drnocturne
Rising Star
doubledog said:Great post, drnocturne, lot of useful insights.
But you mentioned that cactus mucilage has bitter taste. I think that this is not correct as mucilage separated from the cactus brew is not bitter.
Actually, it has no strong taste.
Hi,
I'm not sure what you mean by "mucilage separated from the cactus brew".
Mucilage is a thick slime that does not easily separate. In its raw form it's impossible to filter it out because it is a gel.
Mucilage is composed of pectin which is made up of long-chain polysaccharides. In the case of pectin this is a backbone of galacturonic acid with sidechains of various neutral sugars mainly D-galactose, L-arabinose and D-xylose. When pectin is heated in water, hydrolysis occurs to effect the separation of the larger polysaccharide molecule into these component parts.
That's why pressure cooking, or heating a brew for long periods breaks down the mucilage and allows the brew to become thin enough to filter out the remaining solids. The mucilage breaks down chemically to its individual component molecules and the bitter components end up in the water. After extraction with water, any remaining solids (mainly cellulose) are no longer bitter and they are thrown away.
Mucilage is just one component that contribute to bitterness along with tannins, polyphenols, flavonoids, isoflavones, and glucosinolates.
Perhaps you are confusing mucilage, the slimy gel fraction of the cactus flesh with cellulose, the insoluble cell wall solids that remain after brewing. But anyway in this context we are talking about licking the raw cactus. We are not discussing what happens in a brew.