Prickly Pear Syrup

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 12 medium prickly pears
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)

Recipe

• 1 put prickly pears in a bowl or dishpan full of water. holding each one with tongs, scrub with a vegetable brush to remove dust and some of the stickers (the rest will come out later when you strain the juice).
• 2 transfer 5 at a time to a blender jar and process until liquid. line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and strain juice into a medium saucepan. you should have about 1 cup.
• 3 add lemon juice and sugar, and slowly bring to a simmer. cook until syrup begins to thicken. if you want a thicker syrup, stir in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water and cook to thicken.
• 4 stir with wire whisk if necessary to smooth consistency.
• 5 for diabetics: use an amount of your favorite non-nutritive sweetener equivalent to 1 1/2 cups of sugar. since sugar causes thickening, you'll have to compensate by using a little more cornstarch, or use another thickener such as guar gum or xanthan gum.