Carne deshebrada estilo ranchero con papas y nopales

What does “cortar la baba” mean in Spanish?

When the cook adds nopales (cactus paddles) to her shredded beef, she says some tomatillo skins “ayudan mucho a cortar la baba.” Nopales release a sticky, slippery juice as they cook, and “la baba” is that slime. “Cortar” here doesn’t mean to slice — it means to break down or get rid of it. So the tomatillo skins help cut that sliminess, leaving the cactus clean and not gooey in the finished dish.

She says: “unos nopales que ya cocí... con unas cáscaras de tomate verde que ayudan mucho a cortar la baba” — some cactus paddles I cooked with tomatillo skins that really help cut the slime. “Baba” is the everyday word for slime, drool, or sticky juice. “Cortar” usually means to cut, but in cooking it often means to break down or stop something: - “Los nopales sueltan mucha baba.” — Cactus paddles let out a lot of slimy juice. - “El limón ayuda a cortar la grasa.” — Lemon helps cut the grease. - “Se cortó la leche.” — The milk curdled (it “broke”). So “cortar la baba” is a handy kitchen phrase: get rid of that sticky, slippery liquid.