Camping, Princess Style

[FauxPas]

18 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Well, look what's in full fruit at our campground!

 

 

 

The prickly pear juice I was able to buy last spring was / is good, but already sweetened.  Someone -- @heidih? @blue_dolphin? -- had asked about the taste of the juice. Now I'll have a chance to find out. How I'll jam a bag full of these things into the freezer is a good question, but I'll figure it out.

 

They are a bit past their prime, but could still be in very good shape. I'd be a bit careful/discreet about foraging there, it might be restricted. 

 

I just bought some of the AZ Cactus Ranch nectar from our local Sprouts. We have visitors from Canada and I wanted to make them prickly pear beverages, maybe even a margarita or two.  😄

 

 

 

[FauxPas]

10 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Hmmm.  That no-touch method of juicing that @FauxPas shared looks pretty good.  Maybe I should bring a pair of tongs out on my walks and grab some of these.  I could make some prickly pear popsicles, no?

 

Oh yes! That would be delicious and so pretty. Maybe even add a touch of tequila? 

[Shelby]

FUN!!!!  Prickly pear juice!  Can't wait to see  

[FauxPas]

Here's another description of the freezing method (See Process 2 in the article):

 

http://www.rootedfood.com/musings/2014/12/11/prickly-pear-harvest

 

[Smithy]

35 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Hmmm.  That no-touch method of juicing that @FauxPas shared looks pretty good.  Maybe I should bring a pair of tongs out on my walks and grab some of these.  I could make some prickly pear popsicles, no?

 

Do use tongs. Don't use silicone-coated tongs. I just spent a few minutes picking the glochids out of my thumb and good silicone kitchen tongs. Shoulda known better!  BTW needlenose pliers work, I think tweezers would be better because the glochids are so fine.

 

[Shelby]

Sad for the fingers and tongs, but still excited for the prickly pear find!  Should include a link to this in the foraging thread  

[Smithy]

27 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

They are a bit past their prime, but could still be in very good shape. I'd be a bit careful/discreet about foraging there, it might be restricted. 

 

 

No doubt if I'd asked they'd have said "no" but these things are falling off the cactus and littering the ground. Others took a slight twist to get them off, and a couple left behind brilliant red spots on the plant, making me wonder whether they were too early.

 

How can you tell whether they're at their prime or past it?

[Smithy]

14 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Here's another description of the freezing method (See Process 2 in the article):

 

http://www.rootedfood.com/musings/2014/12/11/prickly-pear-harvest

 

 

Her "harvest" photo shows more pink flesh left behind than I saw. Makes me think they may be past their prime. Nonetheless, they're in the freezer now. Looks like I could have harvested more! I don't know why my darling is complaining about the freezer being too full. There's still a gap below and behind that bag.

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Smithy
Added photo (log)

[FauxPas]

7 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

No doubt if I'd asked they'd have said "no" but these things are falling off the cactus and littering the ground. Others took a slight twist to get them off, and a couple left behind brilliant red spots on the plant, making me wonder whether they were too early.

 

How can you tell whether they're at their prime or past it?

 

They ripen in the late summer (August/September) so by now they've probably been ripe for a couple of months, but as long as they are juicy, they should be good to use.  Like any fruit, I assume they are at their best when first fully ripe but I'm not a cacti expert either. 😀

 

[Shelby]

13 minutes ago, Smithy said:

No doubt if I'd asked they'd have said "no"

What's the saying?  Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission?

[blue_dolphin]

1 minute ago, Shelby said:

What's the saying?  Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission?

 

Extra points if you can make that into a rebus that will fit on a beer cap!

[Shelby]

29 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Extra points if you can make that into a rebus that will fit on a beer cap!

 

 

 

It has to be a large beer.

[FauxPas]

Here's the one I usually buy, it's just the pressed juice and a bit of pulp, no sugar and not boiled down so it tastes really fresh. I love the colour and the slightly tropical berry flavour. I often add a couple of teaspoons to sparkling water, as in the photos.  

 

The claim of 72 servings seems completely far-fetched to me, but it's true that you don't need much for colour or a bit of flavour. 

 

 

[FauxPas]

Just now, Shelby said:

 

 

 

It has to be a large beer.

