Texas

[RachaelS]

Quote:
LOL!!!! Birds!!!

 

[tcmstalcup]

three of eggs gathered today. Leghorn cross in the middle, bantam on the end and we think a dinosaur snuck in the one on the end! All my hens r this years babies. Culled my old hens in a yummy yet loving manner.

 

[mandaleigh1981]

Mandeleigh,
Can you kindly pm me with your prickly pear fruit recepie?
I've been looking for one to try.
Diane

Sure thing. Sorry had to run to town for a bit

 

[mandaleigh1981]

Sure thing. Sorry had to run to town for a bit

I would love it also and the mustang grape one also

Here is the Cactus Jelly

You will need 45-50 cactus fruits, make sure they are a recipe red or purple color. I pick them with tongs, they twist right off. I then put them in very hot water for a couple hrs to soak. This will soften most of the thorns. I then put on nitrile gloves (I am pretty sure any kind of rubber gloves would work just as well, its really a precaution to keep the thorns out of your fingers). Take each one, cut the ends of and then split and peel. Take the fruit and either smash it (which is a lot of work) or run it through the food processor. Then strain off the seeds. Put the juice in a large pot with two packages of pectin (I used two of the liquid) and then bring it to a rolling boil. Add 10 cups of sugar, bring to a rolling boil and let it cook for 20-30 mins. I know this seems like a long time, but I had heard it is hard to set, and I wanted to make sure it got to temp and held there long enough to set. Then ladle it into the jars. This recipe will make 12-13 half pints or 6-7 pints.

I will have to look for the mustang grape one to make sure the one in my head is correct. I am a crazy chicken lady after all

 

[mandaleigh1981]

Here is the Cactus Jelly

You will need 45-50 cactus fruits, make sure they are a recipe red or purple color. I pick them with tongs, they twist right off. I then put them in very hot water for a couple hrs to soak. This will soften most of the thorns. I then put on nitrile gloves (I am pretty sure any kind of rubber gloves would work just as well, its really a precaution to keep the thorns out of your fingers). Take each one, cut the ends of and then split and peel. Take the fruit and either smash it (which is a lot of work) or run it through the food processor. Then strain off the seeds. Put the juice in a large pot with two packages of pectin (I used two of the liquid) and then bring it to a rolling boil. Add 10 cups of sugar, bring to a rolling boil and let it cook for 20-30 mins. I know this seems like a long time, but I had heard it is hard to set, and I wanted to make sure it got to temp and held there long enough to set. Then ladle it into the jars. This recipe will make 12-13 half pints or 6-7 pints.

I will have to look for the mustang grape one to make sure the one in my head is correct. I am a crazy chicken lady after all

PS throw the ends to the chickens and watch the GO NUTS!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Here is the Cactus Jelly

.......Then strain off the seeds.....



Do you need to strain it or are the pulp/seeds bitter? Can I make it into jam?

 

[mandaleigh1981]

The seeds are hard like little rocks, they would break teeth. The pulp will sluice off through the strainer.

 

[jajeanpierre]

The seeds are hard like little rocks, they would break teeth. The pulp will sluice off through the strainer.

Thanks!

 

[mandaleigh1981]

Thanks!

You're welcome. Glad to share this recipe, its delicious.

 

[buffalobillh]

Mustang grapes are... free range grapes.

Now going on a tangent. If you like jelly and preserves...
Mustang grapes make excellent homemade wine, as do prickly pear.

Ye ha na lived til ye ha sampled prickly pear wine. I need pears so I can make my first batch. (Made lots of other wine, beer too, but not prickly pear.)

And it is just dumb how easy it is with a little bit of equipment. Fruit, water, yeast, some sort of fermenting vessel, airlock (old timers used a balloon), a large funnel, a sanitizing solution, a bottling bucket (is a nice option), and a little time and not much effort. Save all your screwtop glass and plastic bottles, booze bottles, 1L/2L/3L soft drink bottles. A beer siphon is best to go from vessel to bucket, but you can do just about anything you want as long as you sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. (BTW, I don't stomp my fruit, I use a sanitized blender.) I also have a recipe for brandy (undistilled) that has been handed down from original Texas German settlers. It ramps it up to about 40 proof, but it's not distilled, so no revenuers will be hunting for your still.

Here is a batch of Satsuma Orange wine I made for a coworker with his Satsumas. I use one of my 6.5 gallon beer jars (carboy). 4+ quarts of fruit, 14lbs of sugar, top it off with water - yields around 4 gallons of wine. 95% of my wine is given as gifts. I keep just enough for quality control.



Next on the wine list:

Prickly pear (if I can get any)
Jalapeno
Apricot
Mustang grapes (again; if I can get any)
Cranberry (again)

Previous wines I've made:

Black grape
Red grape
Cantaloupe
Cherry (should have made 20 gallons)
Dewberry
Hard pears
Mango (stunning)
Strawberry
Cranberry (my favorite)
Mustang grape (was a beautiful rose')
Mulberry
Satsuma orange
Blueberry
Fig (still aging)

And about 30 varieties of beer, most of which was given away.

Ok, I've diverted the thread long enough.