt.drug.elders discovered that you knew anything about its
existence they would send their hit squads by and...
Excuse me, there's someone pounding at the door
http://peyote.com/jonstef/peyote.htmhttp://peyote.com/jonstef/index.htm