Beachcombers Prickly Pear Jelly Food

PRICKLY PEAR JELLY

Steps:

• Simmer 3 pint-size jars in a large pot of water until ready for use. Wash lids and rings in warm soapy water.
• Slice ends off each prickly pear. Make 1 long vertical slit down each one. Use the slit to hold the skin and peel off. Discard peel.
• Place peeled pears in a blender; puree in batches until liquefied. Press puree through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Discard pulp and seeds.
• Measure out 3 cups prickly pear juice, lemon juice, and pectin into a large pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add sugar and return to a boil, stirring constantly. Let cook, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Pour prickly pear mixture into hot jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the top. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids and screw on rings.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil and lower jars 2 inches apart into the boiling water using a holder. Pour in more boiling water if necessary to bring the water level to at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a rolling boil, cover the stockpot, and process for 15 minutes.
• Remove the jars from the pot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, and let cool, at least 24 hours.

BEACHCOMBER'S PRICKLY PEAR JELLY

Steps:

• Harvest tunas (prickly pear fruits) wearing thick gloves. A 2 quart colander full to top should yield about 8 cups juice. Be sure to include a few that still are a wee bit green if possible. Do NOT handle these with bare hands (you will be sorry because they are deceptive- she writes while gnawing at her right thumb pad - LOL).
• Rinse the fruits in a colander (we have a lot of salt spray here). Then put them in a large nonreactive kettle with the 2 cups of water. Cover & bring to rapid simmer. Simmer until fruit soft - about 30 minutes.
• Ladle now mushy fruits into blender & blend with enough water to make thick slurry. Ok to do this after fruits cool if this recipe has been too high risk up to this point. Otherwise blend when hot but be sure to hold down blender lid with a thick cloth between it & your hand because boiling brilliant magenta juice with tiny tiny spines REALLY hurts! (Clorox cleanup gets it off countertops & walls).
• Pour blended fruits back into pan with residual water & stir.
• Drape 4 layers of cheesecloth in colander (which should sit in another pot or bowl) & dampen.
• Pour or ladle then pour the brilliant magenta fruit slurry into the cheesecloth & gather the edges to twist and squeeze the juice out (need to wait a bit if the mush inside is still hot). Your hands will be stained brilliant magenta if you opt not to wear gloves but the cheesecloth effectively sieves out any little spines.
• Rinse out the initial kettle (use those gloves just to be safe) and pour the strained juice back into it. Add lemon juice. Heat to boil & add the 2 packets of powdered pectin. Bring to a hard boil for 1-2 minutes.
• Add 7 cups of sugar, blend well & bring to a hard boil for 2 minutes.
• Ladle into sterilized 1 cup jars, lid & process in covered hot water bath for 20 minutes. Leave 1/2 inch headroom when filling jars & be sure to have jars in hot water bath covered by at least 2 inches of water.
• Remove from bath & place on flat towel on counter. Jars should "pop" within 5 minutes. ENJOY!

PRICKLY PEAR SYRUP

Steps:

• Put prickly pears in a bowl or dishpan full of water. Holding each one with tongs, scrub with a vegetable brush to remove dust and some of the stickers (the rest will come out later when you strain the juice).
• Transfer 5 at a time to a blender jar and process until liquid. Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and strain juice into a medium saucepan. You should have about 1 cup.
• Add lemon juice and sugar, and slowly bring to a simmer. Cook until syrup begins to thicken. If you want a thicker syrup, stir in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water and cook to thicken.
• Stir with wire whisk if necessary to smooth consistency.
• For diabetics: Use an amount of your favorite non-nutritive sweetener equivalent to 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Since sugar causes thickening, you'll have to compensate by using a little more cornstarch, or use another thickener such as guar gum or xanthan gum.

CAMOMILE PEAR JELLY

Steps:

• COMBINE tea, pear nectar, lemon juice, and sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.
• IMMEDIATELY stir in liquid pectin, return to full bioul. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off any froth.
• POUR quickly into warm, sterilized jars, filling up to 1/4" from rim. Seal while hot with sterilized 2-piece lids with new centrers. Let stand at room temperature until set.

TUNA ( PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS FRUIT ) JELLY

Steps:

• Pluck the fruit from the cactus with a long handled fork or tongs.
• Put on rubber gloves to protect your hands: wash fruit under running water, then use a brush to clean (spines left on the fruit will soften during the cooking process and should come off after the fruit is strained).
• Place in stockpot with about a cup of water.
• Stir until boiling, cover pan and simmer until tender and soft.
• Mash cooked fruit and strain using cheesecloth, a jelly bag or a fine sieve; set aside for juice to settle (for very clear jelly, do not use the portion containing sediment).
• Measure sugar into a separate pan.
• Bring juice and pectin just to boil, stirring constantly, and begin to add sugar slowly with constant stirring, taking about 5 minutes to add sugar, and keeping juice nearly at a boil.
• Then bring to a rolling boil and boil for three minutes longer.
• Remove from heat, let stand a few seconds, skim, pour quickly into jars and seal while hot.
• Process for ten minutes in a boiling water bath.