Prickly Pear Fruit

Traditionally, our family has gone out on Labor Day to pick prickly pear fruit to make jelly and syrup. The fruit is purple to deep red when ripe and can be eaten raw with care to avoid the spines. We use a steam juicer to reduce the fruit to a deep red juice that can then be bottled with pectin to make a jelly. They are delicious and have although the process of making the jelly is hot and sweaty since it is still extremely hot in the desert on Labor Day, we have enjoyed the fruit over the years.