The Mighty Nopal Cactus
Two students from the Mexican university UNAM have won a prize for making a bioplastic straw from mango and the baba (for non-Mexicans this is a type of “slime” similar to that produced when cooking okra) of the nopal cactus. (1) https://news.culturacolectiva.com/mexico/alumnas-de-la-unam-crean-popote-con-cascara-de-mango-y-baba-de-nopal/?fbclid=IwAR3zHp6JCJc25t6Cyvzte_CmBH3058D6BAAIioZ-IpT5pYQsKD0BTOySDyk This cactus is amazing. Apart from being a potential foodstuff of the future it is also capable of producing a non-toxic biodegradable plastic … Continue reading The Mighty Nopal Cactus
The Journey Begins
“The grocer, not the conquistador, is the real Spanish father of Mexican society” (Pilcher, 1998) The food culture of México has been poorly represented. We take ingredients such as corn, tomatoes, avocados and chocolate (and a hundred other things) for granted. Not a lot of thought goes into how far these plants have travelled nor the impact they have had on the culture of the … Continue reading The Journey Begins
Masa Americana 