Prickly Pear Jam

The Prickly Pear fruits are ready for picking in the southwest! These brilliantly colored fruits make the most beautiful and tasty jam.

You'll know the fruits are ripe when they are a deep plum color. The best way to get them off of the cactus is by using kitchen tongs. If they are ripe, you should easily be able to pluck them off with the tongs; no knife or gloves needed.

Once you get them home, rinse and toss the fruits in a large colander; this helps to break off any spines and rinses any bugs or other particles off. You'll need a sharp knife, a spoon and your dish-washing gloves, or any thick latex or rubber glove. Be sure to keep everything wet; your gloves, knife, and cutting surface. With one fruit at a time, cut off and discard each end; then cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop the flesh out along with the seeds into a clean bowl. Discard the prickly pear skin. Periodically rinse off your cutting surface and gloved hands, knife, etc. This will keep any glochids from getting on you or the clean fruit. Transfer the clean fruit into a blender. Add just a bit of water, (I filled my blender chalk full of fruit and then added water (optional: add 1/4 cup lemon juice in place of some of the water- see paragraph below) to fill the air space, but not enough to cover) then blend it up! Transfer the liquid to a strainer, to strain out the seeds. Then strain the juice through cheesecloth into a pot on the stove. Discard the strained pulp in the cheesecloth.
I discovered that there is a secret ingredient for prickly pear jam, and it is unique to each recipe. One recipe that my friend Lesley makes adds lemon juice; this gave a nice tartness to the jam. Another friend, Rosemarie, adds a splash of balsamic vinegar to hers; this addition brought out the natural flavor of the prickly pear which can sometimes be masked with all the sugar.Choose which secret ingredient you prefer and do one, but not both!

THE RECIPE
My blender holds 5 cups of liquid: So for every five cups I added 3 cups of sugar. Mix the sugar with 1 box (1/2 cup ) + 2TBSP of low sugar Pectin.
Begin to heat juice and add half of the sugar/pectin. (Add a splash of balsamic vinegar -less than a tablespoon- if you wish) Turn the heat on high and bring to a boil. Stirring Constantly, add the rest of the sugar/pectin and boil for 10minutes.
Pour into sanitized jars and snug the lids. After a while you should be able to hear the lids pop and seal. It may take a day for the jam to fully set. Store in the refrigerator or in a cool spot.

Try it out!! I never knew cactus fruit could be so good!

Lisa