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Recipes

Festive Cactus Pear and Wine Jelly

The Author says: "Even though I am usually not a fan of either cactus pears or jellies, I think this is one instance when two wrongs make a right! In this recipe, I use the sweet tart juice of prickly pears, but you may substitute fresh apple, grape fruit, or pineapple juice. This jelly is a most appropriate condiment for grilled lamb chops, roast duck, venison, or pork. Ruby red in color, with a delicate wine taste, cactus pear jelly is also great for glazing fruit tarts." --Nicole Routhier

Ingredients
5 large ripe cactus pears, peeled and quartered
1 cup Muscat, Sauterne, or other sweet dessert wine
2 cups sugar
1 pouch or 1/2 bottle (3 ounces) liquid pectin, such as Certo

Instructions
Sterilize seven 8 ounce canning jars and lids according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place the cactus pear pieces in a food processor and puree. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on the pulp to extract as much juice as possible. (There should be 1 cup of juice.) Combine the cactus pear juice, wine, and sugar in a medium size, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, just until bubbles appear around the edge of the pan and the sugar is dissolved, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the pectin, and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat, and skim the foam. Pour into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal and continue with standard sealing methods in a water bath. Label and date the jars. Should be stored in a cool, dark place for up to one year. Refrigerate after opening. Include serving suggestions.
Yield: About 7 half-pint jars

Credits
From: Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook by Nicole Routhier (Workman Publishing)

 

CACTUS FRUIT JELLY (Prickly Pear "Apple" Jelly)


3 and 1/4 cups juice from cooked fruit
1 bottle liquid pectin
Juice of two lemons
8 level cups sugar


Remove fine thorns and blossom ends from 3 pounds of ripe cactus fruit. Cut into small pieces, crush and add 1 cup water. Stir until boiling, cover pan and simmer 10 minutes. Place in cheese cloth bag and squeeze out juice. 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 one-half minute. Remove from fire, let stand a few seconds, skim, pour quickly into jars and seal hot.

 

PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS WINE

 

"Be careful with the spines or the wine could have a bite!"

The Texas prickly pear cactus is the Opuntia lindheimeri. The broad leaves, called pads or nopalitos, produce pretty yellow to red flowers in spring, which in turn produce red to purple fruit in fall. Both the pads and fruit are edible, but both have tufts of spines protecting them. The spines can be long and large on the pads, but those on the fruit are usually extremely small but just as painful. The peeled fruit has an aroma similar to watermelon. The fruit is the part of the cactus from which wine can be made.

One word of caution. There is a substance in the pigmented fruit of the prickly pear cactus that nearly 1% of the population has an allergy to. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition lists the Opuntia species of the Cactaceae genus on their "Vascular Plants List" of the "Poisonous Plants Database." This listing simply means that toxic effects have been associated with the plants listed by one or more researchers and should not be cited as a definitive conclusion of safety or toxicity. I have drank large quantities of this wine and suffered no ill effects, but you may be among the 1% that would suffer. Thus, you have been advised....

5-6 lb. prickly pear fruit
2-1/2 lb. granulated sugar
1 tsp. acid blend
1 gallon water
wine yeast and nutrient


Put prickly pear cactus fruit in large crock or pail. Pour one gallon boiling water over fruit. Wait two minutes (to loosen skin) and drain off water. Allow fruit to cool and carefully peel skin off, being especially watchful not to touch spines. Cut fruit into pieces not larger than one inch, put in pot, add 1/2 gallon water, bring to boil. Reduce heat to maintain gentle boil for 15 minutes. Cover pot and allow to cool to luke warm. Pour fruit and juice into large nylon grain-bag (fine mesh) or sieve and squeeze juice into primary fermentation vessel. Discard pulp. To juice, add sugar, acid blend, yeast and nutrient and stir to dissolve sugar. Cover well and set in warm place for seven days, stirring daily. Siphon off lees into secondary fermentation vessel, top up with water, fit airlock, and let stand three weeks. Rack and top up, then rack again in two months. Allow to clear, rack again if necessary, and bottle. May taste after one year, but improves with age. (from http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/prickly.asp published by Jack Keller of Pleasanton Texas, just south of San Antone)


 

 


 

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