 

That's brilliant! They should really hire you!!!!   🙂

 

 

[Smithy]

52 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Here's the one I usually buy, it's just the pressed juice and a bit of pulp, no sugar and not boiled down so it tastes really fresh. I love the colour and the slightly tropical berry flavour. I often add a couple of teaspoons to sparkling water, as in the photos.  

 

I'll try to find that when we reach Tucson. Whole Foods only had the sweetened stuff, and I already had some of Cheri's - which is nice, but sweetened.

[Smithy]

52 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

That's brilliant! They should really hire you!!!!   🙂

 

 

 

What she said!!

[lemniscate]

I used a steam juicer on my last batch about 2 months back.  It worked great, no worries regarding the glochids since steam juicing is no-touch and whole fruit.  I thought I would need to slice them, but the juice came out just fine.   The fruit turned a light beige at the end of the process, which was weird.   The juice was the beautiful magenta it should have been.  It did not taste cooked when cooled down, it tasted normal to me as if I had juiced them the non-steaming way.   My fruit had been frozen whole in the freezer for a few weeks before I got around to juicing.

 

Lots of people boil them whole then blend and strain to get the juice also.

Edited November 11, 2019 by lemniscate (log)

[Smithy]

41 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

I used a steam juicer on my last batch about 2 months back.  It worked great, no worries regarding the glochids since steam juicing is no-touch and whole fruit.  I thought I would need to slice them, but the juice came out just fine.   The fruit turned a light beige at the end of the process, which was weird.   The juice was the beautiful magenta it should have been.  It did not taste cooked when cooled down, it tasted normal to me as if I had juiced them the non-steaming way.   My fruit had been frozen whole in the freezer for a few weeks before I got around to juicing.

 

Lots of people boil them whole then blend and strain to get the juice also.

 

 

I don't know what a steam juicer is, or how it works. Got a link or a picture?

[lemniscate]

Shortest video I could find regarding steam juicing and prickly pear

 

@Smithy

[FauxPas]

Somewhat similar to using the Instant Pot for juicing, I think. 

 

https://www.thekitchn.com/extract-fruit-juice-easier-fas-154002

[TicTac]

Prickly pear juice....mmmm.

 

I have fond memories of my grandparents taking me to The Phoenician (a hotel in Scottsdale AZ, on CamelBack Mountain) for meals and often one of them would have a prickly pear margarita.  I often got to sneak a little sip and can still remember the taste.

 

Great stuff, very jealous - would never see anything like that north of the border!

 

 

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, TicTac said:

Prickly pear juice....mmmm.

 

I have fond memories of my grandparents taking me to The Phoenician (a hotel in Scottsdale AZ, on CamelBack Mountain) for meals and often one of them would have a prickly pear margarita.  I often got to sneak a little sip and can still remember the taste.

 

Great stuff, very jealous - would never see anything like that north of the border!

 

 

 

It sounds like you'll have to learn to make it!

[Smithy]

This is a terribly blurry photo, but it's the best I have for this story. We had to drive north from Columbus to Deming, NM to get a new tire when it developed that our blown tire couldn't be repaired. There's a Border Patrol check station between the two towns. This truck was ahead of us, and while we were stopped I could see what looked like red peppers (dried? maybe?) peeking out between the slats. 

 

 

When it was our turn to speak with the officer at the check point, we asked about the truck. Yes, it was peppers. We asked where they were going. "They go to Las Cruces or to Hatch," he said. 

 

We looked at each other. "Wait, the peppers we drive to Hatch to buy are coming from Mexico?"

 

Sly smile. "Yes!" he grinned, and sent us on our way.

 

What could we do but laugh? Especially since we saw at least a dozen of these trucks on our trip that day.

 

I'm sure the Hatch harvest season and the resulting green chiles are at least partially a local production, but it sure looks like there's some good marketing going on as well.

[lindag]

@Smithy

That photo you posted of your tire looked like it was in shreds!

[Smithy]

4 minutes ago, lindag said:

@Smithy

That photo you posted of your tire looked like it was in shreds!

 

The first one was indeed badly shredded. The second one we caught when it was just beginning to leak, thanks to having a full set of operating tire pressure monitors. That's the one we had hoped to get repaired...but alas, it couldn't be done.

 

Note the statistics: we aren't even 2 weeks on the road yet, and we've gone through 2 tires! Usually we hve no flats at all. Since we bought several new tires before the trip we're hoping that the old ones have all been found.