Cactus jelly?!
anybody have a recipe!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
Prickly pears
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
6 ounces liquid fruit pectin***
Boiling water
Cheesecloth
1!. Place prickly pears in a large saucepan or kettle!. Cover prickly pears with boiling water, allow to stand for 2-3 minutes, and pour off water!. (This aids in softening stickers of prickly pears!.)
2!. Peel prickly pears, cut into pieces, and place in a medium-sized saucepan!. Cover prickly pears with water and boil at high heat for 5 minutes!.
3!. Pour boiled mixture through cheesecloth!. Drain as much juice as possible and discard seeds!.
4!. Measure juice!. Combine 3 cups of cactus juice, sugar, and lemon juice in a large saucepan or kettle!.
5!. Bring mixture to a rolling boil!. Reduce heat to medium-high, add liquid pectin, and cook mixture for 8-12 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken!. Skim off any foam that may have formed!.
6!. Pour mixture into hot, sterilized, half-pint canning jars and seal according to manufacturer's directions!.
7!. Process jars immersed in a Boiling Water Bath for five minutes to seal the lids!. Test seal when cooled!.****Www@FoodAQ@Com
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
6 ounces liquid fruit pectin***
Boiling water
Cheesecloth
1!. Place prickly pears in a large saucepan or kettle!. Cover prickly pears with boiling water, allow to stand for 2-3 minutes, and pour off water!. (This aids in softening stickers of prickly pears!.)
2!. Peel prickly pears, cut into pieces, and place in a medium-sized saucepan!. Cover prickly pears with water and boil at high heat for 5 minutes!.
3!. Pour boiled mixture through cheesecloth!. Drain as much juice as possible and discard seeds!.
4!. Measure juice!. Combine 3 cups of cactus juice, sugar, and lemon juice in a large saucepan or kettle!.
5!. Bring mixture to a rolling boil!. Reduce heat to medium-high, add liquid pectin, and cook mixture for 8-12 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken!. Skim off any foam that may have formed!.
6!. Pour mixture into hot, sterilized, half-pint canning jars and seal according to manufacturer's directions!.
7!. Process jars immersed in a Boiling Water Bath for five minutes to seal the lids!. Test seal when cooled!.****Www@FoodAQ@Com
I've been making prickly-pear jelly for many years!. You can also make jelly from other cacti, but prickly-pear is what's easy for me to harvest near my home!.
I usually gather a bucket of fruit, make juice, and freeze it!. I can make the jelly, or cactus punch, or prickly-pear margarita's whenever the mood strikes me!.
Gather the fruit:
You'll need a bucket and tongs!. Barbecue tongs are perfect because they have very long handles!. (You'll still probably get a splinter or two)!. Get ripe fruit but not over-ripe!. The ripe ones will come off the pads easily with a good pair of tongs!. Over ripe fruit are fine if you are just making juice or punch but they don't have enough pectin for jelly!.
Make the Juice:
Dump fruit into the kitchen sink and rinse it well!. Remember use you tongs to move the fruit!. Not your fingers!.
There is no need to peel, slice, burn off the tines etc!.
Just put the tunas (cactus pears) into a large pan or kettle!. Add enough water to cover about three fourths of the fruit!. Bring to a boil!. Check the fruit every few minutes!. As it gets tender use a potato masher to crush it!. Let it cook until it's really tender!. This takes 20 to 30 minutes!. DO NOT TASTE!
REMEMBER!.!.!.THE STICKERS ARE STILL IN YOUR POT!.
When the fruit is tender, Make a strainer!. Put a double thickness of Clean T-shirt fabric into a colander!. Set this over a large pot and pour your juice through it!. (My husband wears out at least one shirt a year!. I wash it, bleach it and save it for cactus juice season!.) Use a large spoon or the potato masher to squeeze out as much juice as you can!. Throw away the shirt and the fruit pulp!. Let the strained juice cool!. Put it in freezer containers and freeze!.
Make the jelly
Cactus Jelly Recipe:
2 1/2 cups prickly pear juice
1 3/4 ounce package powdered pectin (Sure-jel)
3 T!. lemon or lime juice
3 1/2 cups sugar!.
Put the juice in a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients!. Bring to a boil stirring constantly!. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for three minutes!. Remove from the heat, skim, and pour into sterile jelly jars!. Seal!.
Note* If your jelly doesn't gel!. It usually means that your fruit didn't have enough natural pectin!. All is not lost!. Just re-heat and boil your "failed" jelly with another package of powdered pectin!. It should do just fine!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I usually gather a bucket of fruit, make juice, and freeze it!. I can make the jelly, or cactus punch, or prickly-pear margarita's whenever the mood strikes me!.
Gather the fruit:
You'll need a bucket and tongs!. Barbecue tongs are perfect because they have very long handles!. (You'll still probably get a splinter or two)!. Get ripe fruit but not over-ripe!. The ripe ones will come off the pads easily with a good pair of tongs!. Over ripe fruit are fine if you are just making juice or punch but they don't have enough pectin for jelly!.
Make the Juice:
Dump fruit into the kitchen sink and rinse it well!. Remember use you tongs to move the fruit!. Not your fingers!.
There is no need to peel, slice, burn off the tines etc!.
Just put the tunas (cactus pears) into a large pan or kettle!. Add enough water to cover about three fourths of the fruit!. Bring to a boil!. Check the fruit every few minutes!. As it gets tender use a potato masher to crush it!. Let it cook until it's really tender!. This takes 20 to 30 minutes!. DO NOT TASTE!
REMEMBER!.!.!.THE STICKERS ARE STILL IN YOUR POT!.
When the fruit is tender, Make a strainer!. Put a double thickness of Clean T-shirt fabric into a colander!. Set this over a large pot and pour your juice through it!. (My husband wears out at least one shirt a year!. I wash it, bleach it and save it for cactus juice season!.) Use a large spoon or the potato masher to squeeze out as much juice as you can!. Throw away the shirt and the fruit pulp!. Let the strained juice cool!. Put it in freezer containers and freeze!.
Make the jelly
Cactus Jelly Recipe:
2 1/2 cups prickly pear juice
1 3/4 ounce package powdered pectin (Sure-jel)
3 T!. lemon or lime juice
3 1/2 cups sugar!.
Put the juice in a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients!. Bring to a boil stirring constantly!. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for three minutes!. Remove from the heat, skim, and pour into sterile jelly jars!. Seal!.
Note* If your jelly doesn't gel!. It usually means that your fruit didn't have enough natural pectin!. All is not lost!. Just re-heat and boil your "failed" jelly with another package of powdered pectin!. It should do just fine!.Www@FoodAQ@Com