squash casserole that is creamy and soft.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 day |
| Total Time: | 1 day 1 hr |
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 3 pints, or 6 half-pints |
Ingredients
- 27 prickly pears (cactus fruit)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 (1.75 ounce) package fruit pectin (such as Sure-Jell®)
- 4 ½ cups white sugar
Instructions
- Simmer 3 pint-size jars in a large pot of water until jelly is ready. Wash the lids and rings in warm, soapy water.
- Slice ends off each prickly pear. Make 1 long vertical slit down each one. Use slit to hold skin and peel off. Discard peel.
- Place peeled pears in a blender; purée in batches until liquefied. Press puréed mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Discard pulp and seeds.
- Measure out 3 cups prickly pear juice and pour into a large pot. Add lemon juice and pectin; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add sugar and return to a boil, stirring constantly. Let cook at a boil until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Pour prickly pear jelly into the hot, sterilized jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a clean knife or thin spatula around the insides of the jars to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with the lids and screw on the rings.
- Place a rack in the bottom of a stockpot and fill halfway with water; bring to a boil. Lower jars 2 inches apart into boiling water using a holder. Pour in more boiling water to cover jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil, cover the stockpot, and process for 15 minutes.
- Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface several inches apart. Let cool for at least 24 hours. Press the center of each lid with a finger to ensure the lid does not move up or down. Remove the rings for storage and store in a cool, dark area.
Reviews
Worked out GREAT! Sometimes prickly pears don’t set too well. This recipe was a first-time success. I used rice vinegar instead of lemon juice, and I boiled the pears to create the juice, then strained it. The rest of the recipe I used without change. Worked like a charm!
Followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfect. Didn’t have to change a thing. I’d love to give it a little kick. Maybe add a little bit of cinnamon.
This was my first time ever making jelly or jam and my first time canning anything and I’m s pleased with how it turned out! I had to half the recipe Because I didn’t have enough prickly pears on my cactus for three cups of juice I also added a pinch of salt at a friend’s suggestion. The jelly set up wonderfully and is delicious! This recipe was super easy to follow and the hardest part was processing the prickly pears themselves.
First time ever making jams or jelly. Picked our prickly pears and followed the recipe instructions from processing. Ended up with enough juice for three batches so that’s what we made. Follows the recipe exactly except we used four packages of sure-jel instead of three. Ended up with 9 pints and it turned out perfect! Beautiful dark burgundy color and great flavor! Will be giving some as gifts with the treat baskets we send to the neighbors.
Good recipe, but DO NOT BOIL THE PECTIN!!! You’ll destroy it and the jelly won’t gel. I made this once, casually following the recipe and it came out great. I made it again following the recipe to the letter and it will not gel. ***DO NOT BOIL THE PECTIN!***
I made the recipe and it didn’t set. It is syrup.
I had never made jelly but a friend had given us a jar hiis mother made and my grandson loved it. Looking at all my beautiful prickly pears I decided to try I tripled the recipe and it turned out like a pro. The only thing I did different my blender was broken and I had not replaced it yet so I chunked up the pears and cooked it down using a sieve I separated the pulp and it worked great. It is a lot of work getting the fruit ready but the rest is easy I got the juice ready one day put it in the fridge and cooked the jelly the next day.
Easy to make. I uses old Sure jell…lol…I will either have firm jelly or I will use the Prickly Pear Cactus Syrup…lol in some drink recipes.
Great, easy to use recipe!
Made as written, came out well.
In place of a blender (which is major overkill for macerating tunas!) I use a manual food mill. After gently scrubbing off the hair-like glochids on the fruit’s surface I remove the outerskin as suggested, place the fruit with seeds in the food mill and voilá, seed-free juice ready for use! This batch is going to make tuna gelato.
I made one batch following the recipe exactly and ended up with syrup. The next three batches, I doubled the amount of pectin and they all came out beautifully.
Made prickly pear/jalapeño used four cups sugar two oz of pectin first time yummy thanks
Cactus handling tips: pick your prickly pears with all metal tongs and place in a metal bowl (cactus spines stick in plastic and silicone). Burn off the spines before handling the fruit. I used the metal tongs and my gas range burner. The spines will flame slightly, smolder, then leave a soot mark on the fruit. This makes them easy to peel, too, as the flame has a blanching-type effect. I ended up with 5 1/2 cups of strained prickly pear juice/puree, so I expanded the recipe accordingly (8 1/4 cups sugar, 3 2/3 oz lemon juice). I also used Pomona’s universal pectin so my technique was slightly different with cooking – I added the Pomona’s calcium water to the juices (5 1/2 teaspoons). Then I added only 2 cups of sugar mixed with the Pomona’s pectin (5 1/2 teaspoons) until it was dissolved, then added the rest of the sugar. This started to set up before I even got it into my canning jars, so I was sure I ruined it. I was wrong! It set up beautifully and spreads like a dream. It tastes amazing. If I had to do it all over I’d add a wee bit more lemon juice; our prickly pears were super ripe.
I think that I have prickly pear jam, and not jelly, as there is some pulpy stuff that floated to the top of the jar! That being said, this recipe was pretty easy. I added a bit less sugar, and boiled it for about 5 minutes, then processed for about 30 minutes. (I live at 6500 ft, so made altitude adjustments) I used the jar of pectin (about 2 packages ) for 6 cups of prickly pear juice. It seems to have set up well, and it sure tasted yummy when I licked the scraper. I got 12 half pint jars from 6 cups of juice and 8 cups of sugar. Super fun gift from the cactus in my neighborhood. 🙂
I made this jelly twice the first batch was with orange and red prickly pear. The orange variety set up nicely the red remained liquid so it would make a nice beverage syrup or syrup for pancakes or waffles, very tasty. the second batch I just made using the red fruit, I used a pectin and calcium mix and it really thickened up so I expect once it is out of the canner it should jell nicely.
Based on the other reviewer’s remarks, I was concerned that this wouldn’t set, so I looked at some other recipes on-line and sort of merged them with this. Here’s what I did: All the fruit from my 2 cacti. I have no idea how many. Cut them in half lengthwise. Did NOT skin them. Put them in a pot with an inch of water in the bottom and boiled and smashed them for 30 minutes. Strained the juice using my nut bag. Don’t worry. The prickles seem to boil down with the juice. Ended up with about 6 cups juice. Added juice from one lemon to the cooled prickly pear juice. Added 2 boxes pectin. Brought to hard boil. Added 8 cups sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon (Why not? I like cinnamon) and brought back to a boil x 1 min. Canned with 1/8 inch head space. No problems setting for me, but my photo is the lighter colored jelly. Your fruit will have more natural pectin when it is barely ripe. Mine probably technically should have stayed on the plant longer. But – The 10 y/o has tasted and approves and it set well, so no complaints. Probably will make every year when my cacti fruits.
PCLARKRN I wonder if I could “redo” the batch and add two boxes of pectin? I used two with a double batch. Thanks!