Despite protected status in Mexico cactus continues to be harvested

Some things are too good to say no to even if they are illegal.

Such is the case with acitrón.

Chiles en nogada is a traditional Mexican dish made with acitrón, which comes from a cactus that is endangered in Mexico. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Even though the sale of this confection has been banned in Mexico for 20 years, it is still available at some markets. Restaurants also use it in dishes like chiles en nogada and Rosca de Reyes, or Three Kings Cake.

It is made from the pulp of biznaga, which is the largest species of barrel cactus.

The government forbid acitrón to be sold because overcultivation of the cactus has put it on the verge of extinction.

Officials say it is not a plant that can be grown for mass consumption like blue agave is for tequila. This means biznaga cactus are harvested in the wild. But there are only so many of them; and fewer each day as they continue to be taken illegally.

The plant is native to central Mexico, found mostly in the Chihuahuan Desert. They can take 14 to 40 years to grow.

A November 2022 report from the Center for Biological Diversity titled Merciless Markets: How Wildlife Trafficking Threatens Mexico’s Biodiversity cites Mexico City as the “epicenter” for trafficking of illegal animals and plants in the country.

“It is where most of the direct marketing of plants and animals taken from the wild is carried out, reaching warehouses and homes …,” the report states. “Plants abound, including large elephant feet palm, peyotes, barrel cactus or biznagas and all kinds of cacti, as well as orchids still attached to the trunk or bark of the tree.”

People have been harvesting biznagas for food for thousands of years, though it was the Spanish who brought sugar to Mexico that made the concoction sweet. Prior to that it was still a food source, but also used as medicine.

“Acitróns are obtained by extracting the pith from the cactus and then putting it through a crystallizing process, which produces a sweet yellow or translucent cream, with a smooth texture on the inside and a firm layer on the outside. Once the process is complete, the acitrón has a sugar content of 70 to 75 percent,” according to Wikipedia.

Purists will say chiles en nogada must be made with acitrón. Though, there are recipes that use candied pineapple as a substitute as well as candied chilacayote, a type of squash

This dish is often served in homes and restaurants to commemorate Mexican Independence Day in September. It’s also found on menus during the winter holidays. The green chiles, white walnut sauce, and garnish of red pomegranate seeds represent the colors of the Mexican flag.

Note: A version of this story was first written for the Gringo Gazette.