Name: Prickly Pear Jelly
Total time: 14 h 40 min
Ingredients: 2½ pounds prickly pears , trimmed, peeled, and quartered; ½ cup water; 2 teaspoons grated lime zest; 1¼ cups sugar; 3 tablespoons bottled lime juice; 5½ teaspoons Sure-Jell for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes

Why This Recipe Works

Prickly pears have been a staple food of Native Americans for many centuries. Prickly pear cactus varieties grow wild throughout the deserts of the Southwest, and their large, yellow, pink, red, or purple blossoms grow from the tip of the cactus nodules and later ripen into delicious red fruit that can now be enjoyed across the country year-round. Their juicy watermelon-like flesh and naturally sweet flavor make them an ideal candidate for a colorful and flavorful jelly. After carefully removing the outer skin, we found the easiest way to extract the fruit from the seeds was by simmering the mashed fruit with a little extra water and added lime zest for flavor before straining the mixture thoroughly to remove the hard stone-like seeds and to ensure a crystal-clear jelly. We then added lime juice, pectin, and sugar to achieve the perfect gel set for our sweet and unique jelly. Prickly pears live up to their name: Thin, thread-like spikes often remain, so the fruit must be handled with care.

Before You Begin

Make sure not to touch the fruit skin with your bare hands and always wear double-lined gloves and use tongs when handling. For safety reasons, be sure to use bottled lime juice, not fresh-squeezed juice, in this recipe. This jam can be processed for long-term storage; see the instructions in this article.

Instructions

Combine fruit, water, and lime zest in large saucepan. Mash fruit mixture with potato masher until broken down. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until juices are released, about 5 minutes.

Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing firmly on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Clean strainer, line with triple layer of cheesecloth, and strain juice again into large measuring cup. Measure 1¾ cups of strained juice into large saucepan; reserve any extra juice for another use.

Combine ¼ cup sugar and Sure-Jell in bowl. Bring prickly pear juice and lime juice to boil over high heat. Whisk in Sure-Jell mixture and bring to boil. Whisk in remaining 1 cup sugar and bring to vigorous boil. Once boiling, cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove pot from heat and skim foam from surface of jelly using spoon.

Meanwhile, place two 1-cup jars in bowl and place under hot running water until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes; shake dry.

Using funnel and ladle, portion hot jelly into hot jars. Let cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate until jelly is set, 12 to 24 hours. (Jelly can be refrigerated for up to 3 months.)