I met Brandi on one of many visits to Las Vegas years ago. I first caught sight of her while drinking at a crusty bar with an ex of mine. Strutting in, she was quite the distraction- tall, blonde, nice teeth and in great shape (partly, I’m sure, due to her work with the police department). The woman was stunning…just hot as hell. We hit it off, had a tryst and over time have established a lovely friendship beyond our initial carnal attraction. Not only is the woman a fox and a good pal but it turns out she makes a damn fine jelly to boot. Prickly Pear Jelly? I had never tasted nor heard of it so Brandi offered to send me a couple jars. The jelly is an irradiant magenta color, nearly neon. The flavor is delicious- similar to grape but more mild. Below, is Brandi’s recipe and additional information in regards to harvesting cactus fruit that she was oh so generous to share.

Brandis Fabulous Prickly Pear Jelly (Las Vegas, NV)

Prickly Pear fruit or tunas are edible, as well as the flat shaped pads or branches called nopales. Youll see them in stores as Nopalitos. In the spring, the cactus has a very beautiful and delicate bloom. The pads should be harvested in the spring when they are soft and about 6-10 long. The flowers can be magenta, orange, or soft yellow. Bees flock to the cactus for the high content of nectar and pollen.

Prickly Pear Cactus is very productive, easy to propagate, thrives on neglect, and provides a great amount of food for no work and no supplemental irrigation. The fruit is a natural source of fiber which is similar to soluble fiber that has been used to absorb cholesterol.

It is a very rich source of flavonoids, Vitamin C, calcium, potassium, mineral magnesium, and the amino acid, taurine.

The fruit is ripened and ready to pick by mid-September to late October. The prickly pear cactus found in Las Vegas, bares dark red skin and a beautiful magenta internal flesh.

I harvest my fruit from my neighbors yardwith permission, of course. My cactus is your cactus, he says. Its easy when you offer delicious jelly in exchange for picking his cactus fruit. Picking the fruit is a delicate matter due to the tiny barbed spines (glochids) that easily dislodge and become embedded in your skin. I recommend the following: Use long BBQ tongs, leather gloves, safety glasses, long pants, and shoes that cover your entire foot. Picking the tuna in sandals is not a good idea, as the little devils sort of float and get stuck in the nylon straps of your sandals. They will poke you in the feet for months to come (this is based on first hand, or should I say foot, experience). They hurt

Use the tongs to gently grab the fruit, with a slight twist and pull; the fruit will readily break free of the pads. Drop into a large bucket and fill it up. I harvested a 5 gal. bucket a few days ago and I am still processing the fruit in batches for more jelly. Always handle the fruit with tongs and thick leather gloves. Trust me; this is a really good idea. Fill the sink with water and give the fruit a good rinse, stir them around. This helps break off the tiny spines. Use a strainer to remove the fruit from the water and put in a large bowl. (DONT put your bare hands in the water! You will end up with thousands of sharp, pointy, difficult to remove cactus spines).

To Process The Fruit

Measure out 2 lbs of fruit (I use another bowl and a counter scale for accuracy). Remove a tuna with tongs, cut in half and put the fruit in a 6-8 quart stock pot. When all of the fruit is cut, add enough water to just cover the fruit, about 4-4 cups. When the water begins to boil, start your timer for 15-20 minutes. The water will be deep red and your house will smell awesome!

Now, DO NOT DRAIN THE WATER down the sink, leave it in with the fruit. Take a potato masher and smoosh the fruit in the water by pressing straight down and add a slight twist of the wrist. Keep doing this until all of the flesh and seeds are released from the skins.

Using a large, wire strainer, very carefully pour the contents of your pot through the strainer and into a large, heat resistant bowl. Pour the strainer contents back into the pot and smoosh a little more to release more juice. Repeat the above step, one more time. Then, put some cheese cloth in the strainer, pour in the smooshed fruit contents and squeeze out the remaining juice into the bowl. This will leave a very nice pulp inside the cheese cloth, which is great for composting. NOTE: Your hands will now be dyed magentait washes off later.

Just for added clarity, I sometimes drain the juice through a sieve or mesh coffee filter, but this might reduce some fiber content.

Heres How I make the Jelly

2 C Prickly Pear Juice C Lemon Juice 1 Box of SureJell Pectin (18 tsp) 5 C Sugar

1. Hard boil the cactus juice, pectin and lemon juice for 3 minutes. Using a whisk, stir briskly, add the sugar and bring back to a hard boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat.
2. Using a ladle, fill the heated jars, leaving from the top. Seal and heat process for 10 minutes. The 10 minutes starts, when the processing pot is boiling. I followed the canning process on the Ball website for high-acid foods.
3. Remove the jars using a jar lifter and set in the jar packaging box, or on a towel (this will keep the jars from cracking by coming into contact with a cool surface). Leave the jars UNDISTURBED for 12-24 hours. This is very important, as moving them around might break the heat seal.
4. This recipe might yield 6-7, half-pint jars. I usually have a small amount in the pot, so I just pour it into a bowl and stick it in the fridge for my toast.

I have made 7 batches of jelly and each one is perfect, every time. Enjoy!