Cactus Archives - Wife Of A Hunter https://wifeofahunter.com/tag/cactus/ Recipes for a Hunter's Wife Tue, 31 Aug 2021 18:53:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://wifeofahunter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Header-WOAH-150x150.png Cactus Archives - Wife Of A Hunter https://wifeofahunter.com/tag/cactus/ 32 32 191194188 Prickly Pear Jelly https://wifeofahunter.com/prickly-pear-jelly/ https://wifeofahunter.com/prickly-pear-jelly/#comments Sun, 29 Aug 2021 02:07:44 +0000 https://wifeofahunter.com/?p=1917 This Prickly Pear Jelly is next level superb. I have never eaten anything like this jelly. I honestly don’t even quite know how to describe it. I have tried explaining it to my coworkers and the best I have been able to say is it tastes like candy. It is similar to those unmarked red […]

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This Prickly Pear Jelly is next level superb.

I have never eaten anything like this jelly. I honestly don’t even quite know how to describe it. I have tried explaining it to my coworkers and the best I have been able to say is it tastes like candy. It is similar to those unmarked red lollipops that just taste like sugar and tartness.

This jelly is so unique and such a hit in this house that I have had to make two more trips around town scavenging for prickly pear tunas to make more jelly. I even plan on giving some out for Christmas. It is truly so good that I want to spread the joy of making it with others!

It is a fairly simple and straightforward recipe once you have your juice. If you have a canner, that is great, but you don’t need one as long as you have a pot big enough to boil your jars. The ingredient list is short. It does require a lot of sugar, but that is only to tone down some of the tart taste you get when using the juice by itself. This draws out the more fruity flavor and my oh my is it good! Enjoy!

Prickly Pear Jelly
Prickly Pear Jelly
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Prickly Pear Jelly

Delicious jelly with a unique flavor.
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Mexican, Southern
Keyword Cactus, Jelly, Prickly Pear
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 14 minutes
Resting Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 15 minutes
Servings 1 32 oz jars*
Author Sophie May

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2.5 C Prickly Pear Juice
  • 3.5 T lemon juice
  • 3.5 C sugar
  • 1 box pectin
  • water enough to boil mason jar**

Instructions

  • Bring juice to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan over high heat.
  • Once boiling, add pectin and stir quickly for 1 minute.
  • Turn off heat and add lemon juice and sugar. Mix well.
  • Return to a hard boil and stir for ~3 minutes or until the syrup becomes thick.
  • Remove from heat and skim off any foam that formed while boiling.
  • Once done, carefully fill a mason jar (I used a wide mouth funnel) and allow to cool. I let my jelly set up overnight.
  • Cover and refrigerate (lasts around 2 weeks).
  • If keeping in pantry:
  • Boil enough water to cover your mason jar and lid. This will sterilize it. When jam is ready to be removed from heat, carefully remove mason jar and lid.
  • Carefully pour jam into the mason jar (I used a wide mouth funnel).
  • Place lid on and turn over the jar. Leave upside down for 10 minutes.
  • This will seal the jam and allow you to store it in the pantry/counter/etc. I let my jelly set up overnight.
  • Refrigerate after opening. Enjoy!

Notes

*I triple this recipe when I make it. I also use smaller jars in order to get a more reasonable size when using.
**If you don’t plan on eating the jam immediately, this is for storing in the pantry.

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]]> https://wifeofahunter.com/prickly-pear-jelly/feed/ 11 1917 How to Pick and Prepare Prickly Pear Extract https://wifeofahunter.com/how-to-pick-and-prepare-prickly-pear-extract/ https://wifeofahunter.com/how-to-pick-and-prepare-prickly-pear-extract/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2021 01:54:52 +0000 https://wifeofahunter.com/?p=1852 This Prickly Pear Extract is the perfect base for several recipes I have coming! I had never heard of a Prickly Pear Tuna, let alone eating one. I had always seen the beautiful prickly pear cactuses growing on the side of the road growing up. The beautiful pink fruit with the blooming flowers. However, as […]

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This Prickly Pear Extract is the perfect base for several recipes I have coming!

I had never heard of a Prickly Pear Tuna, let alone eating one. I had always seen the beautiful prickly pear cactuses growing on the side of the road growing up. The beautiful pink fruit with the blooming flowers. However, as I started this page and researching food that grows in the wild, besides meat, prickly pear came up. The spikey plant can be used more than just for nopales, which is common to many restaurants around San Antonio.

Once I had learned about this deep pink fruit and when they become ripe, mid to late August, I was determined to find them and make recipes. I was surprised, upon starting my job at Vulcan, that our plant was covered in them. My husband and I spent a Saturday picking the tunas and filled 2 massive brown bags with them!

Picking Prickly Pear

Some helpful tips for picking this fruit are:

  • Gloves are so important. I cannot emphasize this enough. I thought I could do it without them… I was so wrong.
  • As much as this fruit may look like you can grab them… you cannot. They have tiny invisible thorns called glochids, that will wreck your day if you grab them. Tongs and gloves, my friend. Tongs and gloves.
  • Canvas or Brown Paper bag or bucket. You need a bag that the thorns will not go through, or your clothes and car will have an unwelcomed surprise in them.
  • When you grab them with the tongs, grab them and twist. The riper they are, the easier they are to remove.

You can remove the thorns by burning them off with a flame. I did this the first time and found that the boiling process removes them along with straining the juice twice. Why waste time?

This recipe is a bit in depth, but it is worth it. I can’t wait for y’all to see my other recipes that utilize the juice! Enjoy!

Prickly Pear Extract
Prickly Pear Extract
Print

Prickly Pear Extract

The base extract from a prickly pear that I use to turn into jelly and put into lemonade!
Course Precursor
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Extract, Prickly Pear
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 5 32 oz jars
Author Sophie May

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 5.5 lbs prickly pear fruit
  • water enough to cover fruit in pot

Instructions

  • Clean your prickly pear off under running water. Don't touch them unless you've burned off the glochids.
  • Put the cleaned off prickly pear into a pot and fill it with water until it barely covers the top of the fruit.
  • Bring the pot to a boil.
  • Let the fruit boil until the fruit has lost its color, slightly mashing the fruit. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and 30 minutes. The remaining water should be a deep reddish orange purple. I test this using a white cup.
  • Remove any scum that comes to the top as you boil.
  • Remove the fruit from the pot and throw away.
  • If you want to maximize your extract amount you can squeeze the fruit to get every last ounce out. I use a potato masher to do this in a separate bowl and then drain the extra liquid back into the pot.
  • After the fruit has been removed, strain your extract twice. Strain it the first time through a strainer to remove any seeds and remaining glochid.
  • Strain a second time with a cotton cloth or a cheese cloth over your strainer. This should get all remaining impurities out of your extract.
  • Put your extract in a refrigerator safe bowl or jar or can the extract and store it in your pantry for future use.
  • This is the basic extract I used to make my jelly and lemonade recipes.

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