[Sca-cooks] Fw: Prickly pear fruit- request from my mother.- jam recipe

[karobert at unm.edu]

Quoting Phlip <phlip at 99main.com>:
> Probably- she's a truly excellent cook, when she's in the mood. A
> jelly
> might make an excellent inexpensive gift for her to give out- I'm
> thinking
> that being perpetually broke is an hereditary trait ;-)

yeah... tell me about it!    this recipe is from a little book called
"chuck wagon cookin'" by stella hughes, an 'authentic collection of
rounup lore, cowboy humor and more than 100 old time recipes'.  it's
great.  got stories about the cranky trail cook when he got mean an
drunk, and little comments like... 'cowboys et it up, and called it
good'.  my husband got me the book for xmas one year, as i was petting
it in the local feed store (we lived in kingman az at the time.  you got
excited over what you could...).  he even got the author (a local
person) to sign it for me.  i tend to pull it down every now and then
for the humor.  thanks for reminding me of it!

prickly pear jelly

6 1/2 c prickly pear juice
1/2 c lemon juice
9 c sugar
2 pkgs SureJell

DO NOT PEEL PRICKLY PEARS (that's handy...c)  wear gloves and rubv
spines off with a gunny sack.  wash them well;   it is not necessary for
all spines to be removed.  it's amazing how they disappear when cooked.

put fully ripe fruit in kettle with a small amout of water, not more
than 3 cups for an eight qt. kettle.  bring fruit to a boil, and mash
with potato masser.  do not overcook.  if pears are fully ripe, they
willbe fairly juicy.  drain through cloth.

measure juice int a large kettle and bring to boil.  add 2 pks of Sure
Jell.  boil hard 1 minute.  a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred
down.  add lemon juice and sugar.  bring to hard boil and let boil for
one minute.

be sure you measure exactly.  if a more firm jelly is desired , omit 1/
cup of uice and add 1/2 cup sugar.  jelly will be a beautiful claret ret
and firm.

---

directions end there.  guess they figure everybody knows how to can
jelly. 8)   this is the book my husband's friend used for her jelly, and
it was kinda 'loose' but o so good.   as i recall, it stained the world,
not unlike beets.  have bleach handy for cleanup.

cailte
still not nostalgic enuf...