I’ve concocted a new prickly pear jelly using low-sugar pectin that substantially reduces the amount of sugar. 1. Burn off the spines by holding the fruit over a burner on the stove for a few seconds. 2. Quarter the fruit and place in a pot. Cover with water (around 2 1/2 cups). Boil for ten minutes. Crush the fruit with a potato masher.
One of the most famous prickly pear fruit recipes is jelly. Say goodbye to the usual peanut butter and jelly combination because you can now take your sandwiches to the next level with prickly pear jelly! To make this prickly pear jelly, add lime juice, powdered pectin, sugar, and of course—prickly pear juice.
One gallon of whole prickly pears should net about 4 cups of juice. Four cups of juice should give you about 5 – 6 eight ounce jars of jelly. Don’t double the recipe. Make it in batches of 4 cups at a time.
An alternative is to dehydrate sliced prickly pear fruit if you are concerned about eating too much sugar. Or just eat them fresh seeds and all. DON’T DUMP if it doesn’t set, it makes great syrup on waffles. Even to flavor milk or over ice cream. I had this no setting problem too with 2 batches of jelly this year, using sure-jell.