Prickly Pear Jam - Fresh from the Garden

One thing that we have decided to do on the farm is make some prickly pear jam! This has been a new experience on several occasions.

1) I have never made jam before. This was a VERY new experience and it actually turned out pretty well.

2) I had no idea how versatile prickly pear fruits were.

3) I had never canned before.

So as we went about the process of jam, the trials began.

Firstly, all the prickly pear had to be processed. They all had to be scrubbed, pealed, de-seeded and then blended.

We made 3 different batches, we canned 2 of them and did freezer pectin for the 3rd.

What I found was that the canned version broke down the pectin and became more of a syrup and less of a jam. We tried it twice with 2 different amounts of pectin. Next year we will try again with canning.

The last batch turned out great! We made the "sauce" and added the freezer pectin (no canning required) and placed in the freezer. It came out wonderfully. The freezer jam will be good in the freezer for up to a year. Just in time for next years crop!