Homeschool Fiction

Click here to read “Prickly Pear Fruit Harvesting PART ONE”.

Click here to read “Prickly Pear Fruit Harvesting PART TWO”.

Now that you’ve picked the fruit from the prickly pear, it is time to prepare it. We prefer a “no touch” method, which doesn’t involve any knives or accidental touching. Click here for a great tutorial on the cutting method.

First, put the fruit into a collander (we love the one that comes with the Calphalon Compliments 8-Quart Multi Pot Set). Rinse with tap water until you think they are washed off fairly well. Continue to use the tongs to touch the fruit - DON’T USE YOUR FINGERS.

Fill the stock pot 1/3-1/2 full with drinkable water. Put the fruit into the pot. (We like to use the built-in collander shown below, but it isn’t absolutely necessary). Heat to a rolling boil.

Smash the prickly pear fruits with a Potato Masher (or similar).

Smash all the fruits. You’ll notice that the pinkish purple color boils off the fruit and many turn yellow! The fruit is actually on the inside (similar to a saguaro fruit), so the skins are not eaten. This is a part that young children should not help with because it is hot and the smashing sometimes makes the fruit explode and splatter.

Once you feel they are smashed well, you can begin to strain the fruit. We strain it with a large collander 3-4 times, then strain with cheesecloth 2-3 times, then with t-shirt material. The last is probably not necessary, but I like to be very thorough.

Once this is done, you have straight prickly pear juice. Discard the prickly pear skins and seeds. Next, we’ll turn that juice into fun foods.

Related Articles:

• Prickly Pear Fruit Harvesting PART FOUR
• Prickly Pear Fruit Harvesting PART TWO
• Prickly Pear Fruit Harvesting PART SIX
• Prickly Pear Fruit Harvesting PART ONE
• Prickly Pear Fruit Harvesting PART FIVE

By: Lisa