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Prickly Pear Jelly

Thursday, August 11, 2011
Ok, Rebekkah, this is for you J


  I made this tutorial in 2009 and apparently I didn’t post it on the blog... uh yeah..  who knows why.  I did it a week before teaching the young women how to do it at an activity.  In the pictures Matthew is his cute 4-yr-old self. awww.  cute.  Anyway, I’m posting it now because:

ItS tImE tO pIcK yOuR pRiCkLy PeArS! 
This week, people!  If you don’t have access to one, just drive out to ASU East- we have the most productive prickly pear cacti I’ve ever seen right by the VA Hospital.
Things you’ll need:
Tongs
Rubber Gloves- BTW you'll get pokies EVERYWHERE.
Bucket
A hat. cause it’s hot out there.
Pick Prickly Pear Fruits in late July or Early August when very ripe.  Pick them with tongs and they should almost lift off the plant without effort.  If they are hard to remove, they are not ready so don't force it (first hose down cactus fruits if the plant is in your yard, if not, swish with water after fruits are picked).  Easy Peasy!  Don't be afraid, my 4yr old did it! Just pinch and twist.



 however, I don't think any of us will look as cute as this when we're picking them .... it's not possible to attain this level of cute past kindergarten!


Here they are in the bucket all yucky and dirty- wash them off- I used a potato scrubber. 

 Here they are all washed and ready to cook

Barely cover clean fruits with water in large kettle and simmer with lid on until very soft. 

 Mash with Potato Masher.  This will look really weird and the little brownish greenish slimey seeds will emerge.  I love nature. 

Do not strain.  Now cover a deep bowl or pot with a pillowcase and pull tight and bind the case with a rubberband.  This is your seive. 

Sieve through clean cloth. Do not squeeze fabric or try to mush fruit while on the cloth as this could move pricklies through the cloth and into your juice. Just pour the mush on top and let it sit for 15-20 minutes or so so that all the juice can work it's way through on it's own.  Patience is, in fact, a virtue.
 Rinse remains down the disposal then wash fabric in washer.
Now you have your Prickly Pear Juice! Kudos!
(note: For a stronger flavor you can reduce your juice by
boiling it down to your desired strength.  This concentration works fine, though)
Here is the Recipe for the Jelly:

CACTUS JELLY (that's what my mom calls it)
Stir in tall kettle:
3 ½ cups cactus juice
½ cup lemon juice
1 pkg pectin 
Bring to boil and add:
5 cups sugar

Return to boil.  Let boil 3 minutes.  Skim off bubbles, if necessary.  Pour into hot pint jars. Seal with lids and rings.  Let cool.  Jars should seal (pop) as temperature lowers.

Wah-LA!

 One more note: you will be finding pricklies in your kitchen for the next week no matter how many times you mop. YE BE WARNED

3 comments:

Brenden+Nikki at: August 11, 2011 at 12:46 PM said...

Aw and this was back when Collin was a tiny newborn, which is why I missed this mutual night. *sniff sniff* good memories. I'm gonna have to try this recipe when I don't have a crawler in the house.

Clarissa B. at: August 15, 2011 at 9:47 PM said...

Just made this tonight! Can't wait to try it in the morning! Thanks for the recipe! And ps, what did you mean by having lot of pricklies in your kitchen? like your sink and stuff? At first I thought you meant your floor because they would fly out when boiling or something. But luckly I don't have on my floor. I also only did about 10 pears.. so that probably makes a big difference.

But I am surprised how many I have in my fingers! Probably cause I didn't wear rubber gloves for the first half like you said cause I didn't think I needed them.. lol boy was I wrong!

Clarissa B. at: August 22, 2011 at 12:07 AM said...

update: the jelly is soo yummy. i did 1/2 recipe and boiled down my juice before making the jelly so its strong and super sweet. i think next time i wont use so much sugar.

also i just realized that you jar says 8/09. i thought it said blog. LOL wow. I am so dumb!

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