Makin' prickly pear jelly

[Walt lister]

Should be a good crop of cactus fruit soon so it's time to start thinking about jelly.

Pick VEWWY CAWEFULLY

9/10 lbs of fruit

Wash

Add some water and boil 'till very soft then mash the hell out of 'em

Separate juice from husks and seeds

Strain through cheesecloth several times

Filter through paper coffee filters---very slow process

I use Sure Jell low sugar pectin, 4 1/2 cups sugar to 8 cups of juice. I generally follow the grape jelly recepie provided except I use 50% more pectin to get a firm set

Cook to jelly temp and quickly fill and seal hot jars

A true gift of the desert. Makes great Christmas presents. If you live in cactus country and haven't taken advantage of this you don't know what you are missing

 

[Tom]

Wow, a short course in jelly making from the outdoors! Awesome, its ripe where I'm at for my lease. The persimmons are on the way too, got any ideas there?

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/fruits-and-vegetables/fruits/persimmons/top.aspx

 

[Walt lister]

Wow, a short course in jelly making from the outdoors! Awesome, its ripe where I'm at for my lease. The persimmons are on the way too, got any ideas there?

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/fruits-and-vegetables/fruits/persimmons/top.aspx

My mother used to make a steamed persimmon pudding that was similar to gingerbread but the recepie is long lost. Trying to make persimmon jelly the same way might be worth a try.

 

[mdunc8]

Nice! I was actually getting ready to start a thread about prickly pears myself. Has anyone ever tried making prickly pear mead (a honey based wine)? I made some huckleberry mead last year, which turned out great. I also tried dandelion this spring, which I ended up dumping down the sink last night. It had only been going for a few months, but it tasted and smelled like poo.

 

[----]

That's pretty cool.
Can anyone give me some idea of what they taste like?
Similar to any other berry or fruit?

 

[Walt lister]

That's pretty cool.
Can anyone give me some idea of what they taste like?
Similar to any other berry or fruit?

Reminds me a little of plum or pomegranite but varies with species of cactus, how ripe, etc. It's good. The pure juice before the sugar is added and before it's boiled down has a very mild flavor and not very sweet.

 

[Walt lister]

Nice! I was actually getting ready to start a thread about prickly pears myself. Has anyone ever tried making prickly pear mead (a honey based wine)? I made some huckleberry mead last year, which turned out great. I also tried dandelion this spring, which I ended up dumping down the sink last night. It had only been going for a few months, but it tasted and smelled like poo.

I've been tempted to try to make prickly pear wine but haven't yet. If someone has I'd like to know.

 

[idnative1948]

Nice! I was actually getting ready to start a thread about prickly pears myself. Has anyone ever tried making prickly pear mead (a honey based wine)? I made some huckleberry mead last year, which turned out great. I also tried dandelion this spring, which I ended up dumping down the sink last night. It had only been going for a few months, but it tasted and smelled like poo.

My wife is too stingy with her huckleberries to do that. Now huckleberry infused vodka.... that is another story.

 

[AZ402]

That's pretty cool, did Dinkshooter give you your prickly pear fruit carrying bucket?

 

[Walt lister]

That's pretty cool, did Dinkshooter give you your prickly pear fruit carrying bucket?

No, but my cat did let me borrow it. Ya gotta be tough to live out west.

 

[schmalts]

gotta love foraging!

 

[Dinkshooter]

the letters p.r.i.c.k. in a post and out comes AZ's curiosity..................................hmmm must have used a search engine!!!

Seriously what does that jelly taste like?

 

[Dinkshooter]

Never mind actually just read the post.

 

[sweetnectar]

Are there any known side benefits to this jelly as well?..steadys your aim, impoves your hearing, clots the blood, cleans the colon out, relieves cronic pain, cures cancer. etc?

 

[schmalts]

would you be willing to trade a QT for a qt of maple syrup?

 

[mdunc8]

If he doesn't, I will.