Recipe Archives->Preserving->Prickly Pear Jelly

Prickly Pear Jelly
                                                                                
2 1/2 cups prickly pear cactus juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
5 cups sugar
1 box powdered pectin (18 teaspoons)

Pick fruit in fall when red and purple in color. Use metal tongs.
Put into sink of water. Stir to rinse. Pick up with tongs. Cut fruit
in quarters on cutting board with several layers of paper. You can
also burn off the spines by holding the fruit over a burner on the
stove for a few seconds.

Place fruit in large kettle and add water to the top of the fruit.
Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Gently press with a potato
masher. The fruit should be soft enough to mash without much pressure.
If not, boil a few more mintues. Strain the juice and water through
a colander with two layers of cheesecloth to remove the seeds and
pulp.  Do not press the fruit because that will release small
particles aimto your jelly and it will not be clear.

It takes about 14 to 16 fruits to make 2 1/2 cups of juice. We've
found that 2 1/2 pounds of fruit will yield a little over 2 1/2
cups of juice using the method above.

Hard boil cactus fruit juice, pectin and lemon juice for 3 minutes.
Hard boil means the point at which the brew still bubbles even when
you stir it. Add sugar and bring back to a hard boil for 2 minutes
or until the jell point is reached. Put in 8 once canning jars,
seal and heat process for 10 minutes.

Printable version: prickly-pear-jelly.txt.