el gringo loco said:

hi,i'm boiling 20 g of dried peruvian torch,blended it,etc...now a bitter thin liquid,boiled for 1 hour,,is this enough prep...or do i need more boiling?

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solstice said:

el gringo loco said:

hi,i'm boiling 20 g of dried peruvian torch,blended it,etc...now a bitter thin liquid,boiled for 1 hour,,is this enough prep...or do i need more boiling?

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I would boil it some more since 20g of cactus material is not that much. More boiling equals more strenght to the brew.

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toys in the attic said:

Don't put it in your yogurt.

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Shad0w said:

You dried fresh cactus?

Next time.... keep it fresh, Supposedly, if you leave your cuttings in a dark cool place for a month or two, alkaloid content goes up.

And when ready to cook it up, use basically the same directions you just used, however, I would suggest either freezing the chopped chunks of cactus, or purreeing it in a blender, then adding some lemon juice, like about 1/4th the amount of water you used. like 1 quart if you have 4 quarts of water. a big bottle of generic only costs like .99.

And then, let the product cool, you will notice a seperation of layers. Once it is cooled over night, gently pour off the clear top layer, and leave the gunk in the pan, add more water to the gunk, give it a cooking for 10-15 mins, turn it off, let seperate, while at this same time put the clear liquid on to evaporate over low heat.... once speration of the cactus water is complete from the 2nd wash...... add to clear layer that is being evaporated on low heat.

Reduce this to a "consumable" amount, where it isnt TOO slimy and chunky, but is also a smallish amount to drink.



BONUS TIP : When heating the 1st and main stew, DO NOT SCORCH. Initially, a low boil is ok becuz of the water content of the pot, but as the mixture thickens, you may need to reduce heat or add water. DO NOT LET IT come to a rolling boil while the liquid is thick like applesauce. More water should have been added , or should be SOON.

Honestly, I havent noticed much if any difference between cooking for 1 hour or 4. with cooking only an hour or maybe 2, i can get a 2nd run on the pulp in the same amount of time as one cook and a strain.

While reducing the second emulsion skim off any layers of scorched cactus spunk that are floating, dont drink those. <-- this is why you avoid cooking at toooooo high of a temp.

EDIT : Purpose of this recipe, Reduced cooking time, elimination of messy and less effective filters, and ultimatly more smooth and refreshing final product(lemon juice, yum!)  that seems potently equitable to any other tea recipe I have tried.

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