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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