Thursday, November 19, 2009

Prickly Pear Nectar

Yesterday I collected about 5qt (dry) of prickly pears from which to brew a Southwestern Cyser for my next mead. I am not sure if I will do so ever again as I am still pulling fine needles from my hands and legs. Still, tonight I began to process the fruit for brewing.

I knew that I could not boil the fruit because the pectin could set up and I would have a tart jelly, so I instead purchased a blender and began to puree my way through the bag. Soon I had about 1 gallon of prickly pear "gloop". I stuck it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours and the mixture began to separate the solids from the juice.

I strained the mixture twice which resulted in about 2qts (liquid) prickly pear juice. I decided to not rinse the solids because I did not want to thin the final product. Soon I will begin the actual brewing!

-Safari Bob

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