Few things say “summertime” better than a nice, cold refreshment in your hand on a hot, sunny day. Sure, there are the old standbys like lemonade and iced tea – and we certainly won’t fault you for reaching for them. But what if you are in the mood for something different? Summer yields no shortage of tempting fruits to turn into coolers, punches, agua frescas, or “-ade”. So why not try one of our favorite summer fruit drinks: this simple recipe made from prickly pear?
Prickly pears – the fruit of the nopal cactus – are native to the Americas, and should be quite familiar to anyone from Texas and the southwest US, or Mexico. While most people will think “desert” the moment they hear the word “cactus”, there are prickly pear species found in such un-desertlike places as the Galapagos Islands and British Columbia. There are even some native to here in Illinois.
When ripe, the fruit are mild and sweet, with a flavor that is sometimes compared to watermelon. They are filled with numerous hard seeds that can make them a bit of a chore to eat fresh. While the seeds are perfectly edible if you don’t mind chewing them, people who don’t want to bother with that aspect can still enjoy these unique fruit by juicing them or using them to flavor other recipes.
The recipe we are sharing here is essentially an agua fresca, although we have taken to calling it “prickly pearade” or simply “cactusade”. There are numerous ways one could turn prickly pears into a beverage, but we feel this method is the simplest and most satisfying. Just peel the fruit, boil to extract the juice, strain, sweeten, and chill.
Tastes like summer.
Prickly Pearade
Ingredients
- 18 Red prickly pears (aka. cactus pears)
- water (as needed)
- Sugar (or other sweetener) to taste
Instructions
- Peel the prickly pears: Start by slicing off both ends, then slit the skin down the entire length. You should be able to simply unroll the skin off of the fruit from that point – it should come loose quite easily.
- Place the peeled prickly pears into a large pot, and cover with water by about an inch (they will float, so you will need to hold one down to check the water depth).
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. While the fruit is simmering, attempt to break up the larger pieces as they begin to soften (a large spoon or a potato masher works well for this)
- Remove from heat, and pour through a fine sieve into a large pitcher or similar container. Use the back of a spoon to squeeze as much liquid from the pulp through the sieve and into the pitcher as possible. Discard pulp and seeds when you are finished.
- Add as much cold water as needed to bring the total volume up to about 2 quarts. Sweeten to taste (we sweeten ours rather lightly, usually starting with about 1/4 cup of sugar and gradually increasing as desired from there).
- Refrigerate until chilled.
Notes
- Prickly pears (aka. cactus pears) are most plentiful (and therefore less expensive) in the summertime, which is also when they are at their peak flavor. It is not uncommon to find them throughout the rest of the year, but not necessarily in the quantities you will need for this recipe. Your best bet is to buy these from a market that deals heavily in Hispanic produce (like much of our “specialty” produce here in the Chicago area, we buy ours at Tony’s Fresh Market). Mainstream supermarkets often carry them, but also often market them as an “exotic” fruit (despite the fact that they are native to the US), and charge ridiculous prices for them.
- There are several varieties of prickly pear available, the most common types being red and green. We prefer the red variety largely for the attractive color it gives the finished product, but this will absolutely work with the green variety as well (or a mix of both types). A related yellow and pink cactus pear, called the xoconostle, is sometimes available. These are very sour, and are used quite differently – we love them for other recipes, but don’t recommend them for this one.
