Beachcomberspricklypearjelly Recipes

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!

10 WAYS TO USE PRICKLY PEARS

Steps:

• Select your favorite recipe.
• Organize all the required ingredients.
• Prep a prickly pear recipe in 30 minutes or less!

PRICKLY PEAR MARGARITA

Steps:

• For the cocktail: Combine the tequila, triple sec, lime juice, agave, prickly pear syrup and chile flakes in a cocktail shaker and incorporate all the ingredients by shaking it to your own rhythm.
• For the garnish: Pour some lime juice on a saucer. Mix together the sugar and salt on a separate saucer. Dip the rim of a 10-ounce glass into the lime juice and then dip the rim into the sugar and pink salt mixture. Fill the glass with ice, pour in the cocktail and garnish with prickly pear, if using, and a lime slice.
• Holding each prickly pear with metal tongs, lightly graze the fruit with a flame until the glochids (thorns) are singed off. Place the fruit in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil, cover and let sit off the heat for 25 to 35 minutes.
• Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth. Strain the liquid through it into a medium heatproof bowl, mashing the fruit with a spoon until all the fruit is mashed.
• Pour the contents of the bowl into the same saucepan and discard the solids; stir in the sugar, bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the lime zest and juice. Let simmer about 15 more minutes; remove from the heat, let cool and refrigerate.

BEACHCOMBER

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into a large cocktail glass or wineglass.